和馬斯克的spaceX一樣，太空電梯也遇到大麻煩
Our Quest for a Space Elevator Has Hit a Big Snag
我們對太空電梯的追求已經遇到了一個很大的問題
The long-romanticized concept of a space elevator has popped up in science fiction for over a century and, for a while there, space elevators were thought to be a feasible option that could be achieved in the relatively near future. But unfortunately, the shining futuristic world in which we can take an elevator up to the stars might be a little further out of reach than we had hoped.
長期以來的浪漫概念：太空電梯在過去的一個世紀經常出現在科幻小說，有一段時間，太空電梯被認為是在相對不久的將來可以實現的一個可行的選擇。但不幸的是，一個輝煌的未來世界中，我們可以用一個電梯飛到星星上去的可能會有點比我們所希望的更遙遙無期。
The material that encouraged these high hopes was the development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), tubes made up of a layer of carbon atoms in hexagonal arrangements, which results in a material stronger than steel and lighter than air. But despite the exciting possible applications of this material, building a space elevator isn"t one of them - at least not for the moment. The very atomic structure that makes CNTs so strong could also be their undoing when it comes to that particular pipe dream.
寄予很高希望的材料是先進的碳納米管（碳納米管），這種管管由一層碳原子在六方晶系組成，這製造出一種物質比鋼鐵更強比空氣還輕。但是，儘管這種材料的令人興奮的應用前景，但建設一個空間電梯並不是其中之一——至少不是現在。非常原子結構在使碳納米管如此強勁也是這個白日夢是失敗的原因。
A team of nanotechnologists from Hong Kong Polytechnic University simulated what would happen when a single atom was out of place in CNTs, causing a kink in the tube. This had a profound impact on the tensile strength of the CNTs, causing the strength to go from 100 gigapascals (GPa), to 40 GPa. The more atoms that were misaligned, the worse the problem became as carbon bonds were easily snapped under these conditions, which can cause an entire tube to unzip and damage the CNT fibre.
一隊來自香港理工大學的納米科學家模擬了單原子放在碳納米管外邊會有什麼現象，結果這導致了管的扭結。這對碳納米管的抗拉強度產生了深遠的影響，導致強度去從100千兆帕斯卡下降到40千兆帕斯卡。越多的原子排列不整齊，越讓碳紐帶容易折斷成為更糟糕的問題，它可能導致整個管CNT解壓和損傷纖維。
The tensile strength of the cables required for a space elevator is estimated to be at least 50 GPa, but the chances of flaws increase with mass production of CNTs. If even a single atom is misplaced, the cable won"t be strong enough to support a space elevator.
一個太空電梯的電纜所需的抗拉強度估計有至少50GPA，但隨機缺陷隨著碳納米管批量生產而增加。如果連一個原子都是錯的，該電纜將不夠強大，不足以支持一個太空電梯。
Producing a long enough network of CNTs to build an elevator won"t be an option until the flaws in the process of synthesizing the material can be addressed. For the moment, if we want to hitch a ride into space, it looks like we"re going to have to look elsewhere.
建立一個足夠長的碳納米管網路建立一個電梯將不會是一個選項，直到合成材料的過程中的缺陷可以得到解決。目前，如果我們想搭便車到空間，它看起來像我們要去看其他地方。
來自New Scientist雜誌
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