Today in TechYou may travel faster in this elevator than on your car ride to work
Most of us love elevators — they're quick, convenient, and help us scale tall buildings without getting all winded and sweaty on our way to work. But a new people mover being built by Mitsubishi Electric might be extreme enough to send us up the stairs a time or two. The lift, which is being constructed for use in the 119-story Shanghai Tower, will move at a record-breaking 59 feet per second, or just over 40 miles per hour.
The speedy elevators are just part of a huge network of lifts housed within the massive structure currently under construction in China. In all, 106 elevators will be used in the building, with the seven record-breakers operating as direct lines between the basement level and the very top floor. The system will be supported by special high-intensity cables and ceramic breaking surfaces to ensure the lifts stop when intended.
In order to keep passengers secure, the new elevators will incorporate a pneumatic pressure control system, which should help eliminate any motion sickness that could arise from the breakneck speeds. The roofs of the lifts will be aerodynamically designed to reduce turbulence during rapid acceleration. If you're interested in taking a record-breaking ride in Mitsubishi's new marvels you'll have to wait — the Shanghai Tower isn't expected to publicly open until 2014.
[via Engadget]
This article originally appeared on Tecca
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