China to Unveil World’s Fastest Elevator in Shanghai
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Hemera Technologies/Thinkstock(SHANGHAI) — China is currently building the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Shanghai Tower, which will stand 2,073 feet high once complete. To shuttle passengers to the sky, Mitsubishi has been contracted to build 106 aerodynamic elevators unlike anything the world has ever seen.
The Mitsubishi elevators will travel at a rate of 3,281 feet per minute — more than twice as fast as those at the World Trade Center, which traveled at 1,600 feet per minute, according to the engineer who installed them.
And the high-speed elevators won’t require a stop at a sky lobby to break up the trip; the design team is promising a comfortable ride from the bottom to the top in one go.
Mitsubishi says that inside each car the air pressure will be controlled to avoid erupting earaches due to rapid changes in altitude. Each car’s interior will also be insulated to quell sound and suitably equipped to reduce vibration.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio