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| Scientific American |
UNOBTAINIUM
The idea of a space elevator has set the heart of many engineers aflutter. But all eventually run into the same obstacle—the so-called unobtainium problem, or the need for a material that does not exist. A space elevator is a theoretical structure that reaches from the Earth's surface into space, balanced by its own mass and the outward centrifugal force from the spinning Earth. The physics is sweet—complicated enough to be interesting, simple enough to seem doable, and the space elevator’s intrigue has grown exponentially since Arthur C. Clarke gave it a fictional treatment in his 1979 novel The Fountains of Paradise.
The only material that could pull it off is from Carbon Nanotubes, which the article writer gives the derisive descriptor "akin to a pile of soot." As of yesterday, at least one egress has been accomplished.
Scientific American: Space Elevator Enthusiasts Push On
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