World's fastest elevator: Like riding a train into the skyBy Wilfred Chan, CNN
April 24, 2014 -- Updated 0213 GMT (1013 HKT
In the time it takes you to skim this piece, you could travel 95 stories into the clouds on the world's new fastest elevator.
The elevator will operate in a new supertall skyscraper being built in Guangzhou, China. With a top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h), this lift will fling you nearly half a kilometer in just 43 seconds.
That's like riding a speeding commuter train -- into the sky.
The elevator incorporates high-tech wizardry to give you a comfortable ride even as you're shooting vertically toward the heavens.
According to manufacturer Hitachi, special technology will regulate air pressure within the car to keep your ears from getting blocked as you fly skywards. "Rollers" will keep the car from swinging wildly from side to side.
And in case something goes wrong on the way down? Newly developed brakes are high able to resist extreme heat -- up to 300 degrees Celsius, says Hitachi.
Can't wait to ride it? Too bad -- the Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre skyscraper doesn't officially open until 2016.
At 1,739 feet (530 meters) tall, the building will be one of the world's tallest -- though not as tall as the current record-holder Burj Khalifa, which stands at 2,717 feet (828 meters).
And even that building will be dwarfed by the upcoming Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, expected to pierce the skies at 3,281 feet (1 kilometer) high.
