andres:  Will Brain Machine Interfaces assist not only the impaired but assist us all in our everyday lives?

Dr. Kaku: Possibly. At the present time, stroke victims and people with injured spinal cords can benefit the most from breakthroughs like braingate. This is a chip that is placed on the living brain, which is connected to a laptop computer allowing a paralyzed stroke victim to control the computer. By sheer thought, a paralyzed person can play computer games, type messages, direct a wheelchair, and eventually, we hope, walk. However, it will take many decades to come before we can perfect this technology. In the future, normal people may want to take advantage of this technology. For example, astronauts in outer space executing very dangerous and complicated motions may want to use this technology to free up their hands when making repair operations on their spaceship.

CoolFinalFan: Do you think the space elevator will ever become a reality and come into being?

Dr. Kaku: There is a good chance that the space elevator may become a reality if we can spin carbon nanotubes into fibers that are thousands of miles long. I caution, however, that the world's record for a carbon nanotube fiber is only 7 mm. So it will take many decades to come before scientists can spin carbon nanotubes into fibers long enough to create a space elevator. On paper, because carbon nanotubes are 100 times stronger than steel, it should be possible to build a space elevator. However, the technical problems are still enormous and at the present time we simply don't know whether we can spin carbon nanotubes long enough to climb our way into heaven like Jack and the beanstalk.