I note the Aurther C Clarke also wrote about space elevators in his 2001 series, but since the last one was written in 1997 he may of borrowed the concept.
Still since most humans were living in low earth orbit in the series i wonder why the cables need to be 35,000 kilimetres long.
Getting into orbit a couple of hundred k's up would be enough.
Oh i just read the bottom of the smh article
It is thought the concept of the lift was first envisioned by the great science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in his 1979 novel
The Fountains of Paradise.
Guess the materials are getting close to
http://www.fsu.edu/news/2005/10/20/steel.paper/
but after watching an austar show on the keck telescope I am still to spun out