STEEL WEB.As any luckless fly knows, spider silk Spider silk, also known as gossamer, is a fiber spun by spiders. Spider silk is a remarkably strong material. Its tensile strength is comparable to that of high-grade steel — according to Nature[1], spider dragline silk has a tensile strength of roughly 1. is the toughest, meanest fiber on Earth. Scientists estimate the amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. fiber spiders use to weave their webs is five times as strong as steel and twice as elastic elastic Of or relating to the demand for a good or service when the quantity purchased varies significantly in response to price changes in the good or service. as nylon! For the past 20 years researchers around the globe have jostled to be the first to reproduce spider silk in the lab. Now, in a major breakthrough, Danish scientist Fritz fritz n. Informal A condition in which something does not work properly: Our television is on the fritz. [Perhaps from German Fritz Vollrath has unraveled the secret to the silk's strength: acid. While examining a common garden spider, Vollrath found that silk starts out as a liquid inside the spider's abdomen abdomen, in humans and other vertebrates, portion of the trunk between the diaphragm and lower pelvis. In humans the wall of the abdomen is a muscular structure covered by fascia, fat, and skin. . The liquid silk flows through a duct (tube-like passage), which extracts water from the silk--allowing the silk to gel into threads. Then hydrogen atoms from the extracted water stream into another part of the duct to create an acid bath. The acid hardens the silk threads before the spider ever squirts them out of its gut. Vollrath's discovery may lead to mass-produced spider silk clothes, including bullet-proof vests. Talk about tough gear. |
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