Each spider and each type of silk has a set of mechanical properties optimised for their biological function.
Most silks, in particular dragline silk, have exceptional mechanical properties. They exhibit a unique combination of high tensile strength and extensibility (ductility). This enables a silk fibre to absorb a lot of energy before breaking (toughness, the area under a stress-strain curve).
An illustration of the differences between toughness, stiffness and strength
A frequent mistake made in the mainstream media is to confuse strength and toughness when comparing silk to other materials. As shown below in detail, weight for weight, silk is stronger than steel, but not as strong as Kevlar. Silk is, however, tougher than both.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_silk#Mechanical_properties
No comments:
Post a Comment