This is why fragile spider silk is 5 times stronger than steel

durable, strong and 5 times stronger than steel. But the cause of that durability is not everyone knows.

Spider silk has long been famous as the most enduring natural material. There are even spiders that release silk that are five times stronger than steel - like brown spiders Loxosceles reclusa, for example.

But also need to wonder why spider silk is so fragile and so tough? In fact, this is also the question that scientists have to headache, and recently they found the answer.

At the molecular level, each strand is assembled by thousands of ultra-thin nanowires parallel to each other.

Specifically, experts from William and Mary University (Virginia, USA) analyzed the silk threads of the brown spider L. reclusa with the most advanced technology. The result is at the molecular level, each strand is assembled by thousands of ultra-thin nanowires parallel to each other.

Each nanowire is made of protein, with a thickness of less than 1 millionth of a centimeter - which is hundreds of times thinner than a human hair.

"We thought the threads were just an entity," said Hannes Schiniepp, a member of the research team. "But what is found is that spider silk is like a cable, made from many fibers that are smaller than twisted."

In fact, the idea that spider silk is made of nanofibers has been mentioned in previous studies, but this is the first time that science has actually confirmed that, while finding muscle. Its regime too. In addition, the researchers chose the brown spider because its thread is flat, not round like a normal spider.

However, not all spider silk is constructed like that.Depending on how to catch the prey, each spider species will have different silk .

Brown spider silk thread is 5 times stronger than steel.

We can apply nanofibers to one, so that we can create a material that is 5 times more resistant to steel. Schiniepp said, they have successfully developed a construction model based on what they have found, and thereby helped people create their own materials, with the same strength as spider silk.

In the past, there have been many studies of how to create artificial spider silk and apply it - from until. But with the study of the structure of spider silk at the nanoscale, its application will be extremely large.

"Research results show that nature can really produce amazing materials," said Mohan Srinivasarao from the National Science Foundation, who funded the study.

"Understanding the composition of spider silk at the molecular level will give us a better understanding of its nature and at the same time provide new designs for future synthetic composites."

The study is published in ACS Macro Letters.