Ask A Scientist© General Science Archive

 


>
> > >  name       Gina
> > >  status     student
>
> > >  Question - If spider silk is stronger than steel, then how come it
> > > isn't used as a better alternative to steel?
> >
>"Stronger than steel" is relative, it doesn't mean spider silk has the same
>characteristics that would make it useful for the same purposes. Despite
>that, if enough spider silk could be obtained it would be very useful for
>many purposes, but I don't know how people could ever get enough of it to be
>practical.
>J. Elliott
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>It's hard to get large quantities of it. Its tensile strength is
>great, but it's not rigid. It's organic, so something probably eats it.
>
>Tim Mooney

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>It depends on how this comparison is made. There are a few materials
>stronger than steel, pound for pound. Spider silk may be stronger than
>steel in tension but not in compression. Also the Quantity of spiders you
>would need to create a spider silk cable would almost be impossible to
>capture. Spider silk may also degrade quite rapidly in certain conditions,
>such as weather and the like. Wood is also measured to be stronger than
>steel pound for pound and is used in certain places instead of steel. Other
>materials may be stronger but more expensive to create. Most applications
>depend on certain things such as cost, ability to work with it, weight,
>degrading properties etc. So the material chosen fits these criteria the
>best possible and that is the material that would be used. Hope this helps!
>M.Baldwin
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>Silk has a stronger tensile strength (won't tear apart when stretched) than
>steel but is not rigid.
>
>PF
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