MIT Labs Moves Ahead In Synthesizing Spider Silk

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MIT Labs Moves Ahead In Synthesizing Spider Silk

Posted by Zonk on Saturday January 20, 2007 @07:14PM from the spiderweave-cap-of-the-bear dept.

icepick72 writes in with a link to an ExtremeTech article on new methods for creating synthetic spider silk. This material, like lycra in many ways, has a number of unique properties. The MIT lab that created it is being monitored by military elements, keenly interested in applications of this material to front-line technologies. From the article: "The secret of spider silk's combined strength and flexibility, according to scientists, has to do with the arrangement of the nano-crystalline reinforcement of the silk as it is being produced--in other words, the way these tiny crystals are oriented towards (and adhere to) the stretchy protein. Emulating this process in a synthetic polymer, the MIT team focused on reinforcing solutions of commercial rubbery substance known as polyurethane elastomer with nano-sized clay platelets instead of simply heating and mixing the molten plastics with reinforcing agents."

135 comments

Spiderman! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 19:16 · Score: 0

They can make spiderman outfits...that... look like hte movie...
1. Re:Spiderman! by Instine · 2007-01-20 22:45 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  With this :
  
  http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/1 1/0430240
  
  We may have sussed it.
  
  --
  Because you can - or because you should?
I love these kinds of statements by peektwice · 2007-01-20 19:18 · Score: 4, Funny

Scientists have previously suggested that a mere pencil-thick strand of silk could actually stop a Boeing 747 in mid flight. Sounds like "It can transmit the entire library of congress in less than a minute."
If the author of TFA needs to dumb it down for him/herself, fine. But I wish they wouldn't assume that we all have a G.W.Bush I.Q.

--
Other than this text, there is no discernible information contained in this sig.
1. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Lord+Kano · 2007-01-20 19:26 · Score: 1, Flamebait
  
  But I wish they wouldn't assume that we all have a G.W.Bush I.Q.
  
  Yeah really! Many of us are too smart to graduate from an Ivy League University and be elected President, twice.
  
  LK
  
  --
  "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
2. Re:I love these kinds of statements by TapeCutter · 2007-01-20 19:35 · Score: 1
  
  I think the Douglas Adam's quote about power and presidents applies here :)
  
  --
  And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
3. Re:I love these kinds of statements by iminplaya · 2007-01-20 19:52 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Many of us are too smart to graduate from an Ivy League University and be elected President, twice.
  
  Yeah, and we all know how to hack into school records and voting machines, too. Daddy, I wanna be president :-Q~
  
  --
  What?
4. Re:I love these kinds of statements by sarahbau · 2007-01-20 19:55 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Sounds like "It can transmit the entire library of congress in less than a minute."
  If the author of TFA needs to dumb it down for him/herself, fine. But I wish they wouldn't assume that we all have a G.W.Bush I.Q. I hate it when they say something like "as long as 4200 garbage trucks lined up end to end." Am I supposed to visualize that? How long is a garbage truck exactly? It would be much easier for me to understand the scale of something if they actually gave the size instead of trying to relate it in terms of something else.
5. Re:I love these kinds of statements by DJCacophony · 2007-01-20 20:17 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  1. When you're trying to visualize something, it's easier to relate it to something you see often. Which do you see more often, 30 rulers lined end to end, or a garbage truck?
  
  2. Its easier to visualize less of something than more of something. Which is easier to visualize, a TV that is the height of 100,000 grains of sand, or a TV that is the width of a two-person sofa?
  
  --
  Slow Down, Cowboy! It's been 60 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment.
6. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Divebus · 2007-01-20 20:18 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  ...a mere pencil-thick strand of silk could actually stop a Boeing 747 in mid flight
  
  Ohhh... this stuff would make fabulous condoms. They could recover the entire R&D budget in three weekends.
  
  --
  
  Most of the stuff on /. won't survive first contact with facts.
7. Re:I love these kinds of statements by kestasjk · 2007-01-20 20:30 · Score: 1
  
  If the author of TFA needs to dumb it down for him/herself, fine. But I wish they wouldn't assume that we all have a G.W.Bush I.Q.
  It seemed like quite an illuminating example to me..
  
  Would you prefer "it can withstand an impulsive force of 4.1x10^7 N"? Do you want to feel smart or just get a feel for what they're up to?
  (For the pedantic; yes that figure may well be off by an order of magnitude.)
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
8. Re:I love these kinds of statements by davester666 · 2007-01-20 21:33 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  But less friction is involved with stopping a 747...
  
  --
  Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
9. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 21:44 · Score: 0
  
  I think that depends on who they market it to. If they tried to target the Slashdot crowd, there would be no way they could recover the costs.
10. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 21:47 · Score: 0
  
  30 rulers end to end.
  
  I don't do mornings, and that's when the trucks come here (I assume).
11. Re:I love these kinds of statements by massivefoot · 2007-01-20 22:14 · Score: 1
  
  Your figure could be correct. Using data from Wikipedia for a Boeing 747-400, we have a cruise speed of 913 km/h = 253.6 m/s, and a maximum weight of 396890kg giving a fully loaded aircraft in flight a momentum of 1.01x10^8 kg m s^-1. However the empty weight is less than half this figure, so a lightly loaded 747 flying slowly could have a momentum of 4.1x10^7 kg m s^-1.
  
  What is wrong though is your unit and your term "impulsive force". Impulse (which is indeed what we should be talking about when we want to bring a moving body to rest) is the time integral of force, and has units of Newton seconds, not Newtons.
  
  And yes, I would prefer 1.01x10^8 Ns to "can stop a 747."
12. Re:I love these kinds of statements by 91degrees · 2007-01-20 23:20 · Score: 4, Funny
  It does depend. Something like "The size of a football pitch" is fine for indicating area. We all know roughly what that looks like. But all too often we see silly examples. Like that 747 example. Is that good? I've never tried stopping a 747 in mid flight. What sort of thickness would you need to lift a person or tow a car? I've seen climbing ropes and towing ropes so I have a frame of reference. And It's bad when there are too many. I've never seen 4200 garbage trucks.
  
  I remember reading that a particular hangar was "As tall as an olympic swimming pool on its end". This irritated me for two reasons.
  
  I've never seen an olympic swimming pool on its end.
  
  If you did that, the water would pour out.
13. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Oligonicella · 2007-01-21 00:56 · Score: 1
  
  So, you can neither imagine turning the swimming pool through 90o or that it's empty?
14. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Oligonicella · 2007-01-21 01:00 · Score: 0, Offtopic
  
  I wonder if you could get a GPA higher than Kerry's?
15. Re:I love these kinds of statements by aproposofwhat · 2007-01-21 01:00 · Score: 1
  
  When I read the comment about stopping 747s in mid flight, I immediately had a vision of a huge net of this material covering the Whitehouse and the Pentagon, ready for the next time those black-hatted Al-Qaeda guys try to pull a fast one on Cowboy George and the Neocon posse!
  
  --
  One swallow does not a fellatrix make
16. Re:I love these kinds of statements by eMbry00s · 2007-01-21 01:22 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not so sure about that. I would imagine many people's feelings go along the lines of SPIDER SILK ON MY PENIS OH MY GOD
17. Re:I love these kinds of statements by 91degrees · 2007-01-21 01:52 · Score: 1
  
  The second pont was just a silly joke.
  
  As for turning it through 90 degrees - no. I couldn't picture that. Without looking up measurements, what size building would you say is the same sort of size?
18. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 02:32 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  "Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man!"
19. Re:I love these kinds of statements by MindStalker · 2007-01-21 03:40 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Something like "a 1/4 mile" is much better in my opinion.
20. Re:I love these kinds of statements by dsanfte · 2007-01-21 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  Most people drive, and will understand distances given in metres to something the length of their trip to the grocery store, or something. At least, that's what I do.
  
  (~2km to my store of choice, 100m to something closer with fewer choices). /I walk
  
  --
  occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
21. Re:I love these kinds of statements by sarahbau · 2007-01-21 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  It does depend. Something like "The size of a football pitch" is fine for indicating area. We all know roughly what that looks like. Actually I have no idea how big that is. I had to Google "football pitch" to even find out that it is a soccer field. This is another annoyance. When they do this, they assume that everyone in the world knows how big something is. Sports balls are some of the most common things they compare to - the size of a baseball, the size of a softball, the size of a football. Is that an American football, or what the rest of the world calls a football? I'm sure there are people in other countries who don't know how big a softball is. It's the size of a grapefruit. Well how big is that? I know what a grapefruit is, but again, I'm sure there are people who don't. 10cm or 4in is a size just about everyone will know.
22. Re:I love these kinds of statements by heinousjay · 2007-01-21 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  I prefer real world examples, possibly because I don't feel a need to flog my brain in front of everyone to keep from feeling inadequate.
  
  --
  Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
23. Re:I love these kinds of statements by heinousjay · 2007-01-21 04:18 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  Four minutes from story to the first boring, unrelated Bush joke. Slashdot is slipping, I expect this useless "comedy" in the first minute. What's wrong with you guys? You losing taste for being not funny? Or maybe it takes you longer to think of a new way to say the same damn thing for the millionth time?
  
  --
  Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
24. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 04:30 · Score: 0
  
  If we're going to be pedantic, note that impulse is the integral of force over time, and hence the more time you allow, the less force is required. The longer the piece of silk, the less force it will supply and the more slowly it will impart the required impulse and stop the place. Ergo, the comment in the article is meaningless without further restriction in terms of the length of the rope or the time allowed.
  
  It seems the article is either trying to tell us about the strength in terms of breaking stress or about some product of breaking stress and elasticity. The latter would actually require units of energy density as in "one gram of the material can store as much elastic energy as a library of congress full of slashdot pedants wastes typing corrections that won't get read during one MS Windows product cycle". Or something.
25. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 04:51 · Score: 0
  
  Pff. Big deal. I could stop a 747 in flight with 4 poodles...one through each turbine.
26. Re:I love these kinds of statements by briancnorton · 2007-01-21 08:37 · Score: 1
  
  There is nothing wrong with using the time-tested "star trek method" of scientific explanation. ("Reverse the polarity of the heisenberg interlopers, it'll be like putting too much air into a balloon") Most people don't have a good frame of reference for tensile strength, so it's not a bad way to put it.
  Also, G. Dub is actually pretty smart. (you don't get to be president by being stupid) He may make poor choices or flub his speech, but neither is a reflection of intelligence.
  
  --
  People who think they know everything really piss off those of us that actually do.
27. Re:I love these kinds of statements by RmB303 · 2007-01-21 09:03 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah really! Many of us are too smart to graduate from an Ivy League University and be elected President, twice. What's even smarter is to be elected twice, having only won one election.
  
  --
  "Without deviation from the norm, 'progress' is not possible." - Frank Zappa
28. Re:I love these kinds of statements by 91degrees · 2007-01-21 09:10 · Score: 1
  
  Well, okay. I made the mistake of assuming that the term "pitch" for a sports field made sense in the US. But an American football field and a soccer field are about the same size and accurate enough for indicating size to most people of a certain nation. But you raise a good point. With national specific items, I agree with you. The size of a quarter is something that is known to all Americans, but not really a good indicator outside. But is 10cm really a useful size? I'm sure most Americans and most British people over the age of 50 aren't going to have any idea. Most Europens will probably struggle with 4 inches. I'm sure more people have seen a grapefruit than regularly use either of those measurements. And when someone talks about 1kg, I tend to think how heavy a 1kg bag of sugar is to get some idea of the weight we're talking about.
29. Re:I love these kinds of statements by LordoftheLemmings · 2007-01-21 09:13 · Score: 2
  
  Al Gore didn't win. Get over it. I'm am so sick and tired of people saying he didn't win. He did win you know what my proof is? That he is actually in office.
30. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Tolleman · 2007-01-21 09:36 · Score: 1
  
  So O.J. is innocent?
31. Re:I love these kinds of statements by RmB303 · 2007-01-21 09:54 · Score: 0
  
  If you trust Bush junior, why not trust Carter?
  "Well, I would say that in the year 2000 the country failed abysmally in the presidential election process. There's no doubt in my mind that Al Gore was elected president. He received the most votes nationwide and in my opinion he also received the most votes in Florida. And the decision was made, as you know, by a 5-4 vote on a highly partisan basis by the US Supreme Court. I would say in 2000 there was a failure. The year 2004 is hard to grade. I don't have any detailed information about what actually went on in Ohio. If Ohio had gone one way or the other it would have changed the outcome of the election. And the only thing that I know about Ohio was that there's general consensus, that the secretary of state of Ohio, who was responsible for the administration of elections was highly partisan in his public approach and perhaps even in his private administration but I don't know about that."
  http://www.american.edu/media/speeches/carter.htm
  Disclaimer: I'm not an American, so do not know how liked Jimmy Carter actually is, but I don't reply on Fox for my dose of world news, and many respected UK journalists/news agencies were quite open in their opinion that Bush actually lost the 2000 election.
  
  --
  "Without deviation from the norm, 'progress' is not possible." - Frank Zappa
32. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Lord+Kano · 2007-01-21 09:58 · Score: -1, Troll
  
  Perhaps not "Innocent", but certainly "not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt".
  
  LK
  
  --
  "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
33. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Lord+Kano · 2007-01-21 10:02 · Score: 1
  
  Ohhh... this stuff would make fabulous condoms. They could recover the entire R&D budget in three weekends.
  
  Maybe you have no problem wrapping your penis in a material strong enough to liquify it, but I don't think that most of the rest of us would be quite so willing to risk it.
  
  LK
  
  --
  "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
34. Re:I love these kinds of statements by DescentToCocytus · 2007-01-21 10:09 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds like "It can transmit the entire library of congress in less than a minute."
  If the author of TFA needs to dumb it down for him/herself, fine. But I wish they wouldn't assume that we all have a G.W.Bush I.Q. I'm guessing the target demographic of that publication is one that wouldn't know what to do with a bunch of math which explained the tensile strength directly. This isn't a scientific journal, it is a publication designed to get the general public excited about science. For that purpose, as stupid as the comparison is, I think the statement functions quite well.
  
  On that note; anyone care to take the time to calculate the kinetic energy of a 747 in flight and use that to figure out if this would be strong enough for construction of a space elevator? Space nerds, fire up those salivary glands and engage in intense futurist fantasizing.
  
  /drool
35. Re:I love these kinds of statements by HiggsBison · 2007-01-21 12:21 · Score: 1
  
  30 rulers lined end to end, or a garbage truck?
  
  Something like "a 1/4 mile" is much better in my opinion.
  
  Now that is one big-assed garbage truck!
  
  --
  My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
36. Re:I love these kinds of statements by StikyPad · 2007-01-21 12:31 · Score: 1
  
  Scientists have previously suggested that a mere pencil-thick strand of silk could actually stop a Boeing 747 in mid flight.
  
  What does that even mean? I'm pretty sure that even if the strand didn't break, the plane would slice clean through or rip apart rather than stopping. I think -- and I could be way off here -- that simply providing the lifting strength of the strand would be more useful, either in tons, in common cargo, or in comparison to another well-known line material, such as steel cable. "A 1/4" thick strand of silk could lift 100,000 tons -- as much as 4 2"-thick braided steel crane cables," would be a much better comparison.
  
  (Note that I pulled those numbers out of my silk-spinner.. I have no idea what the actual figures are since, as we established, I am unfamiliar with the units of force of "747s in mid-flight.")
  
  On a side note, how many bugs are going to get stuck in this stuff, and what happens if it gets in your hair?
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
37. Re:I love these kinds of statements by HiggsBison · 2007-01-21 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  But is 10cm really a useful size? I'm sure most Americans and most British people over the age of 50 aren't going to have any idea.
  
  10cm would be ...oh, roughly the size of one of those (IMHO way too fucking common) 100mm cigarrettes, wouldn't it?
  
  And a kg would be about what a liter of soda pop weighs. And a liter of soda pop would be about... oh, maybe a liter.
  
  --
  My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
38. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous+McCartneyf · 2007-01-21 12:52 · Score: 1
  
  /. did a lot of joking about the size of various football fields when an ice shelf as big as 11,000 of some variety of them (or, in more normal units, 66 sq. km) broke away from part of Canada. http://science.slashdot.com/article.pl?sid=06/12/2 9/1946227
  I refuse to use grapefruit for measurements. They vary in size more than you might imagine. I've seen grapefruit the size of oranges, & vice versa. ;)
  Americans generally use bags of sugar that are two-and-a-half pounds or five pounds. The kg is on there, but we don't always look.
  
  --
  There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
39. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 16:08 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah really! Many of us are too smart to graduate from an Ivy League University and be elected President, twice.
  
  I won't argue about the elections, because as much as I detest the shithead I believe he won.
  
  On the education front, apparently you don't know all the much about so-called "Ivy League" institutions. It is quite possible to "good ole boy" your way through the uni, and I have no doubt that's what he did. Even some of the conservatives I know admit that they think Cheney is the brains behind the operation.
40. Re:I love these kinds of statements by Half+a+dent · 2007-01-21 21:39 · Score: 1
  
  I for one would not want to include the words "pencil thick" when talking about condoms!
41. Re:I love these kinds of statements by joto · 2007-01-21 22:38 · Score: 1
  
  But is 10cm really a useful size?
  
  Well, it's embarassingly short if we're talking about a dick. But size doesn't matter, right?
  I'm sure most Americans and most British people over the age of 50 aren't going to have any idea.
  
  But they do have an idea of the tensile strength of a rope needed to stop a Boeing 747 in mid flight? At least with 10 cm, they can divide it by 2.54 cm/inch, and get the result in inches.
  Most Europens will probably struggle with 4 inches
  
  Most europeans know that an inch is about 2.5 cm. Surprisingly many know that it is 2.54 cm. This is because most europeans have to deal with inches in some few situations, because of american standards. Anyway, it's not particularly hard for an author to use both sane and american units. At least, it should be easier than to come up with these visualizations of passenger jet planes and citrus fruits.
  I'm sure more people have seen a grapefruit than regularly use either of those measurements.
  
  I'm quite sure most people have heard about either 10 cm, or 4 inches. If they haven't, they probably aren't able to read either. Then again, yeah, if you manage to find someone who haven't seen a grapefruit, I'll bet (s)he doesn't recognize 10 cm or 4 inches either. And finally, grapefruit is a pretty non-typical example, as grapefruits actually tend to be about 10 cm. If you had said e.g. tomatoes, the size varies a lot more.
  And when someone talks about 1kg, I tend to think how heavy a 1kg bag of sugar is to get some idea of the weight we're talking about.
  
  Exactly. You think of a bag of sugar as 1 kg. I usually buy unrefined sugar, which comes in 500g packages. So telling me to compare with a bag of sugar is totally useless. Other people might buy sugar in other quantities. And many have rarely considered the weight of the packages, as they usually handle opened packages, or use their own container to store sugar. Finally, some people never cook, and may not even know in what form sugar is retailed.
42. Re:I love these kinds of statements by spun · 2007-01-22 04:32 · Score: 1
  
  From reading the wikipedia articles on snow, it seems that relativly high temperature, as well as cold temperature snow forms the familiar plate and dendrite shapes. Snow that forms between -5C and -10C takes the shape of needles or hollow columns. What you are seeing there is a snowflake that formed as a hollow column, then entered either a warmer a colder zone where the traditional dendritic plate shapes formed at the end of the hollow column.
  
  Here's an even more interesting picture. The same process happened, then rime frost (frozen fog) formed on the plates. Weird looking!
  
  --
  - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
43. Re:I love these kinds of statements by shawb · 2007-01-22 06:39 · Score: 1
  
  I thought conservatives pretty much believed that before the 2000 election even happened. I was working in construction the summer of 2000 and was therefore exposed to a fair amount of right wing talk radio. I distinctly remember Rush Limbaugh going on and on about how Cheney was adding a sense of "Gravitas" to the campaign.
  
  --
  I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
44. Re:I love these kinds of statements by amRadioHed · 2007-01-22 12:33 · Score: 1
  
  Many of us don't find Bush's lack of intelligence funny at all. Regardless as the most famous idiot of our times he is useful for comparisons.
  
  --
  We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
45. Re:I love these kinds of statements by amRadioHed · 2007-01-22 12:36 · Score: 1
  
  I'm pretty sure that even if the strand didn't break, the plane would slice clean through or rip apart rather than stopping. Ripping the plane in two wouldn't stop it?
  
  --
  We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
Back to spiders... by Nulagrithom · 2007-01-20 19:19 · Score: 0, Redundant

Perhaps they should try creating large metal spider butts in order to replicate the spider-silk process?

Seriously though, I want to know why it's so difficult for us to make it, but a spider just kind of shits it out. How'd this happen?
1. Re:Back to spiders... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 19:41 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  > Seriously though, I want to know why it's so difficult for us to make it, but a spider just kind of shits it out. How'd this happen?
  It's funnier than spiders shitting it out, it's all about the goats shooting it out of their tits.
  And in memory of the first AC to make me spew coffee not just all over the keyboard and the monitor, but into the adjacent cube, the following comment didn't quite make it into the archives some six years ago:
  
  "In case you don't read the article, silk does not just come shooting out of their tits. It's like this..."
  
  someday, man, someday.
  
  If it's any consolation, the goats probably do shoot it outa their tits by now.
2. Re:Back to spiders... by theurge14 · 2007-01-20 19:48 · Score: 1
  
  Give us a break, spiders have about a 400 million year head start on us.
3. Re:Back to spiders... by TapeCutter · 2007-01-20 20:02 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  "large metal spider butts"
  
  I hear one group tried this, but a soon as one of them mentioned the word "large", the female spider attached to the butt ate the whole group.
  
  Seriously, I worked in a nylon spinning plant a long time ago and a large knitting machine looks a bit like a spiders butt Howvever, it takes a five story tall "machine" engineered with incredible presicion to make the fine threads that go into a stocking, the static on some parts of the machine can throw a spark over a foot long.
  
  I don't know exactly how a spider's butt works (or for that matter a nylon plant), but I assume the spiders superiour abilities are related to the intricate and amazingly complex nano machinery inside every cell of the spider.
  
  --
  And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
4. Re:Back to spiders... by CrackedButter · 2007-01-20 21:08 · Score: 1
  
  So have winged reptiles (birds), and look where we are now after what the Wright Brothers achieved with first flight, in little over a century. What is your point?
  
  --
  Jonathanjk.com
5. Re:Back to spiders... by Richard+Kirk · 2007-01-21 00:05 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Long chain molecules contain lots of carbon-carbon bonds. The polythene thing you get at the top of a six-pack of beer has lots of these chain molecules, but it is fairly weak. Stretch a bit of it, and you will see a sudden jump between the fat, unstretched material, and the skinnier, stretched material. The stretched stuff is a lot less stretchy. What you have done when you stretched the thing was to align the molecules, so you have chains of carbon-carbon bonds in the direction you have stretched the thing. Mylar - the stuff you sometimes find inside bicycle wheels and protective cloting is strengthened in this way.
  That is only part of the secret. A diamond is made of carbon-carbon bonds in every direction, but you can shatter a diamond, and when you do the energies absorbed by the diamond are pretty tiny. If you want to make something tough, you will need some strategy for the thing to yeild and absorb energy. Metals yeild when they are stressed beyond a certain point, but they can still keep their strength. Carbon fibre materials can crack, but the carbon fibres have two strategies for resisting the crack. The fibres can separate from the glue matrix. If a fibre lies across the gap, then a lot of work is necessary to pull the fibtre free of the matrix as the crack opens. If the fibre lies along the crack, it can stop the crack becayse the crack may run around the fibre surface, and so end up with a blunt tip (the sharper the crack tip is, the more it concentrates the stress). ness of the crack tip .
  Another thing you will probably need in a sting is some ability to absorb energy without yeilding. Steel wire is a lot lighter for the same ability to support load, but climbers do not use it. The first thing a climber's rope needs to do is to absorb the energy from the falling climber. If it does not stretch, then the energy has to be absorbed over a small distance, so the force needed has to be that much bigger. Making where the threads so not go straight up and down have more 'give' in them.
  Okay - I have cut a lot of corners in this explanation. There are scientific terms for strength, hardness, toughness, and things like that that are often confused in ordinary speech. However, I hope I have got across the basics - making long chain molecules isn't enough - you have to make them go up and down the thread; but not straight up and down or the thread will not stretch; and you have to glue them together with something sticky that absorbs energy as it yeilds. A spider's butt probably manages this because it is small, and the spinarets are a complex shape. All the bits seem do-able, but it's a good trick: people have been trying for many years, and we are not close yet. Maybe, there is another trick in there we haven't suspected yet.
  PS: The process probably won't scale. So, you will have thousands of minature spider's butts, rather than one giant one.
6. Re:Back to spiders... by jonwil · 2007-01-21 00:26 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe they need Cyborg spiders ala The Web Between The Worlds :)
7. Re:Back to spiders... by Oligonicella · 2007-01-21 01:03 · Score: 1
  
  Was that supposed to be funny or do you have no actual understanding of what you're talking about?
8. Re:Back to spiders... by ElDuque · 2007-01-21 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  Nice explanation; I'd like to add that climbers don't use steel cables because, like you said, they absorb the energy of the fall over a short distance - very uncomfortable/dangerous to the climber when he or she falls.
  
  With a rope you get a nice "stretch" and bounce rather than jerked to a stop and a possible case of whiplash.
  
  For the same reason, safety lanyards used to tie off in construction have a "bunched" portion that expands under load.
9. Re:Back to spiders... by Hubbell · 2007-01-21 03:03 · Score: 1
  
  The Wright Brothers were years behind the actual inventors to build the first sustained flight capable aeroplane, and this was done in Europe.
10. Re:Back to spiders... by visualight · 2007-01-21 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  Commonly referred to as "static" line, and "shock" line.
  
  --
  Samsung took back my unlocked bootloader because Google wants me to rent movies. They're both evil.
11. Re:Back to spiders... by lhbtubajon · 2007-01-21 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  The Wright brothers developed POWERED flight. That is a hugely different thing than a glider that can ride thermals.
  
  Powered flight = birds
  
  Non-powered flight = flying squirrel
  
  Both are impressive achievements, but be real. The Wright brothers fathered modern air travel.
12. Re:Back to spiders... by Blighten · 2007-01-21 04:18 · Score: 1
  
  Actually it's the silk protein that is produced in the goat's milk. The process of creating the silk for the web deals with pushing it through (varying the amount of water mixed with it) the silk sac. The gene (and protein) sequence for the silk protein is known, but the actually process of making it into a web is still in the R&D department. Sorry if the parent already said this.. I'm too lazy to look. :P
13. Re:Back to spiders... by CharlieG · 2007-01-21 04:39 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  also why seatbelts have a stiched "break away" section - the stitching gives, and slows you before you take the full florce of the belt. Also why you are supposed to replace the seatbelt after a crash (or at least inspect the stiching)
  
  --
  -- 73 de KG2V For the Children - RKBA! "You are what you do when it counts" - the Masso
14. Re:Back to spiders... by CrackedButter · 2007-01-21 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  I think you are splitting hairs there, its still flight and it is the only way mankind is going to match and exceed natural flight.
  
  --
  Jonathanjk.com
15. Re:Back to spiders... by smoker2 · 2007-01-21 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  A lot of spiders webs have blobs of goo every so often along any particular stretch of silk. The surface tension of the blob of goo pulls the nearest sections of silk inside the blob and so pulls the line taught. When the prey impacts the web, the silk inside the blob is stretched out and this absorbs the stress, so that the web doesn't break.
16. Re:Back to spiders... by shawb · 2007-01-22 07:14 · Score: 1
  
  Wow. If you watch the version and with commentary and have enough experience with cellular biology to understand the terminology, you will see that the whole video is just limited parts of the process for a cell to signal that it needs a white blood cell to come and destroy an invader. Believing that we haven't yet been able to bring the large scale manufacture of spider silk in synthetic factory conditions isn't that much of a stretch.
  
  --
  I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
17. Re:Back to spiders... by TapeCutter · 2007-01-22 15:36 · Score: 1
  
  I have seen the commentary version and have a rough idea of what is happening but I prefer the music version, it's much kinder to my layman's brain. :)
  
  --
  And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Spiderman by AnnuitCoeptis · 2007-01-20 19:26 · Score: 1

They are reinventing the prior art of his.
Be careful, MIT by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 19:26 · Score: 5, Funny

With great power comes great responsibility. Remember that, MIT. Remember that.
A third useful property of spider silk by AutumnLeaf · 2007-01-20 19:27 · Score: 1

Reproducing the elasticity and strength attributes would be great. It would be even cooler if the synthetic materials developed were also biodegradable.
1. Re:A third useful property of spider silk by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 19:52 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Well I guess that would limit it to indoor applications..... :*S
2. Re:A third useful property of spider silk by corbettw · 2007-01-21 07:09 · Score: 1
  
  It would be even cooler if the synthetic materials developed were also biodegradable.
  
  Except if it were, it would seriously impact the longevity of the product, rendering it useless for things like construction. Who wants a building that's going to fall apart in ten or twenty years because of bacteria eating it?
  
  --
  God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
3. Re:A third useful property of spider silk by paeanblack · 2007-01-21 11:27 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Except if it were, it would seriously impact the longevity of the product, rendering it useless for things like construction. Who wants a building that's going to fall apart in ten or twenty years because of bacteria eating it?
  
  Developers, Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Laborers, Brokers, Agents, Lawyers, and everyone else who makes money replacing it.
  
  The world learned a long time ago that there is no money to be made in selling products that last.
4. Re:A third useful property of spider silk by Twinbee · 2007-01-22 05:51 · Score: 1
  
  Well those energy efficient bulbs last 10 years, and hard drives are more reliable than before (Seagate offer 5 year warranty on some).
  
  Judging from past comments on slashdot, I'm pretty sure there would be massive pressure from many sectors for long-life products despite the profit motive you speak of.
  
  Perhaps you're right when it comes to razor blades though.
  
  --
  Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
5. Re:A third useful property of spider silk by amRadioHed · 2007-01-22 12:46 · Score: 1
  
  I guess that's why wood never took off as a building material.
  
  --
  We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
6. Re:A third useful property of spider silk by Grishnakh · 2007-01-23 06:36 · Score: 1
  
  Don't be ridiculous. All those people are still beholden to the customer, and no one (especially large companies building large buildings) is going to be stupid enough to buy a building made of a material that will fall apart so fast. Plus, it wouldn't meet building codes, so it wouldn't be legal to use it anyway.
military applications by drDugan · 2007-01-20 19:31 · Score: 1

"it is being monitored by military elements, keenly interested in applications of this material to front-line technologies"

I smell another 'non-lethal' crowd control option brewing.

"Keep them people down with webs, Private!"
GW Bush is not that dumb. by www.sorehands.com · 2007-01-20 19:43 · Score: -1, Offtopic

People voted for him.

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Fight Spammers!
1. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Fizzl · 2007-01-20 20:11 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  Is that supposed to be some kind of proof? I see no connection between Bush being a flaming moron and majority of flaming morons voting him.
  Your whole country is composed of half-wits.
  
  --
  Bot Assisted Blogging
2. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Basehart · 2007-01-20 20:16 · Score: 0
  
  "Your whole country is composed of half-wits."
  
  I was enjoying your comments until I got to that bit.
3. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 20:17 · Score: 0
  
  You missed the point, champ. If he were such an idiot, how'd he beat his "obviously smarter" opponent, who could have just acted similarly to win over the "whole country" of half-wits?
  
  To put it in terms you might be able to grasp, this is a proof by contraction.
4. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 20:38 · Score: 0
  
  So what?
  Many US-presidents are infamously dumb.
  So what does that prove again?
5. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by MadUndergrad · 2007-01-20 22:07 · Score: 1
  
  I believe that the term is "he fell ass-backwards into the Presidency".
6. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Fizzl · 2007-01-20 22:10 · Score: 1
  
  Name.
  All it takes to sway a moron without an opinion is the name.
  
  --
  Bot Assisted Blogging
7. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by fredrated · 2007-01-20 22:11 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  So in your world there is a correlation between political achievement and intelligence?
  
  My god, which world is this you are from? If this is true it must be a paradise on Earth! If we could but all live there.
8. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 22:16 · Score: 0
  
  Well, thanks. I've seen my daily affirmation of the consequent. Now I can see about making breakfast.
9. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by MadUndergrad · 2007-01-20 22:41 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  That's a rather unfair generalization. I'd say we average about .6wit. There are maybe 10% with their wits about them, 10% totally witless, about 55% are half-wits, and 25% are .8wits. Unfortunately the witless and the halfwits come out in droves, and most vote strait-ticket for whomever opposes gay people and reason.
10. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Hognoxious · 2007-01-20 23:08 · Score: 1
  
  What a stupid generalisation. What about all the quarter-wits?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
11. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 00:20 · Score: 0
  
  Your whole country is composed of half-wits.
  Now see here! I am not a mere half-wit. I am a FULL half-wit. That makes a lot of difference.
  Burp. Waiter! Bring me some of them flaming snails and a Coke! (Man, these Frenchies over here in Paree is a bunch o dummies. They don't even have KFC.)
12. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by The_Wilschon · 2007-01-21 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  My god, which world is this you are from? If this is true it must be a paradise on Earth!
  No no, that's the whole idea. It is not on Earth! Silly hunams...
  
  --
  SIGSEGV caught, terminating
  
  wait... not that kind of sig.
13. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by mobby_6kl · 2007-01-21 03:52 · Score: 1
  
  Of course there is a correlation between political achievement and intelligence, even on this planet. I think if that if you calculate the coefficient, it will show a strong correlation, something around -0.92 or so.
14. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by jcorno · 2007-01-21 04:18 · Score: 1
  
  My god, which world is this you are from? If this is true it must be a paradise on Earth! If we could but all live there.
  
  If we all lived there, it wouldn't be like that any more.
15. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by Fizzl · 2007-01-21 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you :)
  You'r answer to my ill tempered trolling was most excellent :)
  
  --
  Bot Assisted Blogging
16. Re:GW Bush is not that dumb. by loki_tiwaz · 2007-01-21 21:31 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  There was this thing some chap invented quite some time ago, I think his name must have been Bell, called the 'Bell Curve', representing the statistical patterns that appear in nearly any collection of data one cares to poke a stick at.
  
  Being that 98% of the majority (51% as it is considered in politics generally) are halfwits, it is no wonder we are in the mess we are in. This segment of the population is the most pliable to political trickery and least likely to notice they are being lied to.
  
  The Republic is a tyranny of the majority of idiots who have no business determining the process of social change, and the God-King Emperor/President is just the face selected from the two options which is the least ugly. Democracy is a way to make everyone think that they are participating when in actual fact the outcomes are determined by those with the most money to brainwash the most people, and up the chain to the ones lending out imaginary money who decide who gets to play with the next wave of funny money and thereby giving them control over politics by selecting which groups they are the most generous with.
  
  I don't know if there is anything that can be done to change the shape of it. For example, if we selectively culled those below 100 IQ (assuming one can settle on a test which gives a useful answer) then the whole curve just shifts into the right hand side from before and assumes the same structure. Is intelligence at issue, or is it emotional lability? I have met plenty of clever people who are brainwashed or believe the most inordinate nonsense. Lao Tzu would say that increasing the cleverness of the people would just lead to more sophisticated forms of trickery and crime. Making people dumber will not help either.
  
  I gave up some years ago when I realised that the only thing one can do is find a way to advance towards one's goals, and use other people to define the faults we wish to eradicate in ourselves.
  
  Anyway, back to the topic - synthetic spider silk sure would improve safety for mountain climbers, especially if combined with that gecko sticky stuff one of the first comments referenced, and probably would be very useful for special ops sneaking into enemy installations and planting charges. The idea of a device one can fire a very long and thin but extremely strong rope that ends in a sticky surface that will literally stick to anything strongly enough to hold the weight of a fully laden soldier is a very interesting piece of technology.
  
  Imagine the wonderful pranks such technology would enable. Now that is what I am most interested in.
A many-splendoured thing by DarkIye · 2007-01-20 19:55 · Score: 1, Interesting

"This material, like lycra in many ways..."
Ok, I get that...
"...has a number of unique properties."
Wait. So, is it like lycra, or mostly unique?

--
To prevent this day from getting worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD TH
1. Re:A many-splendoured thing by sarahbau · 2007-01-20 19:57 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Wait. So, is it like lycra, or mostly unique? Like Lycra, only stickier?
2. Re:A many-splendoured thing by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 20:21 · Score: 0
  
  Sounds like it's like Lycra in many ways, but it still has a number of unique properties.
  
  What about that is so hard to understand?
3. Re:A many-splendoured thing by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 05:55 · Score: 0
  
  "This material, like lycra in many ways..."
  Ok, I get that...
  "...has a number of unique properties."
  Wait. So, is it like lycra, or mostly unique?
  
  There is nothing contradictory in those two statements. If 90% of the material's properties match the behavior of lycra, that would qualify as "like lycra in many ways." If the other 10% are unique and found in no other material, I would say that is "a number of unique properties." Note, I have not RTFA and am just making up numbers to prove a point.
Lycra, Synthetic Spider Silk, Science Labs... by bluemonq · 2007-01-20 19:58 · Score: 1

If I hear anything about flying mini-gliders, I'm going to seriously freak...
Kevlar Replacement by Freaky+Spook · 2007-01-20 20:02 · Score: 4, Informative

I was watching a show about 10 years into early research into this.

The biggest interest was extremley light weight bullet proof clothing.

The military would be very interested if they can get their infantry to loose several kilo's of body armour.
1. Re:Kevlar Replacement by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-20 21:46 · Score: 0
  
  Dragonskin
2. Re:Kevlar Replacement by javaxjb · 2007-01-21 01:23 · Score: 1
  
  Well, that would not be the response of the USAF when Staff Sergeant Michelle Manhart appeared in loose clothing http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kluger/the-nak ed-drill-sergeant_b_39035.html (I like the line from the article, "Unfortunately for Manhart, the Air Force's top brass wasn't exactly titillated").
  
  --
  Programmers in mirror are brighter than they appear
3. Re:Kevlar Replacement by Simetrical · 2007-01-21 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  I was watching a show about 10 years
  Wow, you have a lot more patience for long TV shows than I do.
  
  --
  MediaWiki developer, Total War Center sysadmin
4. Re:Kevlar Replacement by lilmouse · 2007-01-21 19:19 · Score: 1
  
  Now, make it even better: coat it with "starlite", and then you've got body armor that's capable of withstanding a nuclear blast.
  
  Man, I've wanted this since the early 90s, and we still haven't got it...
  
  --LWM
So where's my indestructible poncho? by agrippa_cash · 2007-01-20 20:11 · Score: 1

Between this and the http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/02/0 8/2215253&tid=99GM goats we should have Alec Guinness' white suit in no time.
Pravin Lal by UrktheTurk · 2007-01-20 20:17 · Score: 1

I don't think we should bother upgrading our troops until we've at least researched Photon Wall.
1. Re:Pravin Lal by d4nowar · 2007-01-20 21:29 · Score: 0
  
  Silksteel alloys is a prerequisite to Photon/Wave Mechanics.
  
  Does this mean we'll have Photon wall soon for our units-err-troops and give them a nice looking 5 for their armor rating?
Well by SeaFox · 2007-01-20 20:57 · Score: 0, Redundant

I, for one, welcome our new SpiderGeek overlords!
That be one of those 'scii-eence' thingamabobs by kalpaha · 2007-01-20 21:04 · Score: 2, Funny

I love the fact that no one understands the summary so everyone just tags the article as 'science'.
1. Re:That be one of those 'scii-eence' thingamabobs by scatter_gather · 2007-01-21 06:21 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  The alternative is to tag it as magic.
SilkSteel Alloys by SMACX+guy · 2007-01-20 21:51 · Score: 3, Informative

Until quite recently, spider silk had been the highest tensile strength of any substance known to man, and the name Silksteel pays homage to the arachnid for good reason.
1. Re:SilkSteel Alloys by dbIII · 2007-01-21 01:46 · Score: 1
  
  Until quite recently, spider silk had been the highest tensile strength of any substance known to man
  
  This is of course utter bullshit. The advantage of silk is that it doesn't weigh much so the strength to weight ratio is good.
2. Re:SilkSteel Alloys by cheese-cube · 2007-01-21 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  I looked at your user page and I have come to the conclusion that you are Sid Meier. I suggest for your next stint you refer to Monopole Magnets. You could work it into an article about the LHC and its fitting as SilkSteel Alloys is a prerequisite of Monopole Magnets.
structural cabling by jcr · 2007-01-20 22:14 · Score: 1

This would make a marvelous material for suspension bridges. It could drastically reduce the weight, which means that the foundations don't need to be as massive (read: expensive).

-jcr

--
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
1. Re:structural cabling by nusuth · 2007-01-20 22:56 · Score: 1
  
  The article is light on details but it seems that they are using unmodified linear polyurethane as the polymer base. In that case, prolonged stretching (due to constant load) will lead to extension set, i.e. the polymer will no longer stretch back if the load is removed. It will also sag, as the "pulling" force will decrease over time. This material is probably suitable for intermittent loads only.
  
  --
  Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!
2. Re:structural cabling by TheGavster · 2007-01-21 11:29 · Score: 1
  
  I was under the impression that most of the task for suspension bridge foundations was to maintain tension in the cables. Since most of the weight being held up by that tension is the road deck and the vehicles crossing the bridge, lighter cables don't seem like that much of a boon. If these cables are more resistant to degradation from, say, saltwater spray, though, that could be a useful property. Since it seems like they're made out of some kind of plastic they could be useful crossing bodies of saltwater.
  
  --
  "Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".
Not really spider silk but this is. by billlion · 2007-01-20 22:18 · Score: 5, Informative

This work at MIT is not really an attempt to make synthetic spider silk but just something with similar properties.

Spider silk is a kind made of protein and the feedstock is a liquid crystal

A company called Spinox Ltd (an Oxford University Spin off -- get it? ha ha ). Here is a note from a Smith Insitute workshop on the topic.

This group is actually trying to emulate what goes on in a spider (biomimetics). The big advantage is that it uses harmless ingredients and low temperatures. Compare for example Kevlar, the manufacture of which needs concentrated sulfuric acid. Spinox details
Tailors rejoice by chowdy · 2007-01-20 23:01 · Score: -1

Spider silk boots will be easier to make.
Spider-Man VS Bear-Man by SilentOneNCW · 2007-01-20 23:50 · Score: 2, Funny

Wow, looks like the U.S. Military will be faced with two options for next generation armour -- this and Troy Hurtubise's Anti-Grizzly Suit. I wonder who would win in a fight to the death?

--
games journalism blog
1. Re:Spider-Man VS Bear-Man by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 00:55 · Score: 0
  
  One is a design piece, the other a material. I'm sure they can find a way to play nice.
DARPA's Real Power-Armor Research by Garrett+Fox · 2007-01-21 01:43 · Score: 1

Increase your odds for the suit -- its inventor upgraded it recently.

Seriously, DARPA has been working with MIT through the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies to develop advanced armor, apparently including powered armor.

--
Revive the Constitution.
1. Re:DARPA's Real Power-Armor Research by ScrewMaster · 2007-01-21 06:47 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Starship Troopers, here we come. I remember being very disappointed in the movie version of Heinlein's book, because I was hoping and expecting the Mobile Infantry to have Powered Suits, and really wanted to see what a modern special-effects team could do with the idea. As described by Juan "Johnny" Rico's character from the novel (source: Wikipedia):
  
  Our suits give us better eyes, better ears, stronger backs (to carry heavier weapons and more ammo), better legs, more intelligence (in the military meaning...), more firepower, greater endurance, less vulnerability.
  
  A suit isn't a space suit - although it can serve as one. it is not primarily armor - although the Knights of the Round Table were not armored as well as we are. It isn't a tank - but a single M.I. [Mobile Infantry] private could take on a squadron of those things and knock them off unassisted...
  
  ...Suited up, you look like a big steel gorilla, armed with gorilla-sized weapons.
  
  The real genius in the design is that you don't have to control the suit; you just wear it, like your clothes, like skin.
  
  The secret lies in negative feedback and amplification.
  
  --
  The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
2. Re:DARPA's Real Power-Armor Research by fifedrum · 2007-01-22 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  loved that book too, the imagry was second to none, and the fight scenes were just fantastic. from the talking bombs to forced-sleep hypnosis, all of would have made an awesome movie, instead we got that crap-fest...
3. Re:DARPA's Real Power-Armor Research by ScrewMaster · 2007-01-22 11:42 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, I was hoping they'd make a sequel that would get back to Heinleins' vision ... and they did make a sequel and it was a double-crapfest. Too bad Heinlein himself wasn't around to keep them on track. They blew it with The Puppet Masters as well, for that matter.
  
  Fortunately, there are a metric ton of other good Heinlein stories: maybe some of them will be made into quality movies.
  
  --
  The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
So what? by mangu · 2007-01-21 03:11 · Score: 2, Insightful

The big advantage is that it uses harmless ingredients and low temperatures. Compare for example Kevlar, the manufacture of which needs concentrated sulfuric acid.

I'm not sure that's such an advantage. There's concentrated sulfuric acid in car batteries, people have been driving cars for a hundred years, how many people have suffered accidents from battery acid in that time? I mean, compared to overall accidents involving cars?

Industrial processes often involve nasty chemicals, at dangerous temperatures and pressures. That's no big deal, one can easily take all the necessary precautions. The problem is when the industrial process consumes a large amount of a limited resource, or when it generates a large amount of waste.
1. Re:So what? by nusuth · 2007-01-21 04:39 · Score: 1
  
  GP is probably a troll. Making polyurethane requires phosgene. Sulfuric acid is far less dangerous.
  
  --
  Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!
2. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-01-21 07:53 · Score: 0
  
  That's no big deal, one can easily take all the necessary precautions.
  
  Funny, if its so easy, then why do so few companies take them? How many billions of dollars in refineries has BP blown up rather than maintaining their equipment? How many superfund sites out there are draining taxpayers wallets to clean up after companies who fled their responsibility to clean up after themselves? How many other sites are there where companies are hoping to wait as long as possible before just declaring bankruptcy and turning them into superfund sites?
I like the condom idea, but by wwphx · 2007-01-21 05:28 · Score: 1

my hunter just got a pattern for an armor that requires spider silk. I wonder if I could use the spider silk, and if so, how long it'll take for the synthetic stuff to make it to Warcraft?

--
When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
Merchandising... by IHC+Navistar · 2007-01-21 06:35 · Score: 1

In addition to licensing the formula to chemical companies and manufacturers, the would make a hell of alot more by licensing to toy companie. THAT would be a huge sale during the next Spider Man release or Christmas season. The problems that happened during the Tickle Me Elmo ordeal would pale in comparison.

--
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
Uh huh.... by nocookieforyou · 2007-01-21 12:31 · Score: 1

and we're trying to become more like spiders because.....? lol and what are they using it for anyway? is it a new technology for soldiers to live in web tents out in the desert or something? Here we go again, looking for new ways to impress ourselves with "technology". Silly people :)
1. Re:Uh huh.... by comradeeroid · 2007-01-22 02:32 · Score: 1
  
  Give us Orbital space elvators!
  A thick enough strand of spider silk equivalent can be used to thether a geosynchronous satelite and then use it as an elevator to transport people and equipment up while we trasport minerals mined in the asteroid belt down. Cheap pre-launch for interplanetary travel.
  Now that beats web tents.
  
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  If you see a rock violating the law of gravity, then the law is wrong, not the rock!
Slashdot wake up! by mattpall · 2007-01-21 15:11 · Score: 1

Did it occur to noone that this research is actually part of a bigger picture? The plan is to make synthetic web so we can make spiders as lazy as we are!!! We'll provide the web, and give the spider some personal time to figure out what they want to do with their life.
My thing's tingling! by Zapotek · 2007-01-21 19:36 · Score: 1

Oh boy, I better get cracking on my Spiderman suit....
Haha, serves you right! by spun · 2007-01-22 04:17 · Score: 1

Now you know how us liberals feel. You guys STILL haven't stopped with the damn Clinton jokes. Tell you what, you guys stop making dumb Clinton jokes, we'll stop making stupdid Bush jokes. Deal?

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- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
MIT Success announcement by bsupak · 2007-01-22 05:16 · Score: 1

We'll know MIT has done it if Cal Tech is suddenly covered in cobwebs one night.
As an occasional fisherman by DRAGONWEEZEL · 2007-01-22 07:25 · Score: 1

I prefer to know things like that in test weight...

20,000,000 pound Test...

That salmon ain't 'gettin away now!

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