What Makes Spider Silk So Strong?

Some people are scared of them, others are fascinated by them, and many feel both ways about spiders. There’s more to spiders than simply being a reason to call pest control near Dublin, and learning about them might make you less afraid. Watch this video to find out what makes spider silk so strong.

You’ve probably walked through a spider web in the dark before, and you might have noticed that it doesn’t just snap and fall apart all at once. These webs are very ductile, which means they stretch out rather than break immediately. First the thread is pulled, then its proteins unfold and the thread stiffens before gradually breaking apart. Hydrogen bonds repeatedly reform in an attempt to keep the thread together, and watery droplets make the spider silk more elastic and thus better able to resist breaking.