The effect of spinning conditions on the mechanics of a spider's dragline silk
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Open Access
- 22 November 2001
- journal article
- Published by The Royal Society in Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences
- Vol. 268 (1483) , 2339-2346
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1590
Abstract
We studied the mechanical properties of dragline threads of the edible golden silk spider Nephila edulis that are produced under spinning speeds ranging from 0.1 to 400 mm s−1 and temperatures ranging from 5 to 40°C. These conditions affected the silk in all of the mechanical traits we tested (strain at breaking, breaking energy, initial Young's modulus and point of yielding). We argue that both trade–offs (between mechanical properties) and constraints (in the manufacturing process) have a large role in defining spider silk fibres.Keywords
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