*** lc p. 16 Who Designed It First? ***
? Natural product: Orb-weaving spiders produce seven types of silk. The sturdiest, known as dragline silk, is lighter than cotton yet, ounce for ounce, is stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar. If enlarged to the size of a football field, a web of dragline silk 0.4 inch [1 cm] thick with strands 1.6 inches [4 cm] apart could stop a jumbo jet in flight! Spiders produce dragline silk at room temperature, using water as a solvent.
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Microscopic view of spider silk being secreted
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Copyright Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.