Talk:Spider silk

message: At the bottom of the page there is a link to Hagfish. Why? I don't see any reason
to link to Hagfish from this page.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.171.214.96 (talk) 02:58, 19 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Inaccurate text

message: I didn't remove any text, but there is a statement that Nexia has given up research on producing artifical spider silk, and this is not true. Nexia, in collaboration with the University of Wyomming, is producing mass quantities of goat milk that is already enriched with the spider proteins (ADF 3 and ADF 4).
You may have read an old souce... the goats owned by Nexia did indeed produce the silk dope that they were hoping for; however, they found it impossible to spin the liquid into actual threads of silk. The silk dope requires the spinnerettes to properly weave and fold the silk so that it has the correct properties. Nexia, without enough funding, simply could not work it. The project was dropped, and the goats were killed. PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) was upset by the incident, claiming that the slaughter of innocent goats who HAD DONE WHAT THEY WERE EXPECTED TO DO, was inhumane, especially seeing as how genetically altered goats are illegal to sell as a food product, so their death was a waste of life with no benefit to humanity. Of course, to defend Nexia, I must agree that taking care of goats for several years after the funding had been cut and simply waiting for them to die would be an economical hardship on such a business. Nexia is not very good at resource management. -Tillie
A company called Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has brought the research from the University of Wyoming along with research from the University of Notre Dame in a collaberative effort to create a silkworm that is genetically altered to produce spider silk. In a recent press conference at the University of Notre Dame the effort on behalf of the Universities and Kraig Labs prooved to be a success. No goats were harmed in the typing of this footnote. -MFG.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.130.164.53 (talk) 06:49, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: More Inaccurate Text

message: I occasionally have spiders (small ones) in my house, but I can ruin their webs with a simple wave of my hand (though I try not to, since they eat insects).  Do only some species of spiders make strong silk, or are those webs only weak because they are so thin (I can sometimes not even see them under certain lighting conditions, surely an advantageous trait for trapping insects) and they would be tough indeed if woven into a thicker thread or fabric?
The thickness and strength of spider silk varies between spider species.  It also depends on the type of silk being produced, dragline silk is strong and rigid, while eggsac silk has a much lower strength, allowing the young to emerge.
Typically Argiope and Nephila (St andrews cross and Banana spider respectivly) dragline silks are studied for structural applications.  These are both large tropical spiders, the larger size makes them easier to work with, and they produce strong webs to catch larger prey.  In contrast lycosa (wolf spiders)dont create an orb style web, and are largely a hunting spider,  So they produce less types of silk, none with the dragline qualities of an Argiope or Nephila
=== Thickness and density of silk strand ===
How thick is a strand of silk, and what density does the material have? IMHO, this is more interesting than the factoid about the weight of a strand around the earth, which answers none of the questions. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.181.2.44 (talk) 07:30, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Do all spiders make such hard silk? 

message: How thick is a strand of silk, and what density does the material have? IMHO, this is more interesting than the factoid about the weight of a strand around the earth, which answers none of the questions. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.181.2.44 (talk) 07:30, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Thickness and density of silk strand 

message: I'm told it is very tough, but you can cut it easily, it is only tough holding back something that hits it. The snare (talk) 00:39, 19 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: What about cutting it

message: A strand of spider silk with the thickness of that of a pencil (roughly) is so strong that it is believed to be able to stop a Boeing 747 aircraft in flight.
Can anyone give some references here?  How much force is needed to stop a 747 in flight? What type of 747(the weight of the 747 differ by type: Boeing 747#Specifications)?  Stopping it meaning be able to just stop it, or actually hanging it up and supporting its weight?  It is very strange to see a sentence like this since the force required varies with different stopping time(i.e. deceleration) and is not a good example.  Normally wouldn't it be a sentence like a strand of silk with the thickness of X can support a weight of Y? MythSearchertalk 08:09, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: That objection is correct. The original statement is too vague by far. For one thing, it is meaningless if one does not include the length of the pencil. If it is say, half as long as a filament that can just stop the jet, it would need to be at last twice the diameter, if my slide rule is working correctly. JonRichfield (talk) 07:47, 22 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pencil? 

message: "Argiope argentata has five different types of silk, each for a different purpose:[2][3]
dragline silk: Used for the web's outer rim and spokes, as well as for the lifeline. As strong as steel, but much tougher. "
What is the difference between strength and toughness? Am I missing a subtle distinction?DBSouthwell 09:44, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unclear meaning 

message: sorry but that sounds like someone from peta wanted to get their 2 cents in.86.42.191.36 (talk) 18:55, 6 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Methods have been developed to silk a spider forcibly"

message: Saw this on the slashdot firehose, http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/spider-silk/
It covers the only large piece of cloth made from spider silk in existence today.
Xx3nvyxx (talk) 21:59, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks a lot, I included a mention of it. --Cyclopia (talk) 00:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  A new article that may be of some use, if someone would like to include it somewhere. 

message: I recall hearing somewhere there were efforts to use silk for ballistic vests in the '90s. Anybody know who, & when?  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  01:32, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Peter Parker, the Amazing Bulletproof Man

message: I found this group of articles which could help expand the biosynthesis process if any arachnid neurobiologists are interested.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=related:v5wQZioKkXUJ:scholar.google.com/&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=dXr5TJH-FZKosAOi6-CfAg&sa=X&oi=science_links&ct=sl-related&resnum=3&ved=0CB4QzwIwAg
Aditya.m4 (talk) 23:18, 3 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Biosynthesis 

message: Here are some additions that could be incorporated in to this article.
#Bullet-proof vests made with spider silk - Related article: Scientists Weave Spider Silk Into New Bulletproof Vests and a related google search
#An 11-foot long tapestry made entirely of spider silk - Related article: Gossamer Silk, From Spiders Spun and a related google search
Others are welcome to add this if I don't get back to it. - Hydroxonium (H3O+) 14:11, 1 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Additions for this article 

message: Hello Wikipedians!
Though in most cases the 'multiple editors & edits to a page' model produces excellent results, it can sometimes result in a patchy article that both includes spurious information while omitting key points of the topic.
I and some other editors have been working on some upgrades to this page which should bring the article into line with properly referenced current research, while also hopefully making it more cohesive, clearer and readable.
We'll be uploading over the next few weeks.
We admit to being rather inexperienced in making edits, so constructive criticism is welcomed. Vincentsarego (talk) 12:41, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Additions 

message: Have re-added the beetle flax to the Biosynthesis section. Jon is usually correct in his suspicions, though in this case it was merely being unable to locate the reference at time of writing.
For a reference to this unlikely fiber please see  paragraph "Composition of a thread" p541 of Vollrath, F. Knight, D.P. (2001). "Liquid crystalline spinning of spider silk". Nature 410 (6828): 541–548. Bibcode 2001Natur.410..541V. doi:10.1038/35069000. . 
The article is much improved, but is not yet finished. More significant edits will be forthcoming in the coming weeks if all goes to plan. Regards, Vincentsarego (talk) 16:01, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Beetle flax 

message: The side chain of glycine is a single hydrogen, and is therefore smaller than the side chain of alanine which is a methyl group.  The article claims the opposite. Thus the description of the molecular structure is partially incorrect.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.117.40.12 (talk) 04:03, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inaccurate text 

message: What dissolves it? There is no mention of this.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.47.132.26 (talk) 17:16, 2 September 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't think anything can "dissolve" it in the way that water dissolves salt, which can later recrystallize as salt after the water begins to evaporate. Since the web material is a protein, probably any class of agents that can disassemble other proteins (some human stomach acid for instance) will probably disassemble spider silk. Also, enzymes that work on proteins may be suitable for spider silk. Judging by the amount of effort that has gone into synthesis, getting silk to break down must not be nearly as difficult as getting its ingredients to assemble into the desired proteins. Spiders can digest their own silk. P0M (talk) 02:09, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  No information on breakdown 

message: The research on genetically-modified silkworms by the University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY), Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, PRC) and Notre Dame University, has been published.  Reference: Florence Teuléa, Yun-Gen Miaob, Bong-Hee Sohnc, Young-Soo Kimc, J. Joe Hulla, Malcolm J. Fraser, Jr., Randolph V. Lewisa and Donald L. Jarvis, "Silkworms transformed with chimeric silkworm/spider silk genes spin composite silk fibers with improved mechanical properties," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., vol. 109, no. 3 (January 17, 2012), pp. 923-928 (http://www.pnas.org/content/109/3/923.abstract).  — Preceding unsigned comment added by DMGualtieri (talk • contribs) 11:45, 7 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: In effect - silkworms have been successfully genetically modified to produce spider silk. This is desirable as it is far easier to 'farm' the silkworms than spiders. (Genes controlling the formation of the spinneret were transferred to the silkworm.) This really should be mentioned in the article --71.38.170.27 (talk) 05:15, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  GM Silkworm work has been published 

message: The Madagascar cape is magnificent, but surely not the only piece of spider web cloth around. How about the picture on spider silk in Chester Cathedral? http://www.slowtrav.com/uk/notes/chester_travel_guide.htm (possibly not the best reference, but the thing does exist - I've seen it). This ref refers to the Chester picture being 'one of only two left in the world' - what's the other one? Peridon (talk) 13:49, 14 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cloth 

message: ::~Eric F 74.60.29.141 (talk) 17:08, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ballooning vs. Kiting 

message: Isn't "gossamer" a unique type of silk (lighter weight per length), or is it simply synonymous with "spider silk"?  'Gossamer' is not listed as a 'type' in either table.
Example:
"Many small spiders use gossamer or especially fine silk to lift themselves off a surface or use the silk as an anchor in mid air. The very fine silk used for ballooning has been called “gossamer” since 1325 and was not originally known to be produced by spiders; by extension, the same word is used metaphorically for any exceedingly fine thread or fabric. Biologists also apply the term “balloon silk” to the threads that mechanically lift and drag systems."
See also: How Spiders Create Silk Threads: Lowering pH Regulates Spider’s Silk Production, Researchers Find  ~E again 74.60.29.141 (talk) 19:33, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I think there would have to be some feature of spider anatomy that could account for yet another kind of silk before anyone would assume that gossamer is not just an ordinary silk used for another purpose. As far as I know there is no research support for this idea.P0M (talk) 23:29, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

text: I've found a website (http://gizmodo.com/5650464/how-spiders-took-over-the-sky) that gives an excerpt from Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating by Leslie Brunetta and Catherine L. Craig.  It says the spiders use "major ampullate silk," i.e., dragline silk, for ballooning.P0M (talk) 02:27, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Gossamer  

message: At 12:12, 15 March 2013‎ Kilroy117 turned each mention of the word 'spider' into 'Badger'.
Moments later, at 12:27, 15 March 2013‎ 134.126.224.77 turned each 'Badger' into 'Spider'. 
The capitalization is unnecessary. Please could this be fixed? Thanks Vincentsarego (talk) 12:53, 9 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Capitalised Spider 

message: The Silk article seems almost exclusively dedicated to silkworm silk and making cloth from it. Meanwhile, this article has lots of other information you'd expect to see in an article about silk. The Silk article should be renamed Silkworm_silk, and the 2nd half of this article should be split off to create a new Silk article, for starters. Scott McNay (talk) 03:12, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  This article is more Wikipedia-like than the Silk article! 

message: Here is a reference. I'm not sure where to put this fact. Please enter info from here if you think there's anything useful.  Thanks, --Bananasoldier (talk) 23:29, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Adding graphene to spider silk 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on Spider silk. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20130901080657/http://www.nexiabiotech.com:80/en/00_home/index.php to http://www.nexiabiotech.com/en/00_home/index.php
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers. —cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 02:58, 29 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The spider's genetical designing allow it to make various types of silks, some of the types are produced only in rare situations ,some rare types of silk are found of exhibiting exclusive features Karthik unk (talk) 12:24, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: there's some material already in the article at Spider silk#Types of silk. Are you suggesting there should be more? Peter coxhead (talk) 15:42, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Types of silk 

message: Looking back to one of the early big expansions in 2011 here, the ENGVAR was clearly en-UK ("fibre", "optimised", etc.). So I will mark this article accordingly, and standardize the currently variable spellings. Peter coxhead (talk) 21:09, 21 August 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  ENGVAR 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Spider silk. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111126042510/http://www.snerdey.com/sky/index.html to http://www.snerdey.com/sky/index.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 06:50, 13 January 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Unlimited twisting: Mention that some kinds of spider silk perhaps have a ball chain molecular structure, allowing swiveling, e.g., of a fallen leaf attached to them, spinning forever in one direction in the wind. See also . Jidanni (talk) 00:31, 29 March 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Twisting 

message: "Extensibility" is an awkward term. Mechanical properties and generally listed as "Ultimate or Tensile Strength" for the maximum stress, "Yield Strength or Point" where permanent deformation or a percent offset is noticed in Stress/Strain curve, and "Elongation %" which is the lengthening of a test specimen under strain until a break or failure occurs. Elongation should be added to the graphs in place of Extensibility/Extension.
Example from Text:  
"Extensibility" Silks are also extremely ductile, with some able to stretch up to five times their relaxed length without breaking.
"Elongation" Silks are also extremely ductile, with some able to reach an elongation of 500% of their relaxed length without breaking.
"Ductility is a measure of a material's ability to undergo significant plastic deformation before rupture or breaking, which may be expressed as percent elongation or percent area reduction from a tensile test. According to Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design (10th Ed.) [1] significant denotes about 5.0 percent elongation (Section 5.3, p. 233). See also Eq. 2–12, p. 50 for definitions of percent elongation and percent area reduction. Ductility is often characterized by a material's ability to be stretched into a wire.
From examination of data in Tables A20, A21, A22, A23, and A24 in Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Edition,[1] for both ductile and brittle materials, it is possible to postulate a broader quantifiable definition of ductility that does not rely on percent elongation alone. In general, a ductile material must have a measurable yield strength, at which unrecoverable plastic deformation begins (see Yield (engineering)), and also must satisfy one of the following conditions: either have an elongation to failure of at least 5%, or area reduction to rupture at least 20%, or true strain to rupture at least 10%." 
Msjayhawk (talk) 01:42, 23 April 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mechanical Properties 

message: Why are there 2 seperate tables that detail each type of silk and its uses ? (3, if you count the first one that details the specific purposes, but i can see why that one is seperate from the other 2)
 I feel like it'd make more sense to combine the 2 into 1. Sometimes the information from 1 table is repeated in the other, just using different words, or maybe along with another tiny fact. I feel like the 2 should be combined. It makes the article way easier to read, imo. 
John the man the plan on the train track (talk) 18:41, 5 June 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why are there 2 seperate tables?