The purpose of the experiment was to test the technology of artificial materials with harmless correction to the usual process of weaving a spider web. The result is a fiber that is superior in strength carbon nanotubes and teeth of the sea saucers (the most durable material on Earth).
To achieve this result, the team of Professor Nikola Pugno from the University of Trento was added in the drinking water for three species of spiders a number of flakes of graphene. When one atom thick they retain their unique properties, but do not violate the metabolism of insects. Then the spiders spun a web, from which is woven the silk thread.
The analysis of this material showed that graphene effectively integrated into the structure of the web, giving it unprecedented properties. To study the structure of the teeth seashells “sea saucers” and the invention of graphene, the web was considered one of the most durable substances on the planet. Now the unique material has been enhanced with the addition of graphene.
Tensile strength bionic silk amounted to 5.4 GPA (GPA) and the modulus of its viscosity reached 1570 joules per gram (j/g). For comparison, figures for the normal, unmodified web from the spiders – 1.5 GPA and 150 j/g. the Professor Pugno says that this is only the first trial results in the creation of bionic reinforced silk.
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