The speed of sound in silk : linking material performance to biological function

Mortimer, Beth and Gordon, Shira and Holland, Chris and Siviour, Clive and Vollrath, Fritz and Windmill, James (2014) The speed of sound in silk : linking material performance to biological function. Advanced Materials, 26 (30). pp. 5179-5183. ISSN 1521-4095 (https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201401027)

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Abstract

Sonic properties of spider silks are measured independent of the web using laser vibrometry and ballistic impact providing insights into Nature's design of functionalized high-performance materials. Through comparison to cocoon silk and other industrial fibers, we find that major ampullate silk has the largest wavespeed range of any known material.