Submission + - Invisible, Super Stretchy Nanofibers Discovered in Natural Spider Silk!
yet-another-lobbyist writes: Phys.org has an article on the recent discovery of super stretchy nanofibers in natural spider silk! The thinnest natural spider silk nanofibrils ever seen are only a few molecular layers thin, about 5 nm. They are too thin to be seen even with a very powerful optical microscope. Researchers used atomic force microscopy (AFM) not only to visualize them, but also to probe their stretchiness and strength.
Even the original article is available without a paywall. Mechanical tests of molecularly thin materials — pretty cool!
Even the original article is available without a paywall. Mechanical tests of molecularly thin materials — pretty cool!