Impact of beta radiation on the strength of Steatoda triangulosa spider silk

Mechanical testing of spider silk at cryogenic temperatures

“…The large variation in properties due to the biological nature of the silk is immediately apparent from the high standard deviation for each quantity, as has been reported by others [4,9].…”

“…Fifty six total samples were tested in air, and 64 were tested in liquid nitrogen. The maximum stress max in a sample is obtained directly from the force reached by the sample before it breaks, assuming a single strand diameter of 1 m [8,9]. The maximum strain ε max is usually computed from the extension of the data point corresponding to the maximum stress.…”

“…To strain the sample, the force transducer with the steel pin (E) is moved upwards. described in Pogozelski et al [9]. In particular, natively harvested silk samples are 25-26 mm long, and are glued at each end (using cyanoacrylate) to hollow steel tubes (2.0 mm long, 1.0 mm outer diameter) for transport, handling and mounting.…”

“…Naturally harvested S. triangulosa dragline silk consists of exactly two parallel cylindrical strands joined together lengthwise. Each cylindrical strand has a diameter of about a micron [8,9]. The consistency of the number of strands in the naturally harvested S. triangulosa dragline also permits accurate computation of the stress of the silk, which depends on accuracy of the cross sectional area of the sample.…”