Iowa State engineer discovers spider silkconducts heat as well as metals

摘要

Xinwei Wang had a hunch that spider webs were worth a much closer look. So he ordered eight spiders-Neph-ila clavipes, golden silk orbweavers-and put them to work eating crickets and spinning webs in the cages he set up in an Iowa State University greenhouse. Wang, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State, studies thermal conductivity, the capability of materials to conduct heat, and has been looking for organic materials that can effectively transfer heat. What Wang and his research team found was that spider silks, particularly the draglines that anchor webs in place, conduct heat better than most materials, including very good conductors such as silicon, aluminum, and pure iron.