Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Some orb weaver silk is stronger in tension than the same thickness of steel. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a animals fact?

Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Weight for weight, spider silk beats steel

Some orb weaver silk is stronger in tension than the same thickness of steel A spider can spin several kinds of silk for frame lines, sticky capture spiral, egg sac and dragline. The threads are spun cold from a protein solution inside the body. Silk's toughness, its energy absorption, is what makes webs survive impacts. It sits in Mondo's animals collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Science trivia

More facts like this

Silkworms have been farmed for thousands of yearsThe moth no longer survives well in the wild and depends on people A single silkworm cocoon yields up to 900 metres of silk threadDomestic silkworms spin continuous protein threads to form cocoons.The goliath birdeater is the largest spider by massIts legs span about 30 centimetres and it can weigh over 170 grams Aerogel is a solid synthetic material that is mostly airReplacing liquid in a gel with gas creates ultra-light solids up to 99 percent air Graphene is a single atom layer of extraordinary strengthCarbon atoms bonded in a two-dimensional honeycomb sheet are two hundred times stronger than steel Piezoelectric materials convert mechanical pressure to electricitySqueezing certain quartz crystals generates electrical voltage across their surfaces

Tags: spiders, silk, materials

Weight for weight, spider silk beats steel: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Some orb weaver silk is stronger in tension than the same thickness of steel. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a animals fact?: Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.