Tiny Tech #52 Real-Life Spider-Man Web Shooter?

Today from the world of Tiny Tech:

In comic books and movies, Spider-Man uses wrist-worn devices called Web Shooters to capture enemies and swing between buildings at high speeds. The Web Shooters emit streams of liquid, which solidify and stick to the intended target. Awesome! But is this possible in real life?

Recently, scientists have made something like Spider-Man’s web fluid. They first take silk from silk moths and dissolve it in acetone, the solvent in nail polish remover. They then add a bio-adhesive called dopamine* and a strengthener called chitosan,** which is the organic component of crab shells. Squeezing the resulting mixture out of a nozzle forms a liquid fiber that solidifies and sticks to objects nearby.

These sticky fibers can capture and lift objects over 80 times their own weight. Although this sounds impressive, so far the best result has been to capture an object having the weight of a nickel coin, at a distance of 12 centimeters or 5 inches. So we’ve got a ways to go before crime fighters will be able to do what Spider-Man does.

But further improvements are certainly coming, as long as scientists – well … you know – stick with it.

Tiny Tech is made possible by the National Science Foundation and WUFT. To learn more about Tiny Tech, go to tinytechradio.org.

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