# Just how strong is a spider's web

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-strong-is-a-spiders-web/95147>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 25, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-strong-is-a-spiders-web/95147 "2001-11-25T13:48:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patricinus_Scriblerus)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-strong-is-a-spiders-web/95147/1 "2001-11-25T13:48:13Z")

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Starting a new thread from another forum… People are making claims of “the highest tensile strength” Just how strong is the stuff ? Should I start havesting all the webs I have in the basement ? Is one type of spider’s webbing stronger than the others ? Wow 3 for the price of one

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**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-strong-is-a-spiders-web/95147/2 "2001-11-25T14:38:22Z")

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The tensile strength is the maximum stress that the material can withstand without breaking, and has units of force per cross-sectional area, which is N/m[sup]2[/sup], which is the same as pascals (Pa). Also, 1 MPa = 10[sup]6[/sup] Pa.

For identical cross-sectional areas, spider thread is indeed stronger than steel.

> [@](#):
>
> The tensile strength of the capture spiral is 1,338 MPa, while the tensile strength of the radial thread is 1,154 MPa. For comparison, the tensile strength of “mild” steel is 400 MPa (in Vogel 1988, p. 185)

Source:  
[http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~mbeals/spider.html](http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~mbeals/spider.html)

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**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-strong-is-a-spiders-web/95147/3 "2001-11-25T19:30:04Z")

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I read yesterday at the Ontario Science centre that a strand of spider silk 1cm in diameter is strong enough to hold up 5 elephants. What type of elephant, I don’t know, but either way its pretty impressive. I _think_ the display also said that human hair 1cm in diameter can hold up one elephant.

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**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-strong-is-a-spiders-web/95147/4 "2001-11-25T20:31:14Z")

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This is already being addressed [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=100776), so I’ll close this thread and ask people to respond to the other one.