Originally shared by Event Horizon
Spider silk has long been considered the strongest biological material in the world and has inspired generations of materials scientists to understand and mimic its properties. However, new findings knock spider silk off its pedestal, reporting that engineered cellulose fibers, derived from plant cell walls, are the strongest biobased material. The material is more than 20% stronger than and eight times as stiff as spider silk. It could eventually be used in lightweight biobased composites for cars, bikes, and medical devices, the researchers say.
https://cen.acs.org/materials/biobased-materials/Worlds-strongest-biomaterial-comes-tree/96/web/2018/06
I cannot but mention the treeship Kalevala from Frederick Turner's epic poem of Mars terraforming, Genesis.
ReplyDeletefrederickturnerpoet.com - Frederick Turner’s Blog » Genesis: An Epic Poem
Saving that one for when I have more than five minutes of empty time.
ReplyDeleteIn one of the Long Earth sequels, there's a nice sequence describing giant trees supported by internal hydrogen balloons.