Errymath: nanotubes

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    © Hereward Holland / Reuters <br />
    Silkworms feeding them carbon nanotubes and graphene reinforces the silk.<br />
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<img alt="20161005lnp1-silkworm" class="cq-dd-image" src="http://cen.acs.org/content/cen/articles/94/web/2016/10/Silkworms-eat-carbon-nanotubes-graphene/_jcr_content/articlebody/subpar/articlemedia_1.img.jpg/1475696195490.jpg" title="20161005lnp1-silkworm" /><br />
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            Feeding silkworms mulberry leaves sprayed with carbon 
nanomaterials yields strong silk strands that conduct electricity.</div>
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Credit: SarDiuS/Shutterstock</div>

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Researchers have figured out a way of creating superstrong silk by changing silkworm’s diets.

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Silkworms
 spin their delicate threads from silk protein produced in their 
salivary glands. Scientists have now discovered that feeding them carbon
 nanotubes and graphene reinforces the silk that the larvae produce, 
resulting in <i>“Spiderman-strength”</i> threads, Chemical & Engineering News has <a href="http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/web/2016/10/Silkworms-eat-carbon-nanotubes-graphene.html">reported</a>.<br />
The discovery is an <i>“easy way to produce high-strength silk fibers on a large scale,”</i> materials scientist Yaopeng Zhang told the outlet.<br />
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<img alt="Reuters/Stefan Wermuth" class="media__item " height="359" src="https://img.rt.com/files/news/3e/8d/d0/00/24354567.jpg" width="640" /> <br />
<i>Reuters/Stefan Wermuth / Reuters</i>  <br />
The spiders sprayed with carbon nanotubes created the toughest
  silk – around 3.5 times stronger than the best natural silk, spun
  by the giant riverine orb spider.
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According to the researchers, the upper-strength capacity of the
  webs created by the spiders was <i>“the highest reported to
  date, even when compared to the current knotted fibers.”</i><br />
  <img alt="spiderman spider man mind blown" class="a-gif" data-absolute-url="/gifs/community-spiderman-telltale-11qAyKz9AbFEYM" data-bitly_gif_url="http://gph.is/1EllS07" data-edit-url="/gifs/community-spiderman-telltale-11qAyKz9AbFEYM/edit" data-gif_id="11qAyKz9AbFEYM" data-id="11qAyKz9AbFEYM" data-image_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11qAyKz9AbFEYM/giphy.gif" data-mp4_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11qAyKz9AbFEYM/giphy.mp4" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" data-padding-top="61" data-preview-image-url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11qAyKz9AbFEYM/100.gif" data-still="https://media.giphy.com/media/11qAyKz9AbFEYM/giphy_s.gif" data-tumblr_share_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11qAyKz9AbFEYM/giphy-tumblr.gif" height="486.0" id="gif" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/11qAyKz9AbFEYM/giphy.gif" style="height: 486.0px; width: 864px;" width="864" /><br />
 <a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/community-spiderman-telltale-11qAyKz9AbFEYM">via GIPHY</a><br />
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The
 extra strong silk could be used in a variety of different ways 
including on protective fabrics, biodegradable medical implants and 
wearable electronics.<br />
<b><br /></b>
Researchers
 from Tsinghua University fed the worms mulberry leaves, their food of 
choice, sprayed with solutions containing 0.2 percent of carbon 
nanotubes or graphene.<br />
They then collected the silk from their cocoons as is normal in the silk-making process.<br />
It
 was found that, unlike regular silk, the beefed up version conducts 
electricity and can withstand at least 50 percent more stress before 
breaking.<br />
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 <img alt="spiderman spider man" class="a-gif" data-absolute-url="/gifs/spider-man-spiderman-IbOObOgsawQkU" data-bitly_gif_url="http://gph.is/1EltFer" data-edit-url="/gifs/spider-man-spiderman-IbOObOgsawQkU/edit" data-gif_id="IbOObOgsawQkU" data-id="IbOObOgsawQkU" data-image_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/IbOObOgsawQkU/giphy.gif" data-mp4_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/IbOObOgsawQkU/giphy.mp4" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="277" data-padding-top="107" data-preview-image-url="https://media.giphy.com/media/IbOObOgsawQkU/100.gif" data-still="https://media.giphy.com/media/IbOObOgsawQkU/giphy_s.gif" data-tumblr_share_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/IbOObOgsawQkU/giphy-tumblr.gif" height="483" id="gif" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/IbOObOgsawQkU/giphy.gif" style="height: 483px; width: 497px;" width="497" /><br />
<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/spider-man-spiderman-oit9mu0v5LqzC"> via GIPHY</a><br />
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The method is also simpler and more environmentally friendly than treating already spun silk.<br />
Scientists
 still aren’t exactly sure how the silkworms incorporate the 
reinforcements into silk. Or how much of it actually makes it into the 
silk as opposed to being excreted or absorbed into other parts of the 
body. <i>rt</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Graphene</span></b><br />
One-atom-thick graphene is the world’s thinnest, but also
  strongest, material – 200 times tougher than steel. It is also
  the world’s best conductor of electricity. Knowing that graphene
  is impermeable to even the smallest of atoms, hydrogen, Geim's
  team decided to test whether protons, or hydrogen atoms stripped
  of their electrons, were also repelled. They were left pleasantly
  surprised.
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Scientists feed graphene to silkworms to produce extra-durable fibres for hi-tech

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Scientists feed graphene to silkworms to produce extra-durable fibres for hi-tech

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