Can Spiders Make Unlimited Webs?
WouterThere are plenty of critters to watch on the International Space Station. One of the most intriguing is the spider. These creatures build huge webs to catch their prey. And now, scientists from MIT hope to learn more about their communication.
They plan to scan a natural spider web using a laser, then use computer algorithms to recreate the network. Each cyber strand will be assigned a note. The scientists hope to play a computer concerto for an arachnid audience.
MIT researchers want to learn more about how spiders communicate and how music can affect their behavior. They’ve even composed an eerie song to represent the webs’ patterns.
Scientists at Studio Tomas Saraceno have a similar goal. They have a fascination with 3D architecture. So they gathered spider webs from around UC Berkeley campus and ran experiments.
The scientists found that the spiders build a sticky spiral. This spiral increases with the angle of the web. It also shows a reducing vertical asymmetry. However, they were unsure why the spiders constructed the webs in this way.
In addition to the asymmetrical structure of the experimental webs, they were more round. This suggests that gravity plays a role in the construction process.
When the lights were turned on, the spiders built a web within 12 hours. A backup spider got into the main chamber and began building a web. It was soon apparent that the first spider had escaped.
The researchers took photos of the resulting webs, which showed caffeine as the biggest structural disrupter. They also learned that the spiders could build a web in zero gravity.
