4 ms·

IMO, fibers with very high tensile strength have only two applications worth speaking of: a) Space elevators (but the tensile strength required for that is too

by dsign 4y ago

IMO, fibers with very high tensile strength have only two applications worth speaking of: a) Space elevators (but the tensile strength required for that is too high and we are still not close enough), and b) Large O'Neill cylinders, in the radius of about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles). With regards to tensile strength, these would require something with the strength of graphene. This particular fiber seems to have 2 GPa of tensile strength, which is only good for a smallish O'Neill cylinder.

thorncorona 4y ago
I can think of a couple: - Durable stringy clothing items - Thinner ropes? Particularly relevant is for safety applications. - Fiber ropes are particularly advantageous when compared to steel ropes in applications that require repeated bending.
- beefield 4y ago
  Regarding ropes, for most practical applications I can think fro the top of my head, tensile strength is not actually that much of a limiting factor (especially with dyneema), but more the abrasion resistance and how easy it is to handle a rope. I mean, you could in theory rappel from something like 2mm dyneema line with very comfortable safety margin on tensile strength alone, but 1. keeping a say 60m long 2mm line untangled is a serious headache, and I would not be comfortable holding my weight on the 2mm rope while letting it scratch against a rock wall .
  - netjiro 4y ago
    if the load bearing core is miniscule and light you have plenty of mass and radius available for abrasion resistance, handling properties, etc ...
    - beefield 4y ago
      Yes, but we are there already in many applications where we need to pad the core for abrasion and handling. Making the core even more smaller makes no big benefit - unless it is substantially cheaper than the competition. And to be clear, I believe there are multiple applications for higher tensile strength fibers. I just can't see that many applications where thinner ropes than current technology produces would be a game changer.
  - shellfishgene 4y ago
    Depends on the use case, Zylon is one of the strongest fibers, and is used for rigging in competitive sailing. However it's not UV stable and not good with repetitive bending, so I'd not recommend it for climbing use either...
- denton-scratch 4y ago
  Manufacturing garottes? Like, maybe that fancy device in the movie "The Counsellor".
martyvis 4y ago
Maybe we can progress from tensegrity coffee tables to tensegrity skyscrapers.
geysersam 4y ago
Why not things like: * Buildings * Bridges * High voltage wires with very few supports
- zdragnar 4y ago
  Since it is still a protein based biopolymer, it is going to naturally decompose. Per the article, it may be doped with zinc, which is very not good in excess in water supplies. It'd need to be pretty heavily treated to make it suitable for any application where safety is a concern.
TheSpiceIsLife 4y ago
Save others the burden of a couple of clicks / taps. An O'Neill cylinder would consist of two counter-rotating cylinders. The cylinders would rotate in opposite directions to cancel any gyroscopic effects that would otherwise make it difficult to keep them aimed toward the Sun. Each would be 5 miles (8.0 km) in diameter and 20 miles (32 km) long, connected at each end by a rod via a bearing system. Their rotation would provide artificial gravity. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder
injidup 4y ago
Super lightweight wings for my hydrofoil!
shellfishgene 4y ago
Kevlar has a higher tensile strength than this silk, and there seem to be quite a few uses worth speaking of, apart from science fiction space technology...
ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
I’ve read an article (maybe linked here?), about the reason that building elevators have limits to how many floors they can travel. It has to do with the weight of the cables. That article posited that spider silk was a solution, but this may be better.
- obsrvatlarge 4y ago
  Might have a problem with fire resistance.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
    Most materials (including steel) have issues with extreme heat. Steel can suffer “invisible” damage, where it becomes structurally weak, but there’s little visual evidence. In that case, a cable that visibly melts or breaks, can be better. Elevators have all kinds of passive braking systems. They might get stuck, but they only fall in movies.
marcyb5st 4y ago
There's also the use case of ultra high pressure containers to store whatever gas under extreme pressure which is extremely useful in the short term for aerospace industry and exotic forms of energy storage for renewables (like compressed air) in micro-grids settings

by dsign 4y ago

thorncorona 4y ago

I can think of a couple: - Durable stringy clothing items - Thinner ropes? Particularly relevant is for safety applications. - Fiber ropes are particularly advantageous when compared to steel ropes in applications that require repeated bending.

beefield 4y ago
Regarding ropes, for most practical applications I can think fro the top of my head, tensile strength is not actually that much of a limiting factor (especially with dyneema), but more the abrasion resistance and how easy it is to handle a rope. I mean, you could in theory rappel from something like 2mm dyneema line with very comfortable safety margin on tensile strength alone, but 1. keeping a say 60m long 2mm line untangled is a serious headache, and I would not be comfortable holding my weight on the 2mm rope while letting it scratch against a rock wall .
- netjiro 4y ago
  if the load bearing core is miniscule and light you have plenty of mass and radius available for abrasion resistance, handling properties, etc ...
  - beefield 4y ago
    Yes, but we are there already in many applications where we need to pad the core for abrasion and handling. Making the core even more smaller makes no big benefit - unless it is substantially cheaper than the competition. And to be clear, I believe there are multiple applications for higher tensile strength fibers. I just can't see that many applications where thinner ropes than current technology produces would be a game changer.
- shellfishgene 4y ago
  Depends on the use case, Zylon is one of the strongest fibers, and is used for rigging in competitive sailing. However it's not UV stable and not good with repetitive bending, so I'd not recommend it for climbing use either...
denton-scratch 4y ago
Manufacturing garottes? Like, maybe that fancy device in the movie "The Counsellor".

martyvis 4y ago

Maybe we can progress from tensegrity coffee tables to tensegrity skyscrapers.

geysersam 4y ago

Why not things like: * Buildings * Bridges * High voltage wires with very few supports

zdragnar 4y ago
Since it is still a protein based biopolymer, it is going to naturally decompose. Per the article, it may be doped with zinc, which is very not good in excess in water supplies. It'd need to be pretty heavily treated to make it suitable for any application where safety is a concern.

TheSpiceIsLife 4y ago

Save others the burden of a couple of clicks / taps. An O'Neill cylinder would consist of two counter-rotating cylinders. The cylinders would rotate in opposite directions to cancel any gyroscopic effects that would otherwise make it difficult to keep them aimed toward the Sun. Each would be 5 miles (8.0 km) in diameter and 20 miles (32 km) long, connected at each end by a rod via a bearing system. Their rotation would provide artificial gravity. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder

injidup 4y ago

Super lightweight wings for my hydrofoil!

shellfishgene 4y ago

Kevlar has a higher tensile strength than this silk, and there seem to be quite a few uses worth speaking of, apart from science fiction space technology...

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago

I’ve read an article (maybe linked here?), about the reason that building elevators have limits to how many floors they can travel. It has to do with the weight of the cables. That article posited that spider silk was a solution, but this may be better.

obsrvatlarge 4y ago
Might have a problem with fire resistance.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
  Most materials (including steel) have issues with extreme heat. Steel can suffer “invisible” damage, where it becomes structurally weak, but there’s little visual evidence. In that case, a cable that visibly melts or breaks, can be better. Elevators have all kinds of passive braking systems. They might get stuck, but they only fall in movies.

marcyb5st 4y ago

There's also the use case of ultra high pressure containers to store whatever gas under extreme pressure which is extremely useful in the short term for aerospace industry and exotic forms of energy storage for renewables (like compressed air) in micro-grids settings