News Spider silk could lead to more efficient heatsinks

I wonder if they'll make the fencing out of the spider-goat silk.... would be ironic if the only thing strong enough to resist goat-munching would be....goat milk

 

I wonder if this will be cheaper, and I also wonder what the web's electric conductivity is. If this stuff is stretchy and an electric insulator, you could really just smear it all over your hot electronics and not worry about shorting anything. What's also nice is copper can be used more commonly in the electronics themselves (as it is a very good electric conductor as well as thermal).

It makes me wonder if there's a way to synthetically mass produce this material.

 

Spider farms make me think of that horrifying pic of that bit of woods where those spiders that live in colonies live...ah, this one: [link]http://texasento.net/Social_Spider.htm[/link]

No offense to any Texans here (I know of at least one on the site) but **** I hate Texas.

If you'll allow me a sentimental moment, I would say this: it's not so much that I am a lover of life, or religious, or I have kids, or whatever other reason people like to keep on living. Not like that for me. It's things like this and carbon nanotubes that make me want to live a long life to see what happens. If I got hit by a bus next week and had the chance to think of what I didn't like about being dead, it would that I didn't ever get to see any of the really cool stuff that is allegedly right on the horizon (where's my nanotube space elevator already?)

 

That's a brilliant documentary btw although it only has a short bit about the goats.

 

I read about that too. The problem though is that the web substance in itself (as produced by the goats) is useless. It's the way it's spun into silk through the spider's spinnerets that gives it its unique properties, and it's that aspect that we're currently unable to reproduce.

It's a very funky development (if a little odd), but only half the story unfortunately.

 

None taken; I can't stand the place either!

 

Hey thanks!

 

Ah yeah I forgot about that, it get's covered in the first 15-20 minutes if I remember correctly !

 

But it'd be great for catching any bugs in your system.

Also, if anyone needs orb weaver silk, I'm in Brisbane, and we have whole constellations of them everywhere...

 

None here either, this state is too big to to take offense over every little thing.

Spider silk radiators? I would wonder how hard it would be to clean them.