Silk is said to have stronger tensile strength than which metal?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Spider silk's tensile strength can exceed that of steel, which is the basis for the common claim in the question.

1) Relevant concepts
- Tensile strength: the maximum stress a material can withstand while being stretched before breaking (typically expressed in megapascals, MPa, or gigapascals, GPa).
- Specific strength (strength-to-weight): tensile strength divided by density; spider silk is notable for a very high specific strength.
- Typical values vary by material and grade.

2) Step-by-step comparison with typical values
- Spider (dragline) silk: around 1.0–1.5 GPa (typical reference ~1.2 GPa).
- Mild/structural steel: roughly 400–550 MPa (0.40–0.55 GPa) for common steels; some high‑strength steels reach ~1.2 GPa but are alloys and processed.
- Aluminum alloys: commonly ~100–400 MPa (0.10–0.40 GPa) depending on grade.
- Lead: very low tensile strength, around ~10–20 MPa (0.01–0.02 GPa).
- Wrought (pure) iron: roughly 200–300 MPa (0.20–0.30 GPa).

3) Calculations (intermediate steps shown)
- Compare silk (1.2 GPa) to common steel (0.4 GPa): 1.2 GPa / 0.4 GPa = 3.0 → silk ≈ 3× stronger by tensile strength than typical structural steel of the same cross section.
- Versus aluminum (0.1 GPa example): 1.2 / 0.1 = 12×.
- Versus lead (0.015 GPa): 1.2 / 0.015 = 80×.
- Versus iron (0.25 GPa): 1.2 / 0.25 = 4.8×.

4) Why the correct answer is correct
Popular and technical comparisons emphasize that spider silk can outperform steel in tensile strength (and particularly in specific strength). The phrasing “stronger tensile strength than which metal?” in common usage refers to steel, because the striking contrast (silk vs steel) is a frequent, well-known comparison.

5) Why other options are incorrect
- Aluminum and lead are metals with lower typical tensile strengths than silk, but the iconic comparison in everyday science communication is silk versus steel, not those metals.
- Iron (pure) also has lower tensile strength than silk in many cases, but steel (an iron alloy widely used structurally) is the conventional metal cited.

6) Conclusion
Therefore the correct choice is Steel, matching the provided answer.

Silk is said to have stronger tensile strength than which metal?Single choice

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