Silkworm structures drive push for new materials
Thursday, May 3, 2012 - 04:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) -- Research published in the peer-review Journal of the Royal Society Interface on Wednesday presents a close look at the structure and physical properties of silkworm cocoons. The papers research efforts could move scientists closer toward coming up with tomorrows design principles for materials inspired by silkworm cocoons. Those materials might provide important advancements in materials for such areas as defense and manufacturing. The authors, Fujia Chen, David Porter, and Fritz Vollrath, note that silkworm cocoons have an impressive range of optimal structures. These are lightweight, strong and porous, and ideal for the development of bio-inspired composite materials.