The product of 400 million years of evolution, spider silk is accepted to be the most high-performance fibre currently known. It is five times stronger than steel (with a load-bearing capacity of close to 45 tonnes per square cm), twice as stretchy as nylon, and yet is very light.

Furthermore, spider's thread can be stretched in any direction, but returns to its initial shape without losing any strength. It is so stable the spider can hang on its thread and remain perfectly still, without spinning.

However, spider's thread is difficult to produce in industrial quantities, because, unlike silk worms, spiders need lots of room!

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