In a paper published in August 2020 by Flenner et al, the mechanical properties of spider attachment hair on different length scales were investigated. These hairs support attachment, stabilize adhesion in contact and withstand high stress at detachment. This study was aimed to contribute to the development of optimized artificial dry adhesives. For the experiment, the tip of the spider attachment hair was slightly pushed onto one of Silson’s 200nm thick silicon nitride membrane, orientated perpendicular to an x-ray beam.
Read the full article here: Multiple Mechanical Gradients are Responsible for the Strong Adhesion of Spider Attachment Hair