Encore - Frost Covered Spider Webs
January 31, 2015
Take a look back at some of the EPODs our viewers found particularly eye-catching. Today, and every Saturday, EPOD invites you to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers’ Choice polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating images.
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Photographer: Greg Parker, Greg's web site
Summary Author: Greg Parker
The above photo illustrating the strength, architecture and beauty of spider webs was captured outside of the New Forest Observatory in Hampshire, U.K. We had some amazingly cold nights here this past January, and one particular icy morning I couldn’t help but notice these frost-covered spider webs. The tensile strength of “silk” produced by spiders is even greater than that of steel having a similar weight. Moreover, spider silk has considerably more elasticity than steel or most manmade fibers. Because spider webs have a huge surface to volume ratio, the silk has to be strong in order to support the weight of the frost crystals, which have thoroughly coated these gossamer strands.