Spiders found to extend their hearing by using webs as giant audio arrays
By Nick Lavars, March 29, 2022
Scientists studying orb weaving spiders have found that they can use their webs as auditory arrays to extend their sense of hearing Jonathan Cohen/Binghamton University
We know spider silk carries some amazing capabilities, with its light weight, incredible elasticity and a status as one of nature's strongest materials. Scientists have made another extraordinary discovery in this area, finding that orb-weaving spiders use their webs as an array to extend their sense of hearing, a finding that could lead to advanced new forms of audio hardware.
Such is the slenderness and sensitivity of spider silk that a single strand of it can reveal the movement of vibrating air particles within a sound wave. This differs from the way the human body detects sounds, and in a 2017 study, scientists at Binghamton University leveraged these very fine movements to create a makeshift, highly sensitive microphone.
“The spider is really a natural demonstration that this is a viable way to sense sound using viscous forces in the air on thin fibers,” said mechanical engineer Ron Miles. “If it works in nature, maybe we should have a closer look at it.”
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