Strongest Natural Material Found

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Researchers at the University of Portsmouth examined the mechanics of limpet teeth by pulling them apart all the way down to the level of the atom.

They found that the teeth of the snail-like creatures, common to shorelines and rock pools around the world, are potentially stronger than what was previously thought to be the strongest biological material – spider silk.

Scientists believe the structure could be reproduced in high-performance engineering, such as in racing cars and boat hulls.

Prof Asa Barber, who led the study, said: “Nature is a wonderful source of inspiration for structures that have excellent mechanical properties. All the things we observe around us, such as trees, the shells of sea creatures and the limpet teeth studied in this work, have evolved to be effective at what they do.

“Until now, we thought that spider silk was the strongest biological material because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bulletproof vests to computer electronics, but now we have discovered that limpet teeth exhibit a strength that is potentially higher.”

The study, published on Wednesday in the Royal Society’s scientific journal Interface, found the teeth contain a hard material known as goethite, which forms in the limpet as it grows.

Limpets need the high-strength teeth to rasp over rock surfaces and remove algae for feeding when the tide is in.

Barber said: “We discovered that the fibres of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure. This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula One racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures.

“Engineers are always interested in making these structures stronger to improve their performance or lighter so they use less material.”

Limpets’ teeth were also found to be the same strength, no matter what their size.

Barber added: “Generally, a big structure has lots of flaws and can break more easily than a smaller structure, which has fewer flaws and is stronger.

“The problem is that most structures have to be fairly big, so they’re weaker than we would like. Limpet teeth break this rule as their strength is the same no matter what the size.”

Examining effective designs in nature and then making structures based on these designs is known as bio-inspiration.

Barber said: “Biology is a great source of inspiration when designing new structures, but with so many biological structures to consider, it can take time to discover which may be useful.”

Article was published by Guardian Science, Photograph: University of Portsmouth

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