Sharjah24 – AFP: It could be described as haunting, otherworldly or trippy. But humans could potentially learn a lot from music derived from spiderwebs.
From communication to construction, spiderwebs may offer an orchestra of information.
McAfee Professor of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Markus Buehler presented his research at to the American Chemical Society on Monday (April 13).
Buehler said he and his team of researchers created 3D models of spiderwebs in different conditions, such as construction, repair, hunting and feeding. Then, they listened for patterns to the spider signals and recreated the sounds with the help of computers and mathematical algorithms.
Unlike other animals, the world of spiders is not audible to the human ear or visible to the human eye, so artificial intelligence was used to interpret the spider sounds.
The team modeled both two dimensional spider webs that kind of look like a harp and more complicated and complex 3-D cobwebs.
A process of sonification attached musical notes to each of the spider's movements. And Buehler said what was heard included melodies, harmonies, rhythms and chords.
There are more than 47,000 species of spiders and they all silk spin webs to provide housing and to catch food. Buehler said the "living structure" of a spiderweb could also possibly lead to innovations in construction, maintenance and repair.
Scientists say the silk from a spiderweb is five times stronger than steel.
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