A real world Spiderman (minus the genetic modifications)

French man Alain Robert on his third attempt climbing Petronas towers. His previous two attempts both failed when he was arrested at the 60th floor.

This time he makes it all the way to the top and stands in the clouds - victorious!!

March 2011: Alain Robert scales the world's tallest building in Dubai - 2,717 feet in 6 hours

Spiderman Tech - How could Spiderman climb walls?

Have you wondered how Spiderman can climb walls?

Let's look at how spiders can climb walls.  Spiders have claws on all of their 8 legs, which enable them to grasp onto the walls or other surfaces.  But Spiderman seems to have tiny hairs that help him climb to the top of a tall building.  These hairs create electrostatic forces (Van der Waals forces)

Van Der Waals forces, causes the hairs on the spider's feet to interact with surface on the molecular level. These hairs are very similar to spikes on the boots that ice climbers use to climb glaciers.  Except that the hairs on the spider's feet interact with the actual atoms on the wall's surface which help to generate forces that hold them onto the wall.  

For a more in depth explanation of Van Der Waals forces, check out the Khan Academy.

Start the video below at 6:40   

Scientists are also working on molecular type of Velcro which could allow humans to walk on walls like spiders do.  With enough tiny hairs in a piece of fabric, this material could be used to help astronauts move around in space or move large pieces of equipment.  

0:00 through 1:10 in the following video

Spiderman Tech - What is 'Spider-sense"?

Spider-sense - what does this look like? Would the world around you go in slow motion or is it like a radar that would permit additional reaction time to sense motion around you? How would it help Spiderman detect danger on the horizon? Do real spiders actually have a 'spider-sense"?

This could be explained through a spider's ability to sense vibrations and changes in air pressure. Spiders can feel things approaching be sensing changes in the environment. Maybe Spiderman can sense these changes through the use of trichobothria (a really fine hair that can perceive air currents and vibrations).

Play video at 4:35 - 6:30

Spiderman Tech - Could a human spin a web like a spider?

One of Spiderman's greatest tools are is web shooters.  How did these develop in the comic books and are they scientifically possible?  Find out how his abilities could be similar to Silly String!   (Start video at 3:30 to end) 

1. How strong and elastic is drag line silk?  
2. Spiders can lift great weights, which could be explained by their unique body structure.  How could Spiderman's super strength be explained through science?   Let's consider endorphins (pain-killing molecules that help humans perform incredible acts of strength under stress).  When you have an endorphin rush, you don't feel much pain.  (Start at 5:30) 

Also, check out a previous Science of Superheroes blog post on Spider Silk - Representing on a human scale

Can genetic engineering explain Peter Parker's / Spiderman's origins?

Spiderman has spider strength, spider strength and web shooting... and the ability to defy gravity!  How does Spiderman's powers hold up to scientific fact?  Which ones can be scientifically backed up, and which ones are pure science fiction?

Peter Parker gained his abilities after getting bit by a radioactive spider.  How much of this origin story could really happen?  Start the first video below at 3:40 to find out.

1. If an irradiated spider bites a person, will it transfer its radiation to the human?  
2. How might it be explained by genetic engineering?  

 

1. Transferring traits from one organism to another at the stage of inception is one things but...  is it possible to genetically modify a nearly grown man like Peter Parker?  The answer might be found in retroviruses (such as HIV) 
2. How could the genetic information passed along also help Peter Parker climb walls, shoot webs, and have the proportional strength of a spider?   (Beginning of video through 3:30)

Superhero Science in the News

A team of chemical engineers at Cornell have created a palm-sized device that could one day turn troops into human wall crawlers, using an adhesive bond inspired by beetles.

ABC News: Pentagon Funds Spider-Man Tech for Real-Life Wall Crawlers

Soldiers can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, yet. Seeing through walls — that’s a different story. Later this year, American troops fighting in Afghanistan will begin to get gadgets designed to peer inside buildings and detect the heartbeat of people buried under rubble. It’s not exactly Superman’s x-ray vision. But it’s not that far way from it, either.

ABC News: US Troops will see through walls in 2011

Spider-Man Tech - Genetic tune-ups

SpiderBoy - Climbs walls with vacuums

A 13-year-old schoolboy has managed to climb walls using an invention he created for a class project.

In the video in the link below, Hibiki Kono, along with his teacher Angus Gent, explain how it works and the inspiration behind the idea.

Hibiki was inspired by the BBC's Bang Goes the Theory (the British version of Mythbusters)

Visit the BBC website to view his video here

Spider Man Climbing Skills