--- title: Is spider web really stronger than steel? link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt4p2oalmRY source: youtube-com-veritasium published: 2026-08-02T13:21:11Z updated: 2026-08-24T23:48:49Z first_seen: 2026-09-08T10:17:10.166315Z authors: - Veritasium summary: "Can you really swing from spider silk? Sponsored by Henson Shaving - Head to https://hensonshaving.com/veritasium and use code “veritasium” for 100 free blades with any razor purchase. Just add both the razor and blades to your cart.\n\nLast year, we launched the Elements of Truth game on Kickstarter and were thrilled by the response. We’re now in the final stages of production, with Kickstarter rewards shipping soon. Pre-order the retail edition here: https://ve42.co/YTSpiderSilk\n\nIf you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV\n\nFor weekly science news, and an exclusive Q&A where writer/director Vibhor Pandey discusses the making of this video, sign up to the Veritasium newsletter - https://ve42.co/Newsletter\n\nFor early access to work-in-progress videos, join our Patreon - https://ve42.co/VePatreon\n\n▀▀▀\n00:00 Could Spider Silk Let You Swing Like Spider-Man?\n00:44 Is Spider Silk Really Stronger Than Steel? \n02:29 Testing Spider Silk's Tensile Strength\n03:48 The Strongest Silk on Earth\n05:34 Spider Silk vs Kevlar vs Steel\n07:37 The Nanostructure Behind Spider Silk's Strength\n08:42 Why We Can't Farm Spiders \n10:16 Engineering Fake Spider Silk\n15:04 From the Silk Road to CRISPR\n21:31 Real-World Uses and the Ultimate Swing Test\n\n▀▀▀\nSpecial thanks to the experts and collaborators who made this video possible:\n\nProfessor Todd Blackledge and the Blackledge Spider Lab at the University of Akron, for welcoming us into the lab, walking us through how spiders make and use silk, and letting us put the real material to the test.\n\nJon Rice and the team at Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, for opening their doors, sharing their transgenic silk, patiently explaining how their engineered silkworms work, and helping make the spider-silk swing possible.\n\nProfessors Keiji Numata, Chris Holland, Sara Goodacre and Greg Holland, for generously sharing their time and expertise in our research conversations helping us understand the extraordinary diversity of spider silks, how they are spun, and how structure, water and chemistry shape their properties.\n\nProfessors Ingi Agnarsson and Thomas Scheibel, for their guidance that helped sharpen our explanation.\n\n▀▀▀\nReferences: https://ve42.co/SpiderSilkRefs\n\n▀▀▀\nSpecial thanks to our Patreon supporters:\n\nAdam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, André Powell, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Bryan Ackermann, Chris Brewer, Data Don, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, EJ Alexandra, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Hong Thai Le, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Jesse Brandsoy, Juan Benet, Kelcey Steele, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mark Heising, Martin Paull, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Moebiusol - Cristian, Orlando Bassotto, Parsee Health, Paul Peijzel, Robson, Sam Lutfi, Shalva Bukia, Sinan Taifour, Sweet_Nemo, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, Vahe Andonians, wolfee\n\n▀▀▀\nWriters - Vibhor Pandey & Henry van Dyck\nProducer & Director - Vibhor Pandey & Henry van Dyck\nPresenters & Narration - Henry van Dyck & Derek Muller\nEditors- Trenton Oliver, Axel Oliver, James Stuart & George Reynolds\nAnimators - Alex Drakoulis, Andrew Neet, Domonkos Józsa, Emma Wright & Fabio Albertelli\nIllustrator - Jakub Misiek\nResearchers - Aakash Singh Bagga, Gabe Strong & Sophia Rose\nCamera Operators: Henry van Dyck, Petr Lebedev, Casper Mebius and Ben Curtis-Dyck\nThumbnail Designers - Abdallah Rabah, Daniel Ellacott & Ben Powell\nProduction Team - Matthew Cavanagh, Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Josh Pitt, Luke Lewis, Anna Milkovic & Justin St-Laurent\nExecutive Producers - Henry van Dyck, Emilia Gyles, Casper Mebius & Derek Muller\n\nAdditional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and Storyblocks\nMusic from Epidemic Sound" content: extracted html: 2026-08-02-is-spider-web-really-stronger-than-steel.html preview: file: 2026-08-02-is-spider-web-really-stronger-than-steel.preview-b1e36c05d1b1.webp width: 256 height: 192 color: '#383434' images: - source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wt4p2oalmRY/maxresdefault.jpg original: file: 2026-08-02-is-spider-web-really-stronger-than-steel.image-9fa3aaa00327.jpg width: 1280 height: 720 variants: - file: 2026-08-02-is-spider-web-really-stronger-than-steel.image-b184d9e9a98e.webp width: 48 height: 27 color: '#040405' extra: thumbnail: https://i4.ytimg.com/vi/wt4p2oalmRY/hqdefault.jpg --- Can you really swing from spider silk? Sponsored by Henson Shaving - Head to https://hensonshaving.com/veritasium and use code “veritasium” for 100 free blades with any razor purchase. Just add both the razor and blades to your cart. Last year, we launched the Elements of Truth game on Kickstarter and were thrilled by the response. We’re now in the final stages of production, with Kickstarter rewards shipping soon. Pre-order the retail edition here: https://ve42.co/YTSpiderSilk If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV For weekly science news, and an exclusive Q&A where writer/director Vibhor Pandey discusses the making of this video, sign up to the Veritasium newsletter - https://ve42.co/Newsletter For early access to work-in-progress videos, join our Patreon - https://ve42.co/VePatreon ▀▀▀\ 00:00 Could Spider Silk Let You Swing Like Spider-Man?\ 00:44 Is Spider Silk Really Stronger Than Steel? \ 02:29 Testing Spider Silk's Tensile Strength\ 03:48 The Strongest Silk on Earth\ 05:34 Spider Silk vs Kevlar vs Steel\ 07:37 The Nanostructure Behind Spider Silk's Strength\ 08:42 Why We Can't Farm Spiders \ 10:16 Engineering Fake Spider Silk\ 15:04 From the Silk Road to CRISPR\ 21:31 Real-World Uses and the Ultimate Swing Test ▀▀▀\ Special thanks to the experts and collaborators who made this video possible: Professor Todd Blackledge and the Blackledge Spider Lab at the University of Akron, for welcoming us into the lab, walking us through how spiders make and use silk, and letting us put the real material to the test. Jon Rice and the team at Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, for opening their doors, sharing their transgenic silk, patiently explaining how their engineered silkworms work, and helping make the spider-silk swing possible. Professors Keiji Numata, Chris Holland, Sara Goodacre and Greg Holland, for generously sharing their time and expertise in our research conversations helping us understand the extraordinary diversity of spider silks, how they are spun, and how structure, water and chemistry shape their properties. Professors Ingi Agnarsson and Thomas Scheibel, for their guidance that helped sharpen our explanation. ▀▀▀\ References: https://ve42.co/SpiderSilkRefs ▀▀▀\ Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, André Powell, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Bryan Ackermann, Chris Brewer, Data Don, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, EJ Alexandra, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Hong Thai Le, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Jesse Brandsoy, Juan Benet, Kelcey Steele, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mark Heising, Martin Paull, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Moebiusol - Cristian, Orlando Bassotto, Parsee Health, Paul Peijzel, Robson, Sam Lutfi, Shalva Bukia, Sinan Taifour, Sweet\_Nemo, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, Vahe Andonians, wolfee ▀▀▀\ Writers - Vibhor Pandey & Henry van Dyck\ Producer & Director - Vibhor Pandey & Henry van Dyck\ Presenters & Narration - Henry van Dyck & Derek Muller\ Editors- Trenton Oliver, Axel Oliver, James Stuart & George Reynolds\ Animators - Alex Drakoulis, Andrew Neet, Domonkos Józsa, Emma Wright & Fabio Albertelli\ Illustrator - Jakub Misiek\ Researchers - Aakash Singh Bagga, Gabe Strong & Sophia Rose\ Camera Operators: Henry van Dyck, Petr Lebedev, Casper Mebius and Ben Curtis-Dyck\ Thumbnail Designers - Abdallah Rabah, Daniel Ellacott & Ben Powell\ Production Team - Matthew Cavanagh, Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Josh Pitt, Luke Lewis, Anna Milkovic & Justin St-Laurent\ Executive Producers - Henry van Dyck, Emilia Gyles, Casper Mebius & Derek Muller Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and Storyblocks\ Music from Epidemic Sound