Posted on Categories Discover Magazine
Spidey-senses tingling? It’s time to fly.
Though those of us without arachnid superpowers might not notice, we are constantly surrounded by electric fields. The ground carries a slight negative charge and the atmosphere is slightly positive, and, as a consequence, negatively charged particles can be borne up into the air. Some kinds of spiders may be taking advantage of the effect to hitch rides on the fields using negatively charged spider silk as an electric buoy to get as high as two