

"Ballooning" Spiders Use Electrostatic Forces to Generate Lift - kentuckyfc
https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/98345796bba4

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leephillips
The negative charge on spider silk has also recently been discovered to
enhance the ability of webs to capture insects:

[http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/07/04/spider-webs-
more-e...](http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/07/04/spider-webs-more-
effective-at-ensnaring-charged-insects/)

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tocomment
I saw this in the story:

“This field exists globally in the atmosphere with an average surface
magnitude of 120 Volts per metre pointing downward,” says Gorham.

I never knew this. Where does it come from? Why can't it be used to generate
power?

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tocomment
Wow, I wonder if this effect could be scaled up? I'd love to try to build a
small prototype.

