Arachnic Silk

"Most of the companies think that the silk is the only useful material we ever got from Straos. It amuses me how narrow-minded those people are."

Guy Moody, CEO of Moody Medical Bioengineering Ltd.

Arachnids have the ability to produce silk from special glands located at the lower abdomen. For them it's nothing fancy and commonly used in their everyday lifes; clothes, tapestries and even weapons are crafted out of this sturdy material. Opposed to a popular rumor not all Arachnids are able to produce silk, though most of them can.
Although the humans didn't find any valuable ores on Straos the discovery of the Arachnid silk was a huge success for the industry on earth. Today, the silk is used in countless branches on earth: medicine, fashion, building industry, etc.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Arachnid silk comes in various types which all look very similar. It's made of many fine threads about as thin as a human hair. Hundreds of those threads are woven into one strand of silk directly after leaving the glands and thus making the material incredibly tough.
The color of the silk is determined by the race of the Arachnid. Most of them produce it in shades of white, however some are able to weave silk with a beautiful golden hue (this kind of silk is traditionally used for clothing or art). After silk production became industiralized by the humans scientists found out that you can change the color of the silk before it's even made: special chemicals ingested by the Arachnid settle in the silk glands and make it possible to produce any color. Over time this process was even refined to the point where those chemicals are completely harmless to the person.

Type

Biomaterial

Value

5 - 50 credits/meter (0,50 - 5,00 €/meter)

Rarity

common

Odor

scentless (odor can be an indicator for disease)

Taste

mostly tasteless, slightly salty

Color

ranges from pearly white to golden

Melting / Freezing Point

220 °C (428 °F) / −40 °C (−40 °F)

Common State

solid