How spiders balloon with static electricity
di Anderson Joshua: Nature/Scenery
Ever wonder how spiders end up on remote volcanic islands or ships far out at sea? They balloon. Before taking off, a spider will climb up, lift its legs, and point its abdomen skyward, releasing silk threads into the air. This technique can carry them up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) high and across hundreds of miles. For a long time, scientists figured wind alone was responsible for lifting them. But newer research shows they're also tapping into the Earth's global atmospheric electrical circuit. The silk picks up negative static charges, and since the ground carries a negative charge too, the repulsion hoists the spider aloft, even when there's no breeze at all.
Trascrizione (en)
I got him shooting this way up in the air. Look, there I go. He just, he riding it. Look at that. Oh, shit. He's riding it. Huh? He's riding it. Riding it? Oh, yeah, he's out there. He just shot out 200 foot. Yeah, I told you yesterday that they'll fly like that. There you see. They found out. They found out the wind. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. He did. He did. He ran right there. He ran right there. He ran right there. Oh. There you go. I got it on video.
