P3_7 Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Does whatever a spider can?

Abstract

”Spins a web, any size! Catches thieves, just like flies! Look out, here comes the Spider-Man!” [1]
In a world of reboots and sequels, this article looks back to Spidey’s silver screen debut, in Sam
Raimi’s nostalgic 2000’s masterpiece, in order to break down the web-slinging, high-octane, law
of physics abiding action which inspired a twenty year-long fascination and box office mania with superhero films. In the film, our hero has microscopic hooks grown onto his fingers that keep him attached to walls which he climbs. In this paper, we explore the idea of removing these hooks and instead have Spider-Man cling to a wall via frictional forces alone. The force which would need to be applied to keep a body still against a wall is calculated for a range of different substances. For Al3Mg3B56 (BAM), the material with the lowest coefficient of friction in the world, the necessary force was found to be 37,300 N.