nanosprings

Under extension, capture silk behaves as a particularly stretchy solid, owing to its molecular nanosprings, but it totally switches behavior in compression to now become liquid-like: It shrinks with no apparent limit while exerting a constant tension.

2016, Hervé Elettro, Sébastien Neukirch, Fritz Vollrath, Arnaud Antkowiak, “In-drop capillary spooling of spider capture thread inspires hybrid fibers with mixed solid-liquid mechanical properties”, in arXiv