Spiders fly by electrostatic repulsion!!!

[Tonguez]

It has long been a mystery of how Spiders are able to use their webs to launch themselves into the air and float across great distances - Spiders have been found two-and-a-half miles up in the air, and 1,000 miles out to sea. They do this in light breezes so its not the winds that is carrying them up into the air.

Now a study has shown that Spiders can fly using electrostatic repulsion - Spiders can detect and align themselves to the Earths electric field and then use the negative charge of their web strand to repulse the negative charge of the grounded object the spider is on, thus launching it into the positively charged air.

It puts a whole new spin on Spiderman (and Wonder Woman lasooing her lightning bolts)

 

[DemoMonkey]

Nope.

NopenopenopenopeNOPE.

 

[Umbran]

They do this in light breezes so its not the winds that is carrying them up into the air.

The spiders in question weigh next to nothing, so that the fact that it is only a light breeze doesn't actually rule this out.

It puts a whole new spin on Spiderman (and Wonder Woman lasooing her lightning bolts)

Having a charged rope does not mean you can lasso a lightning bolt.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The spiders in question weigh next to nothing, so that the fact that it is only a light breeze doesn't actually rule this out.



Having a charged rope does not mean you can lasso a lightning bolt.

I...rather doubt anyone thinks it does, or was suggesting it does.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well...I mean...comic book physics IS...wonky.

 

[Umbran]

I...rather doubt anyone thinks it does, or was suggesting it does.

I'm sorry, but "...puts a whole new spin on..." reads to me like "this could be used in the description/justification of the superpowers."

I'm saying that would be worse than whatever you've got now, because it is, as we say in the science biz, "not even wrong". This is on the level of Blade vampires that blow up when you hit them with anti-coagulant because... well, blood has coagulants, so when you use anti-coagulant, a thing and its anti-thing means explodey!!!1!!

The Blade movies were particularly bad at their pseudoscience vampires, so when I say this is in that class, it is pretty bad.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'm sorry, but "...puts a whole new spin on..." reads to me like "this could be used in the description/justification of the superpowers."

I'm saying that would be worse than whatever you've got now, because it is, as we say in the science biz, "not even wrong". This is on the level of Blade vampires that blow up when you hit them with anti-coagulant because... well, blood has coagulants, so when you use anti-coagulant, a thing and its anti-thing means explodey!!!1!!

The Blade movies were particularly bad at their pseudoscience vampires, so when I say this is in that class, it is pretty bad.

But no one said that, or anything like that.

 

[Tonguez]

The spiders in question weigh next to nothing, so that the fact that it is only a light breeze doesn't actually rule this out.



Having a charged rope does not mean you can lasso a lightning bolt.

Heh, I was more thinking this justifies Spiderwomans ability to fly and not just glide.
I do realise that Wonder Woman lasooing lightning bolts is just gonzo magic - but its certainly the coolest form of flying/webslinging ever put on screen

Oh and largest spiders observed to fly in this manner weigh 150mg

 

[aco175]

How can I harness this for 5e? William Wallace spiders- "with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse."

 

[Rabulias]

a thing and its anti-thing means explodey!!!1!!

Heh. Reminds me of the joke about the person who stopped eating yogurt with probiotics while taking antibiotics to fight an infection.