Talk:Silk

length

the biggest difference between the wild and commecial silk is the LENGTH which is said and explained exactly once. where does this information come from and what are the lengths needed. eg sheep wool is curly and is easily spon with 'short' fiber/hair. Cotton is fluffy and real short. Silk is Not curly and Not edged or fluffy so i expect it to be "slippery" aka smooth as it feel. without resistence off the fiber itself its more difficult to spin (or weeve at micro-level!), then what are those lengths needed and what are the legths found in the wild. Is it possible to select fibers at length ?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.149.83.125 (talk) 21:17, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Why wouldn't the feature image be...a picture of some silk?

See above. 82.19.244.252 (talk) 08:30, 29 January 2023 (UTC)

I also have this exact question. This seems wildly inconsistent with general wiki conventions. The article isn't about silk as a linguistic term, it's about the substance/fiber/fabric. It should be a picture of silk cloth, or silk fibers, or even the silk cocoons. Silk_raw_01a.jpg is a much better fit. ~2025-39948-11 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Agreed. The image that was at the top of the page was part of a Chinese infobox, which I've moved next to the "China" section. I've moved a few other images around to be closer to the relevant sections, and shifted the suggested image to the top. Pastychomper (talk) 13:43, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 March 2023

Aside from silk being one of the strongest fabrics, silk is also a hypoallergenic fabric that is durable and also has healing properties. Silk is a very well-known natural fabric that is very luxurious and elegant and the good thing about it is that when wearing it in the cold winter climate it retains body heat and when wearing it in the hot summer weather it eliminates extra heat. Lescas15 (talk) 00:44, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. M.Bitton (talk) 02:09, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 March 2023 (2)

Norashenyh (talk) 03:09, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Silk is known for being a luxurious and durable fabric, but the production process can have negative environmental consequences, such as water pollution and deforestation.

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Lightoil (talk) 05:27, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Addition/Edit for Properties

Mechanical Properties

Silk is a natural bio-composite, the brin filaments serve as the reinforcement phase and the sericin as the matrix phase. The brin contributes impressive stiffness and strength to the composite while the sericin is responsible for load transfer and binding the brin together.^[1] Like all biofibers, the mechanical properties of silk can vary dramatically depending on sourcing and processing. The tensile strength of Bombyx mori silk typically falls anywhere in the range of 0.1-1 GPa, comparable to some grades of steel. Elongation at break is between 15 and 35 %, making the toughness/breaking energy roughly 6x10⁴ J/kg.^[2] Comparably, Tussah silk fibers (from wild silkworms) have a similar ultimate tensile strength but show a marked improvement in elongation at break. This increased toughness is a result of a relatively high proportion of amorphous structure in the fibers, as opposed to the highly crystalline nature of the Bombyx mori fibers.^[3]

Silk fibers used in the textile industry undergo a degumming process in which the sericin is removed via boiling in an alkali soap solution to break the peptide bonds which hold it together.^[4] Sericin removal eliminates the stickiness of natural silk fiber, a necessity for weaving, but also eliminates silk’s natural load transfer mechanism. As a result, processed silk has a lower elongation and toughness than unprocessed silk.

It is important to note that relative humidity can have a dramatic effect on the strength of silk. A study performed in 2012 showed a linear decrease in tensile strength of both the warp and weft directions with increasing relative humidity at room temperature.^[5] This loss in strength is due to the hydrolysis of existing hydrogen bonds in the fiber, decreasing chain-to-chain interactions and therefore increasing chain mobility.

References:

[1] Chen, S., Liu, M., Huang, H., Cheng, L., & Zhao, H.-P. (2019). Mechanical properties of Bombyx mori silkworm silk fibre and its corresponding silk fibroin filament: A comparative study. Materials & Design, 181, 108077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2019.108077

[2] Wilding, M. A. & Hearle, J. W. S. in Polymeric Materials Encyclopaedia Vol. 11 (ed. Salamone, J. C.) 8307–8322 (CRC, Boca Raton, Florida, 1996).

[3] Cheung, H.-Y., Lau, K.-T., Ho, M.-P., & Mosallam, A. (2009). Study on the mechanical properties of different silkworm silk fibers. Journal of Composite Materials, 43(22), 2521–2531. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998309345347

[4] Gulrajani, M. L. (1992). Degumming of silk. Review of Progress in Coloration and Related Topics, 22(1), 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-4408.1992.tb00091.x

[5] Iqbal, M., Sohail, M., Ahmed, A., Ahmed, K., Moiz, A., & Ahmed, K. (2012). Textile environmental conditioning: Effect of relative humidity variation on the tensile properties of different fabrics. Journal of Analytical Sciences, Methods and Instrumentation, 02(02), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.4236/jasmi.2012.22017 76.157.122.137 (talk) 04:36, 11 May 2023 (UTC)

Paper

The article should mention silk paper is made from clay and celulose. 79.106.203.48 (talk) 10:11, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

The term 'silk paper' can refer to two different things, which might be causing some confusion. In printing and packaging, 'silk paper' is a type of clay-coated paper with a smooth semi-matte finish, and the clay and cellulose description does apply to that context. But the Silk article is primarily about the textile material from silkworm cocoons, which is a quite different subject. If there is content about paper historically made from silk fibers (which has existed, particularly in East Asian traditions), that might be worth noting, but coated printing paper in the commercial sense would fit better in an article specifically about that product. Bohosquare1 (talk) 12:11, 24 May 2026 (UTC)

"Sarcenet" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Sarcenet has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 December 10 § Sarcenet until a consensus is reached. cogsan _{(nag me) (stalk me)} 12:18, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 April 2025

Change lụa to tơ for Vietnamese to align more with the Chinese word si. Silence911 (talk) 00:33, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. 🌳 Balsam Cottonwood (talk) ✝ 13:17, 1 June 2025 (UTC)