10 Scientific Secrets Of Spider-Man Only Geeks Will Love
4. Spider-Man’s Ability To Cling To Walls Is Not Limited To His Hands And Feet
One of Spider-Man’s more “spidery” powers is his ability to adhere to, climb and walk on any surface, no matter how smooth. His ability to wall crawl has to do with a principle called the Van der Waal forces. Those are the electrostatic forces between molecule boundary layers. Normally, the outer electron shell of most objects repel each other, but Peter’s ability allows him to form an immensely strong molecular bond between his body and the surface that he is climbing.
While it is true the highest concentration of this ability is centered within Spider-Man’s hands and feet, it is not limited to those areas. Spidey has often been seen assuming a seated position with his back and feet against a building as his only means of support while his hands are free. In Amazing Spider-Man #663, he prevented Anti-Venom from taking his mask off purely by concentrating on his face.
Spider-Man’s ability to stick to things exerts several tons of force per fingertip. Many foes often find it impossible to remove him from the thing he is clinging to and, in fact, have to break a piece of the object away with Spidey still attached to it. It takes an opponent far stronger than ol' Web-head to move him from a surface if he doesn't want to be moved.