Page 158 - Derek E. Avery - The new encyclopedia of knots
P. 158
figure 104
Rope strength: vegetable fibre ropes are not as strong as their more
recent cousins, the man-made fibre ropes. Furthermore, they are only half
as strong when they are wet as when they are dry, and with the added
disadvantage that they have a low strength to weight ratio. The thicker
the natural fibre rope, the stronger it is. On the other hand, man made
fibre ropes are light and strong; they do not loose strength when wet
because they do not absorb water, so their breaking strength remains the
same whether they are wet or dry. Synthetic rope does, however,
deteriorate quickly at high temperatures; for example nylon melts at 250
degrees C.
