Angling for the best knot

From PhysicsWeb News:

As any experienced angler will know, some knots are better than others -- but exactly why a "blood knot" should be stronger than, say, a "reef knot" is far from clear. Now, physicists in Japan have tried to unravel this mystery by carrying out the first experiments into how fishing lines with knots in them actually break. Determining exactly where a knot breaks in a material is not easy. First, the shape of the knot changes as it is tightened. Second, it is difficult to watch how the broken strands recoil, which takes place very quickly. Third, most knots unravel after breaking, making it hard to reconstruct a broken knot. Hiroki Uehara and colleagues at Gumna University have now found a simple solution to these knotty problems.

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