Posted on 06/01/2003 1:51:27 PM PDT by Pokey78
In what could be a dream for children and a nightmare for their parents, scientists have invented the ultimate Spiderman accoutrement - "gecko" tape that could let you walk up walls.
The tape mimics the natural adhesive used by gecko lizards to walk upside down on a ceiling, and tests have shown that it is sticky enough to support someone who wants to change a light bulb without using stepladders.
An Anglo-Russian team of researchers took two years to develop the tape after studying the secret of the climbing abilities of the gecko, which astonished Aristotle in 350BC when he wrote his History of Animals. The soles of the gecko's feet are coated with millions of microscopic hairs. Each creates tiny forces of molecular attraction when in contact with a solid surface.
When all the hairs of its feet make contact, the combined adhesive force is stronger than many man-made glues, with the added benefit that its feet can be peeled away from the surface at any time to allow it to move one leg at a time. Professor Andre Geim, director of Manchester University's Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology, used the principle to make reusable adhesive tape in collaboration with the Institute for Microelectronics Technology in Chemogolovka, Russia.
A 2mm-square segment of the tape was strong enough in one test to support a Spiderman toy - 15cm high and weighing 40g - by one hand from a glass ceiling. This means that covering the two palms of a man with the tape would enable his full weight to be supported, the scientists report in the journal Nature Materials.
"We have also considered producing a large amount of gecko tape, sufficient amounts to enable a student to hang out of a window of a tall building," Professor Geim said. "However, it would cost too much money, and would not benefit us scientifically, so we have limited our demonstration to the Spiderman toy."
The tape's adhesive properties are due to two factors. One is the capillary forces that allow water to rise vertically into blotting paper. The other is Van der Waal's interaction - the electrostatic attraction between molecules.
I can't wait to try it! I have no idea why I would need this kind of tape, but walking up walls and on ceilings has an appeal to it, an appeal lesser than that of flying, but still affording the freedom to do what we're not made to do. Fun fun!
I'm trying to picture this event in my mind. I imagine a light bulb in middle of the ceiling. What part of the person changing the light bulb is stuck to what? Is the person stuck to the ceiling? Are they walking upside down with the bottom of their feet stuck to the ceiling? Do they then bend down (up) to change the bulb? Or perhaps the bottom of their feet and the palms of their hands are stuck to the wall and they just scamper to the ceiling on their hands and knees until they reach the light bulb requiring replacing. Of course, that would require them to hang upside down and defeat gravity with the muscles in their back with only their feet stuck to the ceiling whilst their hands are free to install the new bulb.
I would not discard that stepladder just yet. I think I’ll wait for the infomercial before giving this additional consideration.
Would have been good stuff to have for those in the upper stories of the WTC.
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