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Gecko Feet Inspire Sticky Tape
Makarand writes "Geckos have the remarkable ability to climb the most smooth surfaces and hang from
glass ceilings with a single toe. Their feet are covered with millions of nanoscopic keratin
hairs that can exert an intermolecular force - called van der Waals force - producing
an adhesive effect on surfaces they walk on. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have been able to
mimic the
adhesive ability of Gecko feet with a synthetic material that could find applications
in new types of vehicle tires or allowing robots to climb walls. The material is made
by using a mould created by a lithographic process and consists of a flexibile and strong
substrate covered with 100 million nanoscopic hair each centimetre square.
It might take several more years before Gecko tape is made commercially available to the wanna-be Spiderman, but he will have to thank the Gecko for that, not the spider."
but how exactly do you store thousands of geckos with their backs glued to a roll of plastic ?
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
Decent name. Although, I would have prefered: climb der waals.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
Spiderman sounds way cooler than Geckoman though. I mean, what's Geckoman going to use instead of a web-shooter, his super long tongue shooter? Who would make a comic book character that does such a silly thing. Oh...wait...
Vonal Declosion
brings a whole new meaning to hanging about.
. . . can it help you save on your car insurance?
Oh wait, that's Geico not . . . uh nevermind
so you are saying that to become spider-man, i just need a lot of tiny hair in my palms / fingers, right?
I'll start working on that right now! who can wait that few years before this stuff is commercially available, when you can produce it safely* and natually?
*safely - wear goggles.
My life in the land of the rising sun.
Argh! Whenever I read Gecko I feel an instant itch to fire up Regedit...
It might take several more years before Gecko tape is made commercially available to the wanna-be Spiderman, but he will have to thank the Gecko for that, not the spider."
Well if you were a wanna-be Spiderman wouldn't you have the spider to thank aswell?
--
I just looked under my copy of Mozilla 1.3 and it doesn't appear to have any feet. WTF?
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Geckoman, Geckoman
does whatever a Gecko can
sticks to wall, any type
catches thieves just like flies
look out here comes the Geckoman
100 million nanoscopic hair each centimetre square
Is it just me or also you? I think you talk like Dr. Seuss too.
you know, he gets more airtime than spiderman, for sure... and he comes fully insured! Parker is probably harder to get coverage for than Jackie Chan...
My life in the land of the rising sun.
You don't need expensive research or fancy nanohairs : just wear ski boots for a full month without taking them off and we'll guarantee your feet will become sticky enough to climb any smooth surface.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
He could just totally awe the enemy by LICKING HIS OWN EYEBALL and keeping a straight face. I always thought that was weird.
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
From the link:
..
Non-Adhesive, Self-Griping Tape
Cool. I buy that also - but in those stores it's called "Bondage Tape"
it's in my head
to clean the "flexibile (sic) and strong substrate covered with 100 million nanoscopic hair each centimetre square."
CRASH!!! ..... FREEZE ...... [frenzied submit
clicking] .... BANG!
In all seriousness though this could be cool for so many things, walking about in zero g (not as much fun, I know) , professional thieves will love it (they're probably stealing some now). The list just goes on.
Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
And you could end up having to apply depilatories to unstick your GeckoBots? Or your Geckos... in which case you'd have one massively angry gecko horde on your hands... but you'd be the only one still able to climb the walls to get away...
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
20th century warning sign
Please do not walk on the grass
21st century warning sign
Please do not walk on the walls
Seriously, I'm looking at this article and thinking, it could hold x-and-so weight per square centimeter, to release you peel from the side slowly, it loses its stickiness with multiple uses, it's too expensive to make right now and it's a little bit fragile... Just exactly how superior would this be to -- ta dum -- a roll of heavy-grade packing tape? Other than the expense and the fragility of it, it seems to have accomplished basically the same traits.
Maybe the normal tape leaves behind a film of adhesive, where this doesn't? And this is faster to apply and release -- though only for Geckos so far? The accomplishments and accolades should pile up any minute. (Beat. Beat. Still waiting...)
I'll take Tape Woman and her sidekick, Post-it Gal, over whoever this Gecko-based hero is -- at least for now.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
Coach called to me and smiled as he showed me this little creature no longer feared him and held his ground. The more-than-vacant expression seemed to escape my husband. The gecko was dead.
I laughed too hard. We are divorced.
Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.