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Artificial Gecko Adhesive, Now In Experimental Glue

Posted by timothy on from the will-arrive-one-day-before-singularity dept.

thefickler writes "Scientists at the University of Dayton have created a peel-on, peel-off glue which mimics the wall-climbing abilities of Spiderman. The substance, based on the feet of the Gecko lizard, is three times stickier than existing adhesives. The material is so strong that a 4×4mm pad would be enough to hold a 1.5kg object such as a hardcover book. However, it's likely too expensive for consumer use: one British scientist calculates that a single Post-it note using the glue would cost around a thousand dollars." We've mentioned the possibilities of synthetic gecko technology several times before, including as applied in this wall-climbing robot; commercial applications have seemed just around the corner for a while now.

102 comments

  1. behavior of our 'representatives' sticks to US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    greed, fear & ego are unprecedented evile's primary weapons. those, along with deception & coercion, helps most of us remain (unwittingly?) dependent on its' life0cidal hired goons' agenda. most of yOUR dwindling resources are being squandered on the 'wars', & continuation of the billionerrors stock markup FraUD/pyramid schemes. nobody ever mentions the real long term costs of those debacles in both life & any notion of prosperity for us, or our children, not to mention the abuse of the consciences of those of us who still have one. see you on the other side of it. the lights are coming up all over now. conspiracy theorists are being vindicated. some might choose a tin umbrella to go with their hats. the fairytail is winding down now. let your conscience be yOUR guide. you can be more helpful than you might have imagined. there are still some choices. if they do not suit you, consider the likely results of continuing to follow the corepirate nazi hypenosys story LIEn, whereas anything of relevance is replaced almost instantly with pr ?firm? scriptdead mindphuking propaganda or 'celebrity' trivia 'foam'. meanwhile; don't forget to get a little more oxygen on yOUR brain, & look up in the sky from time to time, starting early in the day. there's lots going on up there.

    http://news.google.com/?ncl=1216734813&hl=en&topic=n
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/opinion/31mon1.html?em&ex=1199336400&en=c4b5414371631707&ei=5087%0A
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080918/ap_on_re_us/tent_cities;_ylt=A0wNcyS6yNJIZBoBSxKs0NUE
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/world/29amnesty.html?hp
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/02/nasa.global.warming.ap/index.html
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/06/05/severe.weather.ap/index.html
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/06/02/honore.preparedness/index.html
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/28/what.matters.meltdown/index.html#cnnSTCText
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/10/07/atwood.debt/index.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/opinion/01dowd.html?em&ex=1212638400&en=744b7cebc86723e5&ei=5087%0A
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/05/senate.iraq/index.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/washington/17contractor.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/middleeast/03kurdistan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
    http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080708/cheney_climate.html
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080805/pl_politico/12308;_ylt=A0wNcxTPdJhILAYAVQms0NUE
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/18/voting.problems/index.html
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080903/ts_nm/environment_arctic_dc;_ylt=A0wNcwhhcb5It3EBoy2s0NUE
    (talk about cowardlly race fixing/bad theater/fiction?) http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/19/news/economy/sec_short_selling/index.htm?cnn=yes
    http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=ApTbxRfLnscxaGGuCocWlwq7YWsA/SIG=11qicue6l/**http%3A//biz.yahoo.com/ap/081006/meltdown_kashkari.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/opinion/04sat1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
    (the teaching of hate as a way of 'life' synonymous with failed dictatorships) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081004/ap_on_re_us/newspapers_islam_dvd;_ylt=A0wNcwWdfudITHkACAus0NUE
    (some yoga & yogurt makes killing/getting killed less stressful) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_re_us/warrior_mind;_ylt=A0wNcw9iXutIPkMBwzGs0NUE

    is it time to get real yet? A LOT of energy is being squandered in attempts to keep US in the dark. in the end (give or take a few 1000 years), the creators will prevail (world without end, etc...), as it has always been. the process of gaining yOUR release from the current hostage situation may not be what you might think it is. butt of course, most of US don't know, or care what a precarious/fatal situation we're in. for example; the insidious attempts by the felonious corepirate nazi execrable to block the suns' light, interfering with a requirement (sunlight) for us to stay healthy/alive. it's likely not good for yOUR health/memories 'else they'd be bragging about it? we're intending for the w

    1. Re:behavior of our 'representatives' sticks to US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      yOUR

      Isn't the lameness filter designed to block posts like this one?

    2. Re:behavior of our 'representatives' sticks to US by OolimPhon · · Score: 1

      Don't you ever get bored copying and pasting this same old crap into every single slashdot post? Particularly when you just *know* that no-one is going to read it?
      Give yourself a rest, and give everyone else back their bandwidth, and stop already. You have an axe to grind, maybe. But the rest of the world just isn't interested. Go get some help.

  2. I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    This is what it would be like, if the majority of people were athiests.
    ATHIEST KID: Mom, I'm going to go fuck a hooker.
    ATHIEST MOM: Okay, son.
    ATHIEST KID: Afterwards, I'm going to go smoke pot with my friends, since it's "not addictive."
    ATHIEST MOM: Okay, come home soon!

    The athiest kid leaves the room. The father comes home from work several minutes later.

    ATHIEST DAD: Hey!
    ATHIEST MOM: Hi, honey! I'm pregnant again. I guess I'll just get another abortion, since "fetuses don't count as human life."
    ATHIEST DAD: Okay, get as many abortions as you want!
    ATHIEST MOM: Oh, and don't go in the bedroom.
    ATHIEST DAD: Why not?
    ATHIEST MOM: There are two gay men fucking eachother in there.
    ATHIEST DAD: Why are they here?
    ATHIEST MOM: I wanted to watch them do it for awhile. They just aren't finished yet.
    ATHIEST DAD: Okay, that's fine with me!

    Suddenly, their neighbor runs into the house.

    ATHIEST NEIGHBOR: Come quick, there's a Christian outside!
    ATHIEST MOM: We'll be right there!

    The athiest couple quickly put on a pair of black robes and hoods. They then exit the house, and run into the street, where a Christian is nailed to a large, wooden X. He is being burned alive. A crowd of athiests stand around him, all wearing black robes and hoods.

    RANDOM ATHIEST: Damn you, Christian! We hate you! We claim to be tolerant of all religions. But we really hate your's! That's because we athiests are hypocritical like that! Die, Christian!

    THE END

    Scary, isn't it?

    1. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I'm roman catholic and, aside from drugs and hookers and abortions and torch burning and random gay men fucking in my room, that's about how I act.

      Seriously my considerations are health (disease, hookers, pot); economics (hookers, pot); and the basic need for humans to have tangible consequences for their stupid actions (abortion; you'll never get a disease, but you're going to have kids one day and this is how you're going to do it, so you know the risk is real).

      The damning christians thing is a flaw in logic. Atheists can't claim to be atheists if they're religiously against secular religion; if it's offensive to your belief system to witness others' beliefs, then you aren't, by definition, without a belief system. This is how so-called "atheists" act a lot of the time though. Everyone shares this flaw; humans in general fail logic, for example Christians are often judgmental of other religions or non-believers when their doctrine says they should be tolerant.

      Your depiction of an Atheist world seems to parallel young religions, including Catholicism; remember the old church, which ran the world and persecuted anyone with conflicting beliefs. Islam and other belief systems also went through a strong period of purging the infidels.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    2. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      That blew my mind a bit. I may have gotten some "guiz" on my keyboard. ;)

    3. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by Original+Replica · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Everyone shares this flaw; humans in general fail logic, for example Christians are often judgmental of other religions or non-believers when their doctrine says they should be tolerant.

      That seems to be a weakness/defense mechanism of any religious person or culture when they are insecure/new in their faith. Anyone who is at a fundamental level of understanding in their belief is going to see it as black and white, with-us or against-us situation. This is amusingly true of a belief in tolerance and diversity as well. The believers in the-one-right-way are usually a destructive force in what ever genre their belief is in. For a easy modern cultural view of this phenomenon just look at the many destructive effects of Political Correctness.

      Now for an on topic bit: How long until Gecko Glue can be scaled up enough to be cost effective in it's reusablility? Cheap as Velcro per square inch?

      --
      We are all just people.
    4. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      This gets posted verbatim to just about every story. It's trash, the poster probably doesn't even look for replies.

      They could at least vary it a bit, now not only is it stupid, it's stale.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    5. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by aussie_a · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      but you're going to have kids one day and this is how you're going to do it, so you know the risk is real

      I'm sterile you insensitive clod.

    6. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by thefickler · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      This hurts my feelings!

    7. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, someone has some deep seated fear of impromptu religious discussion considering my parent post parent was modded +5 when the post was 24hours old. Especially considering that I acknowledged that the thread was offtopic in my post, and that all the down modding was apparently done on Sunday morning.

    8. Re:I'll be gone until Mon, remember2pray, k guiz? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      I wrote that originally, out of my own head, when I posted it. I've never seen it before...

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
  3. Is this why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Is this why my girlfriend yells at me when I cum on her face?

  4. wrong by ILuvRamen · · Score: -1

    VHB tape from 3M is currently the world record holder for that and I believe they still are seeing as how it can hold more weight than that.

    --
    Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
    1. Re:wrong by mweather · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Can it be removed instantly without solvents and with no damage to the materials bonded together?

    2. Re:wrong by lymond01 · · Score: 1

      Can it be removed instantly without solvents and with no damage to the materials bonded together?

      Well, there goes my Might Putty reference...

    3. Re:wrong by Laser+Dan · · Score: 2, Informative

      Can it be removed instantly without solvents and with no damage to the materials bonded together?

      Yes, that's the whole point of this.
      Think about a gecko, does it rip the paint off walls with each step? The bond is easily released by peeling but sticks strongly if you try to slide it, like a post-it note but stronger. Apparently it is self-cleaning too.
      It doesn't bond the way glue or other adhesives do, the adhesion is from the addition of the van der Waals force from millions/billions of tiny "hairs". more info

    4. Re:wrong by Dekker3D · · Score: 1

      hmm... that dÃes resemble spiderman. in the first movie, they used tiny hairs as an explanation for his wall-climbing as well..

      i'm actually getting interested in this :)

  5. Not to be a pedant, but... by davidsyes · · Score: 0

    Just how does one "peel on"? I can see slide-on, slip-on, roll-on (and roll off), lay-on/lay-off, and peel-off/stick-on...

    But how the hell does one "peel on", even if the tape is double-sided?

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    1. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by Chyeld · · Score: 1

      Peel-On, apply directly to the peel!

      Or maybe they mean you have to apply it in a reverse peeling motion instead of simply slamming it straight down....

    2. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by corsec67 · · Score: 1

      Or maybe they mean you have to apply it in a reverse peeling motion instead of simply slamming it straight down....

      So, "lay on" or "roll on"?

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
    3. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by bennomatic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually, you are being a pedant. You're right, but, y'know, I'm sure you did know what the OP meant.

      I don't mean this as an insult; it's just that your post made me grin. Kind of like when someone underscores what they are expressing metaphorically by saying, "literally." Like: "I was so hungry I literally could have eaten a horse." I've actually taken to saying, myself, "[blah blah], literally! By which I mean figuratively."

      And when anyone questions my most outlandish statements, I tell them, straight faced, "I always speak in hyperbole. Always. ALLLWAYS."

      --
      The CB App. What's your 20?
    4. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by ijakings · · Score: 1

      Every time i see pedant im reminded of the IT crowd episode

      Jen: "His name is Peter File"

      Moss: "Whos a pedophile?"

    5. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Or: I'm so verbose and well-heeled that I could literarily spew a file cabinet full of words.

      (slash red-underscored "literarily", yet it's a Merriam-defined word.... go... figures, hehehehe)

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    6. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by Jherek+Carnelian · · Score: 1

      Kind of like when someone underscores what they are expressing metaphorically by saying, "literally." Like: "I was so hungry I literally could have eaten a horse."

      I have literally eaten a horse you insensitive clod!
      It was mighty tasty too.

    7. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by bennomatic · · Score: 1

      I can't believe you called me verbose and well-heeled! Next thing you know, you'll be using the P-word... Professorial!

      --
      The CB App. What's your 20?
    8. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by bennomatic · · Score: 1

      Did you eat horse, or did you eat a horse? That is, did you eat an entire horse?

      I had horse when I was in France a few years ago. When friends asked me how it was, I'd say, "It was g-o-o-o-o-o-d!" (think like a whinny)

      --
      The CB App. What's your 20?
    9. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Do I have to have eaten the WHOLE thing, or just the edible parts?

    10. Re:Not to be a pedant, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The whole horse? I thought it was a euphemism for oral sex!

  6. The Gekko Field Researcher by Illbay · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hopefully, that English nature show presenter who follows the GEICO gekko around will begin using this stuff so he doesn't fall off RVs, dumpsters, etc., while he's trying to spy on his quarry.

    --
    Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
    1. Re:The Gekko Field Researcher by dgatwood · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Hi. I'm a gecko, not to be confused with Geiko, who can save you 15% or more on car insurance. This sick bastard has been chasing me all week telling me he wants to turn my feet into glue. I keep trying to tell him that the glue is made out of Geico feet, but he just won't believe me. Will you please STOP FOLLOWING ME!!?!

      [He steps into a loop of rope, followed by the screen going black and showing a Geico logo as we hear the sound of a gecko going airborne.]

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:The Gekko Field Researcher by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Err.. Geico, not Geiko. *sigh*

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  7. Umm... by orion205 · · Score: 1

    How do you "peel-on"?

    1. Re:Umm... by TinFoilMan · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Palin

      --
      In my other life, I eat cats.
    2. Re:Umm... by arizwebfoot · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Wouldn't it be Palin-on?

      --
      Oh Well, Bad Karma and all . . .

      --
      Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
    3. Re:Umm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      It's so easy a caveman can do it.

    4. Re:Umm... by Migity · · Score: 1

      Ask Mr. Miyagi. Oh wait...

  8. Gekko? by Ohio+Calvinist · · Score: 0, Redundant

    But does it save you 15% on your car insurance?

    --
    Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
  9. Hmmm... by I.M.O.G. · · Score: 1

    So its just like those 3M sticky hooks you can stick to your wall, hang some reasonably heavy stuff on them, then pull downwards on a tab attached to the sticky part and they come back off the wall no problem... But stronger.

    Color me unimpressed. Can someone get me excited about new problems this address?

    --
    Overclockers
    1. Re:Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, you can use them to stick your wireless powered candle lights to the ceiling of your castle.

    2. Re:Hmmm... by Microlith · · Score: 3, Funny

      they come back off the wall no problem

      Last time I pulled one of those off the wall it came off no problem. Along with the paint and wallboard behind it!

    3. Re:Hmmm... by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1, Informative

      Well, for the same surface area, these will hang some decidedly unreasonably heavy stuff. 2x2 millimeters holds 1.5kg ... 4.5 x 4.5 will hold more than my weight. A square inch will hold 241.9kg, or over 500 pounds!

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    4. Re:Hmmm... by sexconker · · Score: 2, Informative

      TFS says a 4x4 mm pad holds 1.5 kg.

      Someone is wrong (probably TFS, since it implies failure on ther part of the editors).

      How can 4.5x4.5 mm hold more than 160 times the eight of 2x2 mm when it's just 5 times the surface area?

    5. Re:Hmmm... by mweather · · Score: 1

      Sort of like that, but these stick with magnetism, not adhesives, so they never loose their stickyness, and it doesn't bond well with itself.

    6. Re:Hmmm... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      A square inch will hold 241.9kg, or over 500 pounds!

      Wow, I've been looking for a solution to sticking the really big steel workers to the underside of wide flange beams by their hardhats! Superglue only holds so much.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    7. Re:Hmmm... by mweather · · Score: 1

      They tried a weaker version of this (hairs so big they were visible to the naked eye) the size of a piece of notebook paper, and it held the researchers young daughter just fine. The same piece with this new nanoscale stuff would hold a car.

    8. Re:Hmmm... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Welding the hard hat directly to the beam works so much better.

    9. Re:Hmmm... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Read TFA. It's 4x4, not 2x2. I don't know where you get the other figure from. So silly.

    10. Re:Hmmm... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Welding the hard hat directly to the beam works so much better.

      Actually, not. The hat tends to melt. And I'd rather not have to weld channels to the flange to cradle the lip of the helmet either. Bolting is right out, too: it needs to have minimal impact to the structural integrity of the beam.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    11. Re:Hmmm... by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 1

      Hmm, that's a drag, I've never had a problem with one, I love 'em.

    12. Re:Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rope. Preferably around the neck of the submitter and then tied around the beam.

    13. Re:Hmmm... by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      My error. It's 4x4, not 4 square mm. Double my dimensions and quadruple my areas (my dimensions are for a quadrant).

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
  10. Cost of new technology by penguin_dance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They mention the cost, but surely that will come down. Anything breakthrough like that is going to be expensive to create until the figure out a way to mass produce it.

    I wonder, however, the type of strength you'd have to have to actually "do a Spiderman" up the building. Yes it will hold you to the building, but you'll still have to have the upper body strength to advance your way up without handholds to help if it's a flat surface.

    Sci-Fi fun aside, there will no doubt be a lot of uses for this product. And a few years down the road we will have infomercial guru, Billy Mays shouting at us to try new and improved "Gecko Glue" to hang pictures and fix broken mugs. :)

    --
    If you've never been modded as "flamebait" or "troll," you've never tried to argue a minority viewpoint here!
    1. Re:Cost of new technology by TheLazySci-FiAuthor · · Score: 1

      The price will surely come down - and I expect that it will deflate much as computer and electronic technology has.

      I am eager to see the data on this as it will surely spawn the creation of a Moore's-law type formula for nanotech.

      Buy your nanotech stocks, some are less than $1 usd per share right now! - they won't stay that cheap forever.

      --
      Read my Very Short "Stories"
    2. Re:Cost of new technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I imagine the price will come down quite fast.

      A way of joining electrical components without solder is worth billions.

      Components are subjected to stresses from production line soldering far beyond what they experience in normal use. Less failures, not having to heat test components etc.

    3. Re:Cost of new technology by pluther · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You wouldn't need to rely on upper body strength alone if you also have the stuff on your feet. That lets you use your leg muscles as well.

      Even with the proportional strength of a spider, Mr. Parker usually uses his feet when wall-crawling.

      --
      If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
    4. Re:Cost of new technology by VValdo · · Score: 4, Funny

      You wouldn't need to rely on upper body strength alone if you also have the stuff on your feet. That lets you use your leg muscles as well.

      My question-- do the outer layers of skin on my fingers/toes have the adhesive properties to the inner-layers of skin or will I fall 30 stories leaving finger-skin behind? Also, how much building-dust and pollution accumulates to the adhesive, and how quickly?

      I really need to know this before I try.

      W

      PS- are web shooters included?

      --
      -------------------
      This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    5. Re:Cost of new technology by Alain+Williams · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I wonder, however, the type of strength you'd have to have to actually "do a Spiderman" up the building. Yes it will hold you to the building, but you'll still have to have the upper body strength to advance your way up without handholds to help if it's a flat surface.

      The other big thing to think about is what are you adhering to ? This might work if you were climbing up something like clean metal or marble, but most will be much lower quality. Many surfaces if you pull too hard on them will disintegrate and the top layer will detach, so you will just end up falling off the sky scraper with a thin layer of brick or paint on your hands.

    6. Re:Cost of new technology by mweather · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This won't hold electrical components. It's not glue. It's a sheet of material with billions of tiny hairs that are so small they physically come in contact with the atoms of the surface they touch. This causes it to magnetically bond with the material. It's removable because you can peel away a few hairs at a time with a peeling motion.

    7. Re:Cost of new technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You could always combine it with a similarly futuristic force distribution system, such as handles or a pair of gloves.

    8. Re:Cost of new technology by mortonda · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Have you ever climbed up a 80 ft ladder? It takes some serious strength to do that quickly - my arms and legs were shaking when I got to the top of the water tower. Great view though. Too bad we never did get the wifi contract. :(

    9. Re:Cost of new technology by fastest+fascist · · Score: 1

      I wonder, however, the type of strength you'd have to have to actually "do a Spiderman" up the building. Yes it will hold you to the building, but you'll still have to have the upper body strength to advance your way up without handholds to help if it's a flat surface.

      Isn't that what handholds are used for? Holding you to the surface you're climbing? If anything, climbing with this stuff should be less of a strain than with handholds - you don't have to wear your arms out gripping things, you are securely held in place without having to reach for holds in difficult positions and you can put some of the stuff on your feet and maybe knees to let you use the much stronger leg muscles to make your way up.

    10. Re:Cost of new technology by b4upoo · · Score: 1

      Have you tried some of the new nano tube glues? They are expensive and you had better need the entire bottle as it turns into a rock upon being opened no matter how hard you try to seal the tube. In other words it is not only how well a glue sticks but how easy it is to use. I recently tried another high tech glue which sort of bubbles and oozes out of a joint even when applied lightly. It makes a yellow stain wherever it touches. It is useless.

    11. Re:Cost of new technology by penguin_dance · · Score: 1

      I doubt this is anything you'd want to put on your skin. I'm assuming it would go on gloves/shoes. My only question is, if it can hold so much weight, how can it peel off?

      --
      If you've never been modded as "flamebait" or "troll," you've never tried to argue a minority viewpoint here!
    12. Re:Cost of new technology by penguin_dance · · Score: 1

      Yes, I took that into account, but you can't use the flat part of your feet, you'd have to put the adhesive on the tips of the toes (of the shoes) and even then--how easy would that be without footholds as well as hand holds? Face it, man is not made for climbing like a chimpanzee, much less a gecko! Our legs are too long and our feet don't bend the right way to do this easily--at least not on a flat surface.

      --
      If you've never been modded as "flamebait" or "troll," you've never tried to argue a minority viewpoint here!
    13. Re:Cost of new technology by vivian · · Score: 1

      Since the stuff is conductive, it might be possible to 'clean' it of particles by applying a charge to it - hopefully that would transfer charge to the dust/pollution particles on the ends of the hairs and make them repel off? can any physics types confirm if th is would work?

    14. Re:Cost of new technology by TheLink · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Obvious: add pads just below the knees.

      Bend to peel off.

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    15. Re:Cost of new technology by MeepMeep · · Score: 1

      PS- are web shooters included?

      You only get one but you're not gonna like where you have to shoot it from...

    16. Re:Cost of new technology by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      I expect you could get about as much surface area on your feet as you would get on a small hold on a climbing wall. You'd have a lot more area on you hands, because you could stick them flat to the wall.

    17. Re:Cost of new technology by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      I would think the problem would be unsticking yourself to move. If you've got roughly equal surface area on your hands and feet, and you need a bit extra for safety, each hand or foot has to hold a bit more than a quarter of your body weight. That's a decent pull you'd have to give each limb, for each move.

    18. Re:Cost of new technology by LucidBeast · · Score: 1

      I the meanwhile just write your notes on a gecko.

    19. Re:Cost of new technology by hot+soldering+iron · · Score: 1

      Last time I had to climb 500 ft to change a lightbulb on the college radio tower, it took about an hour, and it was EXACTLY like being on a stairmaster. One of the first tips I got on that job was never grab the next rung - always grab the vertical side of the ladder. Reason: the protective paint on the ladder could/would develop pinholes and rust would eat through the rung, but it would appear fine to a visual inspection. If I ran into that, it wouldn't matter if I DID have a grip that Superman couldn't break, I was still going to fall.

      --
      When you want something built, come see me. If you want correct grammar and spelling, get a F*ing liberal arts student.
    20. Re:Cost of new technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      each hand or foot has to hold a bit more than a quarter of your body weight I'd demand that each be enough to hold my entire weight. You probably meant a more than a third, since you need to remove one limb in order to climb.

    21. Re:Cost of new technology by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Have you only got four limbs? Poor thing. :P

      I guess I'm a sticky spot on the pavement. You're absolutely right.

  11. Article is Annoying as Hell by mpapet · · Score: 1

    I don't really care how "super" the glue may be.

    The cover of the book may not be strong enough such that after sticking the book to 4x4mm patch, the book just falls off. The book will be on the floor with a ~4x4mm scar. The cover just isn't strong enough to defy gravity on a mere 4x4mm of glue.

    A "spiderman" scenario suffers from the same complications. Except we're talking scarred fingertips. Ewww!

    --
    http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
    1. Re:Article is Annoying as Hell by PitaBred · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So wear gloves and shoes that are tightly attached. You can hold yourself up normally by your fingers and toes, right? Problem solved.

      --
      My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
    2. Re:Article is Annoying as Hell by Tuoqui · · Score: 1

      It might if you point it spine-up rather than spine to the left side.

      --
      09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
      +2 Troll is Slashdot's way of saying groupthink is confused
  12. $1000 Post-It notes, eh? by DP1149 · · Score: 1

    Watch next years' Department of Defense budget...it'll be a line item called "Military-Grade Reusable Adhesive Note-Taking Device".

  13. Spiderman example warranted? by Gracenotes · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The Spiderman "application" may be useful for explaining the general function of the glue, but I wonder how it would fare in actual building-scaling. The fact that one only needs change the angle of the glue application area to detach it makes it seem too unreliable to use for holding up objects. I'd much rather be held 100 feet in the air by a cable than by a square inch of an adhesive (and in fact, I'd rather not be held in the air at all). This is just my intuition, of course, and not carefully researched. I'd be a lot happier seeing it used in other commercial applications—e.g., in the place of soldering—when/if it becomes commercial viable to do so.

    1. Re:Spiderman example warranted? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and in fact, I'd rather not be held in the air at all

      That's weird, I'd pass on the "much rather"s and settle for being held in the air by any means.

  14. Didn't read summary but.. by philspear · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am so glad they came up with a new gecko adhesive. I haven't had good results nailing my geckos down, they eat the tape, and the natural gecko adhesive just doesn't cut it.

    1. Re:Didn't read summary but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am so glad they came up with a new gecko adhesive. I haven't had good results nailing my geckos down, they eat the tape, and the natural gecko adhesive just doesn't cut it.

      Silly boy. That's because you have artificial geckos, not natural ones! This new adhesive was designed for people like you.

    2. Re:Didn't read summary but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This new adhesive was designed for people like you.

      In fact, it's so easy a caveman can do it.

    3. Re:Didn't read summary but.. by skimitar · · Score: 1

      It's comments like this that make me unhappy that scores max out at +5

  15. Did anyone else think.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did anyone else think that this meant the rendering engine "Gecko"..

    I was wondering what they could glue it to that mozilla havent already

  16. Post is annoying as hell by philspear · · Score: 4, Funny

    There are probably a few more uses for it than using a small pad to blue a book to a wall and to be spiderman. Don't be so obtuse.

  17. Why? by Instine · · Score: 1

    Why would I want to stick something to an artificial gecko? Or am I not getting this...

    --
    Because you can - or because you should?
  18. the way I heard it on the radio by Phantom+of+the+Opera · · Score: 1

    was that you can apply it and remove it as many times as you like. Removing it doesn't damage the tape. It is more like a velcro than a glue.

  19. Velcro by sexconker · · Score: 1

    I read TFA.
    It's nano-velcro.

  20. Prespective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    How many of those hooks does it take to hang an M1 Abram?

    Tape Characteristics:
    Area: 4mm^2
    Weight It Holds: 1.5kg

    Tape holds: 533.3 lbs/in^2

    M1 Abram Tank Characteristics:
    Weight: 135200 lbs

    Amount of tape needed: 1.76 ft^2

    1. Re:Prespective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your math is off. It's a 4mm by 4mm pad, so it's 16mm^2, so the correct conversion is:

      (1.5 kg) / (16 (mm^2)) = 133.343844 pounds / (in^2)

  21. Shown on the Science Channel by BillGannon · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Science Channel has a very good example of how they replicate the gecko adhesiveness. http://science.discovery.com/video/weird-connections.html?playerId=1803212346&titleId=1805366122

  22. Firefox: Geck Glue by zach_the_lizard · · Score: 1

    Gecko glue? Isn't that what Firefox does, bind Gecko to the user? Oh, wait, wrong gecko. . .

    --
    SSC
  23. Thank goodness... by Omnius · · Score: 1

    Now I can stop stapling actual geckos to stuff to attach them to my walls.

  24. Space Shuttle fix? by Anachragnome · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This sounds like a perfect solution for adhering the tiles to the outside of the space shuttle, provided it can withstand the heat. Considering the glue would be on the back of the insulating tiles, does that mean the temperatures would be tolerable enough for it to work?

    2 cents

    1. Re:Space Shuttle fix? by Fittysix · · Score: 1

      To my knowledge, it's not adhering the tiles that's so difficult, it's the fact that the tiles are very fragile, and tend to break chunks off themselves (likely leaving the adhesive behind)

      --
      *.sig
  25. there is no 2x2 ... lets get back to the math by ben2umbc · · Score: 1
    If 4mm x 4mm holds 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) for a surface area of 16mm^2, then to hold say 200 lbs you would need a surface area 60.6 times greater. 60.6 x 16 mm^2 = 0.9696 m. So with about 1 m^2 of this material you could climb like Spiderman.

    We've mentioned the possibilities of synthetic gecko technology several times before, including as applied in this wall-climbing robot;

    I say screw the robots, I want to be able to climb up walls and ceilings myself!

    1. Re:there is no 2x2 ... lets get back to the math by quadrox · · Score: 1

      your math is wrong too, I'm afraid. The square root of 969 mm is 31 mm. That means that you would need 3.1 x 3.1 square centimeters to hold up a typical male human body. Which translates to roughly a 1.5 square inches.

    2. Re:there is no 2x2 ... lets get back to the math by ben2umbc · · Score: 1

      And thats even better, and far cheaper. I hope it will be available in the fabric isle at a walmart near you soon!

  26. That's odd by AdamWill · · Score: 2, Funny

    Reading only the title - as is traditional around here - why would I want an adhesive which only adheres to geckos?

    1. Re:That's odd by Clueless+Moron · · Score: 1

      Worse yet, it adheres only to artificial geckos. I don't see any future for this.

  27. Smarmy lizzard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isn't anyone else tired of that smarmy little green rodent yet?