Something Big to Understand Something Small: Learning More about Gecko Adhesion
Scientists already understood the mechanics of adhesion in gecko feet, but two academic papers published this year give a clearer picture of the molecular structures that create it.
Innovation comes from many places. From the vantage point of a scientist or engineer, nature provides many examples to emulate. From my vantage point of presenting such examples in a magazine, it certainly helps when they are as charming as gecko feet, a source of fascination to nature lovers and pet owners everywhere. To add to that fascination, how about looking at those feet through a microscope illuminated by a half-mile-long particle accelerator? In this issue of ASI, we cover both the formulation of adhesives and sealants and the equipment for testing and analyzing them. A recent story out of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrates how these two topics ali, using very large technology to understand something quite small.
Geckos have inspired many products, including adhesive tapes. Scientists already understood the mechanics of adhesion in gecko feet, but two academic papers published this year give a clearer picture of the molecular structures that create it. The adhesion comes from millions of microscopic, hair-like structures on gecko toes, called setae. Now, scientists have zoomed in and found that they are coated in an ultra-thin film of water-repelling lipid molecules only one nanometer thick.