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Water Tension and Adhesion
- Posted at 1:25 PM on Feb. 3, 2010 by ausetute Cornell scientists have invented a device that uses water surface tension to create an adhesive bond. A flat plate punched with micron-sized holes lies at the top of the device, with a liquid reservoir plate at the bottom, and a porous layer lies between these two plates. A 9-volt battery supplies an electric field to pump water through the device, causing droplets to squeeze through the top layer. The surface tension of the exposed droplets makes the device grip another surface. The adhesion is turned off by reversing the electric field, causing the water to pull back through the holes. A prototype device containing 1,000 300-micron-sized holes could hold 30 grams. More holes, and smaller holes, creates greater adhesion. The scientists estimate that a 1 square inch (6.5cm2) device with millions of 1-micron-sized holes could hold more than 15 pounds (6.8kg). This rapid adhesion mechanism could lead to shoes of gloves that stick and unstick to walls, enabling people to walk up walks just like Spiderman! Cornell University (2010, February 2). New adhesive device could let humans walk on walls. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/02/100201184115.htm Post Comment
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