From fork-admin@xent.com Wed Aug 28 18:38:58 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: yyyy@localhost.netnoteinc.com Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by phobos.labs.netnoteinc.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0AAF744155 for ; Wed, 28 Aug 2002 13:38:58 -0400 (EDT) Received: from phobos [127.0.0.1] by localhost with IMAP (fetchmail-5.9.0) for jm@localhost (single-drop); Wed, 28 Aug 2002 18:38:58 +0100 (IST) Received: from xent.com ([64.161.22.236]) by dogma.slashnull.org (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g7SHbmZ03288 for ; Wed, 28 Aug 2002 18:37:49 +0100 Received: from lair.xent.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by xent.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6058729422F; Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:35:11 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: fork@example.com Received: from cats.ucsc.edu (cats-mx1.ucsc.edu [128.114.129.36]) by xent.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id AED9329409A for ; Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:34:28 -0700 (PDT) Received: from Tycho (dhcp-63-177.cse.ucsc.edu [128.114.63.177]) by cats.ucsc.edu (8.10.1/8.10.1) with SMTP id g7SHaGT09111 for ; Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:36:16 -0700 (PDT) From: "Jim Whitehead" To: "FoRK" Subject: RE: Gecko adhesion finally sussed. Message-Id: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-Msmail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0) In-Reply-To: <200208270124.00426.eh@mad.scientist.com> Importance: Normal X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 X-Ucsc-Cats-Mailscanner: Found to be clean Sender: fork-admin@xent.com Errors-To: fork-admin@xent.com X-Beenthere: fork@example.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Friends of Rohit Khare List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:34:04 -0700 X-Pyzor: Reported 0 times. X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-8.2 required=7.0 tests=IN_REP_TO,KNOWN_MAILING_LIST,QUOTED_EMAIL_TEXT, SPAM_PHRASE_00_01,TO_LOCALPART_EQ_REAL,USER_AGENT_OUTLOOK version=2.40-cvs X-Spam-Level: Great, this is half of what I'd need to become Spider Man! Now all I need to figure out is how to do that spider web shooting thing. - Jim > -----Original Message----- > From: fork-admin@xent.com [mailto:fork-admin@xent.com]On Behalf Of > Eirikur Hallgrimsson > Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 10:24 PM > To: FoRK > Subject: Gecko adhesion finally sussed. > > > (Via Robot Wisdom) Maybe you UC folk know these people? > > http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/lcc-sph082202.php > > Working at Lewis & Clark College, the University of California at > Berkeley, > the University of California at Santa Barbara, and Stanford University, > the interdisciplinary team: > > * confirmed speculation that the gecko's amazing climbing ability > depends on weak molecular attractive forces called van der Waals forces, > > * rejected a competing model based on the adhesion chemistry of water > molecules, and > > * discovered that the gecko's adhesive depends on geometry, not surface > chemistry. In other words, the size and shape of the tips of gecko foot > hairs--not what they are made of--determine the gecko's stickiness. > > To verify its experimental and theoretical results, the gecko group then > used its new data to fabricate prototype synthetic foot-hair tips > from two > different materials. > > "Both artificial setal tips stuck as predicted," notes Autumn, assistant > professor of biology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore. "Our > initial prototypes open the door to manufacturing the first biologically > inspired dry, adhesive microstructures, which can have widespread > applications."