Gecko-Inspired Tape Can Be Reused Thousands of Times 95
Zothecula writes "As is so often the case these days for those searching for a better way to stick stuff together, researchers from the Zoological Institute at the University of Kiel in Germany have turned to the biology of gravity-defying ceiling walkers, such as geckos and insects. These creatures served as inspiration for a new dry adhesive tape that not only boasts impressive bonding strength, but can also be attached and detached thousands of times without losing its adhesive properties."
Switching (Score:5, Funny)
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You also might find they raise your bill after you switch. They raised my rates a month later claiming I had a bunch of unreported accidents. Turns out the CLUE report had the wrong driver listed, so they counted all the accidents twice. Once when I told them and once when CLUE told them.
GET A CLUE
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Better service, more coverage (for the same price, which yes is effectively saving money), closer offices, etc?? There are plenty of reasons besides price for people to switch.
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Better service, more coverage (for the same price, which yes is effectively saving money), closer offices, etc?? There are plenty of reasons besides price for people to switch.
When I was unable to reach my brick and mortar insurance agent repeatedly, I turned to teh internets. The reusable dry adhesive tape people had the one and only website that functioned correctly from Firefox running on Linux, so they got my business.
I have no idea how much money I'm saving, and don't really give two shits.
Gecko-Inspired stories Can Be Reused Thousands of* (Score:1)
What is next a new story on transparent aluminium?
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You mean like this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride
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No, what's dumb is alleging that a single crystal ceramic has no significant differences than an amorphous powder of the same chemical compound.
Now perhaps you have unique knowledge of a new elemental aluminum allotrope, but the rest of us used our brains to figure out that "transparent aluminum" would require at the very least some alloying material and crystalline behavior.
Unless of course you're suggesting that Star Trek had no use for science fiction and relied instead on magic ;)
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What is next a new story on transparent aluminium?
Do you mean aluminium oxide (Al2O3), also known as sapphire glass.
Haven't happened much newsworthy in that field the last decade.
Velcro (Score:2)
They invented universal Velcro?
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Re:Velcro (Score:4, Informative)
No, velcro works by having tiny hooks grab fibers of cloth. Gecko feet (like this is patterned after) use van der Waals forces. [wikipedia.org]
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In the lab (Score:5, Insightful)
In real life it will be covered in dust and hair and stick to that crap instead of your surface after a few removals.
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If that is true, then does the same logic apply to the gecko's feet?
What keeps their feet free of dust, dirt, hair, and all that other crap? They seem to deal with it just fine.
Perhaps there are other properties at work here that would allow you clean it. Clearly the geckos have evolved a way to deal with those issues.
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(Non technical description)
The way it works is that when the field is turned on, it sticks on anything, when its turned off, nothing stays(It gets a weaker attraction then the other surface). The action of putting the geckos feet against a surface turns it on, and the way it takes the foot off turns it off.
Because of that nothing sticks to the geckos feet for more then a few steps.
Re:In the lab (Score:5, Funny)
Geckos get the dirt off much the same way you get dirt off your skin. Flexibly controlled by muscles causing constant minuscule reshaping of the surface causes loose particles to fall off.
Some of us slashdotters actually prefer to shower regularly instead of waiting for "loose particles to fall off".
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Pics or it didn't happen. No, wait...
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Uh, have you seen a gecko's tongue?
Look... I know there is a LOT of porn out there, but I have not yet had time to get to it all yet.
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In real life it will be covered in dust and hair and stick to that crap instead of your surface after a few removals.
One interesting thing about geckos - their feet continue to stick even after walking through dirt and dust. If this tape can really work like gecko feet, the dirt and hair might not be a problem.
You have problems (Score:1)
In real life it will be covered in dust and hair and stick to that crap instead of your surface after a few removals.
You have problems if your ceiling is covered in hair.
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Perhaps he has a very impressive mohawk?
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Nobody on /. is impressive enough to support a mohawk like that.
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But, just like geckos' feet, and unlike sellotape, you can shake the dust and dirt off, or rinse it under water.
This is the same stuff that the recently-featured wall-climbing robot [slashdot.org] uses.
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I guess that's why in real life tape doesn't work~
Please try again, this time engage your brain.
OK, but (Score:2)
They mention it works under water. How does it hold up on dusty surfaces, though? I would assume it would get clogged with dust grains like normal tape does, and lose its stickiness after a use or two... (But then again Geckos can walk over a dusty floor, then up a wall, so I'm not sure) Anyone got an answer?
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Ehh, nothing a good lick won't fix!
(Having had Geckos, I know that they actually do this quite a bit.)
Re:OK, but (Score:5, Funny)
Ehh, nothing a good lick won't fix!
. . . or the tape will stick to your tongue. This sounds like "licking a flag pole in winter advice" . . .
(Having had Geckos, I know that they actually do this quite a bit.)
Yeah, but did they hobble around with their feet stuck to their tongues . . . ?
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Whoooshh! (Score:2)
===> Joke ===> /|\ :)
0
/ \
You.
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ASCII ART [-------] YOU
Re:OK, but (Score:5, Informative)
The little hairs bind to other matter using Van Der Walls forces.
If water does not stick to the little hairs, then dust won't either.
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Oh, I thought it was van der Waals forces.
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Gecko feet are not sticky at all. The little hairs bind to other matter using Van Der Walls forces.
In other words, they are sticky.
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Put your helmet back on and sit down.
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Geckos have learned how to control their midi-chlorians?
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Maybe Geckos have a degaussing gland?
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The way it works is that the geckos feet only create the van der Waals forces that make them stick to things when their feet are moved a certain way(sort of downward sliding motion I think). Because of that things only stick when they want them to, and nothing sticks when they don't want it to.
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There is no adhesive on this type of tape, and you remove like you would any other tape: by peeling. You're seeing a picture of a guy hanging from the ceiling by a piece of tape and thinking "man, there's no way to remove that tape". But that fact is, we already have numerous kinds of tape strong enough for that type of demonstration (truthfully almost any kind of tape would work if you had enough of it). The guy is hanging from the middle of the tape, pulling straight down, so he's pulling on all of the
Post It notes (Score:2)
They could use it to make something a little like Post It notes, only which actually stick to something for more than 7 seconds.
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Re:Post It notes (Score:4, Funny)
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Depends on the strength. Since they use (basically) thousands of microscopic hairs, they could vary the strength of adhesion to whatever they want by varying the hairs/ sq. millimeter.
At last... (Score:3, Funny)
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Count your steps carefully.
Nine hundred ninety seven. .....
Nine hundred ninety eight.
Nine hundred ninety nine.
One thous
Yaaaahhhh!!!
"Big Tape" Won't Let It Happen (Score:5, Funny)
Childhood Dreams come true (Score:1)
I will be putting this on the bottom of my shoes.
Re:Childhood Dreams come true (Score:5, Funny)
You had dreams about not being able to walk? :)
Re:Childhood Dreams come true (Score:5, Funny)
He lives in Australia, you insensitive clod!
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You jest, but if this thing works as good as advertised, then it could revolutionize climbing gear. Spiderman could be a reality.
Entirely new Myths for the Mythbusters (Score:2)
It may take a while for the new myths to come out, but come on how many experiments have they done with Duct Tape?
Red Green's new show (Score:2)
Only with this stuff instead of duct tape.
How much noise does it make? (Score:2)
Reused thousands of times?
If it's quiet, it could be silent velcro [imdb.com]!
Same idea, different year (Score:1)
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Walking on the ceiling is easy (Score:5, Funny)
Walking on the ceiling is easy... so easy a caveman could do it.
Reused thousands of times! (Score:3)
Make sure Red Green gets the memo (Score:3)
And add another server to the pool at http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/ [failblog.org]
I am a gecko and I already have a patent.....! (Score:1)
Gecko tape (Score:2, Funny)
Save 15% or more on your tape purchases, while knowing you're secure.
2008 Scientific American (Score:5, Informative)
Excellent (Score:2)
If they find a way to produce this in large quantities, they'd shake up the adhesive tape market quite a bit. Tape that's very strong and leaves no residue? Sign me up! Even gaffer tape tends to leave residue if left on too long.
Greptile? (Score:2)
tm
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That sounds more like a variation on velcro.
Gecko-inspired tape? (Score:5, Funny)
So it's a tape that uses too much RAM?
2003 NPR segement on 'Gecko' Tape (Score:1)
NPR has a segment called "Lizard Study May Create Super-Strong 'Gecko' Tape". It sounds like the idea has gone from concept to proof-of-concept. It's good to know some these ideas do eventually lead to prototypes.
Here is the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1290473 [npr.org]
My new tape will be inspired by Oracle! (Score:2)
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Like fly paper: Its full of bugs.
Available Where? (Score:1)
3..2..1.. (Score:2)
..geckos filing for patent injunctions.
I thought of... (Score:1)
Gordan Gekko from The Wallstreet............. Greed (to suck up) is good !!!
I won't believe it until (Score:2)
I see it use to suspend a man wearing a hard hat from a girder.