Science works fast, especially when it comes to adhesives. A few years back, the BBC Wildlife magazine published a little story on gecko lizards. They referred to the little creatures as cling kings because they're known to cling to surfaces even when the surface is held upside down. The year was 2002, and scientists were just beginning to speculate that the trick wasn't in what appeared to be little suction cups on their toes and feet as had always been believed. In fact, the scientists continued, those little suction pads were too small to generate enough suction to adhere them to any surface. No, suction didn't account for the adhesive quality of the little gecko.
Nor, apparently, did capillary action, nor static electricity. In fact, the article concluded, the gecko sticks to surfaces by molecular adhesion. And that adhesive is strong. Scientists estimate that a gecko's adhesive would stay adhered to the ceiling even if it were wearing a 40kg rucksack on its back. Over the past several years, scientists in various industrial adhesives laboratories have been trying to figure out exactly how this effect works, and how to duplicate it. Now it appears that it's been done. Scientists at BAE Systems, an aeronautics and defence firm, have created an adhesive that they call Synthetic Gecko, and that others are referring to as 'gecko glue'.
Furniture Feet Pads
The gecko adhesive is made of polymer, and is reusable, say the scientists who developed the stuff. And it's strong - just one metre square of the industrial adhesive could hang your family's car from the ceiling of your kitchen. It will stick to just about anything, including dirty surfaces, and it will stay stuck until it's peeled off - at which point, it can be reapplied without losing any of its adhesive qualities or power. There are stronger glues out there, scientists admit, but this one is reusable, and it doesn't feel sticky to the touch.
The secret is in the structure of Synthetic Gecko. The polyamide surface is covered with millions of mushroom like stalks that mimic the tiny cups on the pads of gecko feet called setae. This isn't the first adhesive made to mimic the gecko foot. Back in 2003, a group of Manchester researchers produced a similar product which they called 'gecko tape'. They demonstrated the effectiveness of the new dry adhesive by suspending a toy action figure of superhero Spiderman from a ceiling. They'd considered suspending a human, one of the team admitted, but the amount needed would have been far too costly to produce.
The Bristol team at BAE Systems has worked their way around the cost by using a modified version of the process used to make silicon chips to create the tiny setae on the polymer surface. The process is well-known and understood, and can be done cheaply to run up to a very large scale, making production of Synthetic Gecko a financially viable proposition.
Needless to say, this gecko like glue is causing quite a stir in the industrial adhesives industry. The possibilities for its use as an industrial adhesive are broad. Already there is speculation that it could be used to attach aeroplane wings, make skin graft or create Spiderman like suits that would let window-washers scramble up the sides of buildings without the use of a ladder. Imagine super grip tyres, safety harnesses and instant repair patches for nearly anything. The uses are still potentially years off, say most scientists, and even then Synthetic gecko is unlikely to replace other types of industrial adhesives. Each has its own use and its own unique advantages and disadvantages. Still, the possibilities are profound for the new dry adhesive. From medicine to construction, it may offer a great many changes in the way that things are stuck together.
Black Friday Wobble Wedges Leveling Shims, Set of 12 2011 Deals
Nov 23, 2011 05:01:50
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