|
Abstract:
Physicists have found the formula for a spiderman suit
Now it's not just spiderman that can scale the empire state building
UK | Posted on August 28th, 2007Physicists have found the formula for a Spiderman suit. Only recently has man come to understand how spiders and geckos effortlessly scuttle up walls and hang from ceilings but it was doubted that this natural form of adhesion would ever be strong enough to hold the weight of real life Peter Parkers.
Recent research concluded that van der Waals forces - the weak attraction that molecules have for each other when they are brought very close together - are responsible for creepy crawlies' amazing sticking power. It is the tiny hairs on spiders' feet that attract to the molecules of surfaces, even glass, and keep them steady.
This discovery however has been taken one step further by research published today, (Thursday, 30 August, 2007), in the Institute of Physics' Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter to make sticky human suits.
Professor Nicola Pugno, engineer and physicist at Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, has formulated a hierarchy of adhesive forces that will be strong enough to suspend a person's full body weight against a wall or on a ceiling, while also being easy to detach.
Carbon nanotube-based technology could be used to develop nano-molecular hooks and loops that would function like microscopic Velcro. This detachable, adhesive force could be used in conjunction with van der Waals forces and capillary adhesion.
Pugno said, "There are many interesting applications for our theory, from space exploration and defense, to designing gloves and shoes for window cleaners of big skyscrapers."
The theory is all the more significant because, as with spiders' and geckos' feet, the hooks and hairs are self-cleaning and water-resistant. This means that they will not wear or get clogged by bad weather or dirty surfaces and will be able to withstand some of the harshest habitats on earth, including the deep sea.
Pugno continued, "With the idea for the adhesion now in place, there are a number of other mechanics that need addressing before the Spiderman suit can become a reality. Size-effects on the adhesion strength require further research. Moreover, man's muscles, for example, are different to those of a gecko. We would suffer great muscle fatigue if we tried to stick to a wall for many hours.
"However now that we are this step closer, it may not be long before we are seeing people climbing up the Empire State Building with nothing but sticky shoes and gloves to support them." #### About Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific membership organisation devoted to increasing the understanding and application of physics. It has an extensive worldwide membership (currently over 34,000) and is a leading communicator of physics with all audiences from specialists through government to the general public. Its publishing company, IOP Publishing, is a world leader in scientific publishing and the electronic dissemination of physics.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Joseph Winters
44-020-747-04815
Copyright © Institute of Physics
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
Nanotubes
Rice celebrates the Year of Nano February 8th, 2010
Conductive eTextiles: Stanford finds a new use for cloth February 5th, 2010
A Nano View February 4th, 2010
Toxicology of the Tiny February 4th, 2010
Discoveries
Doped Graphane Should Superconduct at 90K February 8th, 2010
Electrons on the brink: Fractal patterns may be key to semiconductor magnetism February 7th, 2010
Rice physicists kill cancer with 'nanobubbles' February 4th, 2010
Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy February 4th, 2010
Materials
Rice celebrates the Year of Nano February 8th, 2010
A greener route to photoelectrochemical PbS nanoparticles February 8th, 2010
Doped Graphane Should Superconduct at 90K February 8th, 2010
Nanomaterials - Worldwide Market Challenges & Opportunities February 8th, 2010
Announcements
Nanomaterials - Worldwide Market Challenges & Opportunities February 8th, 2010
Growing Cartilage -- No Easy Task February 8th, 2010
McCormick School Student Awarded Churchill Scholarship February 8th, 2010
Insulation From Space? February 8th, 2010
Military
UB helps Army create flying soda can February 6th, 2010
Conductive eTextiles: Stanford finds a new use for cloth February 5th, 2010
The future is here February 3rd, 2010
Clarity Defog It™ Anti-Fog Formula, Used by the Military Worldwide, Now Available for Tactical Officers January 27th, 2010
Textiles/Clothing
Conductive eTextiles: Stanford finds a new use for cloth February 5th, 2010
Carbon nanotubes make clothes conduct electricity January 27th, 2010
Pryor, Cardin Call For Increased Research To Ensure Product Safety January 26th, 2010
Research and Markets: Nanoscale Protective Coatings Report - Market is Estimated to be Valued at $3515 Million in 2015 January 26th, 2010
Aerospace/Space
Rice celebrates the Year of Nano February 8th, 2010
Insulation From Space? February 8th, 2010
The Eighteenth Annual International Conference on Composites/Nano Engineering (ICCE - 18) February 7th, 2010
UB helps Army create flying soda can February 6th, 2010
Human Interest/Art
NanoArt 2009 INTERNATIONAL ONLINE COMPETITION - 4th Edition September 29th, 2009
Too much nano? Get used to it September 24th, 2009
FEATURE IDEA: New book Uses Bio-Art to Tackle Biotechnology August 25th, 2009
UAlbany NanoCollege featured in historic Albany Institute of History & Art Exhibition April 3rd, 2009
| 
