Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Just how do spiders walk straight up—and even upside-down across—so many different types of surfaces? Answering this question could open up new opportunities for creating powerful, yet reversible, bioinspired adhesives. Scientists have been working to better understand spider feet for the past several decades. Now, a new study in Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering is the first to show that the characteristics of the hair-like structures that form the adhesive feet of one species—the wandering spider Cupiennius salei—are more variable than previously thought.
"When we started the experiments, we expected to find a specific angle of best adhesion and similar adhesive properties for all of the individual attachment hairs," says the group leader of the study, Dr. Clemens Schaber of the University of Kiel in Germany. "But surprisingly, the adhesion forces largely differed between the individual hairs, e.g. one hair adhered best at a low angle with the substrate while the other one performed best close to perpendicular."
The feet of this species of spider are made up of close to 2,400 tiny hairs or 'setae' (one hundredth of one millimeter thick). Schaber, and his colleagues Bastian Poerschke and Stanislav Gorb, collected a sample of these hairs and then measured how well they stuck to a range of rough and smooth surfaces, including glass. They also looked at how well the hairs performed at various contact angles.
Unexpectedly, each hair showed unique adhesive properties. When the team looked at the hairs under a powerful microscope, they also found that each one showed clearly different—and previously unrecognized—structural arrangements. The team believes that this variety may be key to how spiders can climb so many surface types.
More information: Bastian Poerschke et al, Adhesion of Individual Attachment Setae of the Spider Cupiennius salei to Substrates With Different Roughness and Surface Energy, Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering (2021).
DOI: 10.3389/fmech.2021.702297
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @07:00PM (5 children)
What sort of sick scientist would want to spend time with disgusting insects?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @07:03PM (2 children)
A Democrat scientist who feels like having a snack?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @07:13PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @08:41PM
Mike Lindell is professor of pillows and steal-stopping.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @07:06PM
Peter Parker
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @12:37AM
One that knows that spiders are not insects?
(Score: 2, Touché) by dmewhort on Friday June 18 2021, @07:16PM (3 children)
Spider Hair
Spider Hair
Goes wherever the spider fares
up he goes
left he goes
Goes wherever the spider goes
there goes the spider hair.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday June 18 2021, @08:22PM (2 children)
A Spider Hare would be a cross between a spider and _______ ?
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug into other computer. Right-click paste.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @01:12AM
Your mom who swallowed one to catch the fly which wriggled and motherfucking jiggled inside her cunt.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @01:48AM
n/t
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday June 18 2021, @08:27PM (7 children)
Since spiders appear to walk upside down without getting stuck, it implies that this stickiness property is not so permanent as what we call "glue".
This discovery might be useful for us to build something like artificial spider robots, etc. But as an adhesive?
We already have:
Duck Tape (made from what animal?)
Gorilla Tape (made from what other animal?)
Now Spider Tape?
What animal is a turtle neck sweater made from? (all pre kindergarten children instantly know the answer to this question)
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug into other computer. Right-click paste.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @08:42PM
The McConnel turkey.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 18 2021, @09:16PM (4 children)
There's those cool little picture hangers, I think they're made by 3M. Looks like regular double-sided tape, stick it to your picture or whatever, peel the backing, and stick it to the wall. When you decide to take it down, just pull on the bit you left sticking out to stretch the tape, and it releases. They seem to be reusable, at least a couple of times. Don't know how many times you can stretch it, and it remains useful.
(Score: 5, Informative) by c0lo on Friday June 18 2021, @10:00PM (1 child)
Those 3M strips are the evil incarnate.
After some 5-6 years their glue dries and the picture or painting falls.
And you can bet the glue dries faster on one side of the part facing the wall, while the other side of the same part holds fast (say, the right side dries faster and gets unstuck, while the left side is still solidly glued).
To the result of having the picture going down with the bit of paint it stuck to and peels a strip of paper from the dry wall too - between 1 and 2 inches of it on the vertical. Gives you the pretext to paint the whole wall if you're a compulsive painter. I just put a nail a bit above the damage and hang the picture to hide it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @07:04PM
There's no getting around it, is there? If you want to hang something on the wall, you have to slightly damage the wall.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @01:52AM
My mom loves those things. Pulling the release tab destroys the adhesive strip. Only the cheap plastic hook is reusable.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @01:52AM
> I think they're made by 3M.
The 3M brand is "Command"...but when I see them all I can think of is going commando.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday June 18 2021, @09:24PM
Is this related to that new gel tape thats making the rounds on the tv commercials as "alien tape"? (also heard it called "magic tape", not the 3M product)
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @10:49PM (4 children)
Gonna use it to hang my Juneteenth decorations this year.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @10:53PM (3 children)
Posters of fried chicken and watermelon?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @01:55AM (2 children)
> Posters of fried chicken and watermelon?
Pieces of fried chicken and watermelon.
ftfy
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @06:15AM (1 child)
>> Posters of fried chicken and watermelon?
>Pieces of fried chicken and posters ofwatermelon.
ftfy moar, again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @11:51AM
Excellent... you win the Juneteenth Prize for most emancipated fix.