Atomic Stickiness of the Gecko

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the how-sticky-am-I dept

It looks like the pads on the sole of a Gecko’s foot may be a lot more complex than previously thought. The pads seem to use a form of atomic attraction, called Van der Waal forces to stick to surfaces. This is pretty interesting because the adhesive that could be made if we could manufacture this “Gecko” material would allow the binding of any material to any other easily and allow unattachment in a similar fashion to velcro. I think there might even be some possible application for this adhesive approach in Nanotechnology.