Materials Technology is Awesome

20 minutes before I have to drag my feet toward Starbucks. You all need to know about gecko tape and similar materials.

I'm sure you know that geckos can climb windows and even hang on to them with one toe. This is because their feet are covered in tiny hairs called setae, which are branched at the tops into tinier hairs called spatulae. These act something like super-velcro on a molecular level. The ends of the spatulae get rather entangled in the molecules of the material the gecko is attached to, increasing the area of contact between the two types of molecules, and therefore the strength of the Van der Waals force [in short, the group of forces acting between molecules, mostly attractive]. If a gecko applies a perpendicular force [lifts a foot straight up off the glass or other surface], the foot becomes unstuck, but force applied parallel to the surface cannot lessen the grip.

They've developed several different artificial dry adhesives modelled on gecko feet. Lots of them have a hold several times stronger than their natural counterparts. In place of setae, carbon nanotubes have been used. [Carbon nanotubes are the strongest materials known to exist. ]

I hope they make shoes soon.