Feel like climbing walls? Now you can!

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-06-02 01:33pm

Well, maybe not now, but this is certainly promising.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Forget Spider-Man -- Gecko Man may be breathing down your neck with gloves made of sticky hairs.

Researchers in Britain said on Monday they had developed a new type of adhesive based on the uniquely sticky feet of geckos. And yes, some day people may be able to use it to climb walls.

The lithe little lizards can climb glass ceilings and perch happily for hours on the smoothest walls. Late last year, U.S. researchers reported they had found that tiny little hairs and not any kind of chemical glue help the animals cling so well.

Andre Geim of the University of Manchester in Britain, who developed the tape, said it is a more realistic model for people who may want to imitate nature than spiders.

"The mechanism used by spiders (and flies) for climbing walls is not scalable while the gecko mechanism is," Geim said in an interview conducted by e-mail.

"This offers a unique opportunity for scaling the gecko's invention up for the use with much heavier objects, even to the extent that humans can use it (e.g., for rock-climbing?)," said Geim, who reports his finding in the June issue of the journal Nature Materials.

"In this sense, Spider-Man is a fiction, the non-science one and will ever remain in comics. On the other hand, Gecko Man ... now it seems to be rather close to reality."

Biologists had for years assumed that geckos used something akin to glue. But close examination with electron microscopes shows they have millions of tiny hairs called setae.

A seta is only about 100 micrometers long -- about the width of two human hairs. Each seta ends with 1,000 even tinier pads at the tip.

One seta can lift the weight of an ant. A million setae, which could easily fit onto the area of a dime, could lift a 45-pound child and a gecko using all of its setae at the same time could support 280 pounds.

"If human palms were covered by this adhesive material, it would support the weight of an average human," wrote Geim, who worked with colleagues at the Institute for Microelectronics Technology in Chemogolovka, Russia. He said they had only been able to make 0.16 square inch of the stuff so far. It is very expensive to make, Geim said, and the plastic backing his team used to make the tape is not very durable.

Just thought I should share this.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-06-02 01:43pm

aw shit.... I was like 30 seconds behind you in posting that man!!!!

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-06-02 01:50pm

HA HA maybe you can delete your thread before someone reply to it.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-06-02 01:54pm

I was literally in the midst of writing my version when yoshi posted too... I knew I shouldntve debated adding a poll!

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-06-02 01:58pm

I pity the man who will shake is pole while his hand is covered with this adhesive.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-06-02 02:01pm

Montcalm wrote:I pity the man who will shake is pole while his hand is covered with this adhesive.

*winces*That's gonna suck. Although it seems to work like tape rather than glue.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-06-02 02:04pm

Darth Yoshi wrote:
Montcalm wrote:I pity the man who will shake is pole while his hand is covered with this adhesive.
*winces*That's gonna suck. Although it seems to work like tape rather than glue.

It could still pull some hair down there.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-06-02 02:55pm

And when Spider-Man 2 comes out. Guess what's going to be on every kid's Christmas list.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-06-02 05:09pm

Montcalm wrote:I pity the man who will shake is pole while his hand is covered with this adhesive.

Mkay...thanks for that image... Anyways, the stuff has a plastic backing, no?

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-06-02 05:33pm

I'm sure it's going to be "too dangerous" for children if something using that technology ever comes out, but I'd think it would be cool to have one. I'm sure I'd break a few bones doing dumb things with them.

The Albino Raven · Post by **The Albino Raven** » 2003-06-02 07:08pm

I'm sure it's going to be "too dangerous" for children if something using that technology ever comes out, but I'd think it would be cool to have one. I'm sure I'd break a few bones doing dumb things with them.

Still though, think of all the cool stuff you could do with it. Seriously awesome, though a bit dangerous

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-02 07:19pm

It's incredibly cool, all the applications are certainly interesting even though I read about this in New Scientist over a month ago.

At least Fuchikomas and Tachokomas in Ghost in the Shell have a better mechanism other than vacuum cups for sticking to walls.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-06-02 07:26pm

This will be THE hot item on every burgular's wish list.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-02 07:31pm

RedImperator wrote:This will be THE hot item on every burgular's wish list.

Until they get stuck one day and can't rip free until the cops arrive.

"Stick around!"

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-06-02 07:41pm

Great, another Arnold Schwarzenegger line you can use straight-faced.

Saurencaerthai · Post by **Saurencaerthai** » 2003-06-02 08:34pm

Eh, I still prefer ropes and repelling lines.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-06-02 08:36pm

You'd need to very well-built to be able to climb like that, methinks.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-06-02 08:44pm

I`ve been thinking about it and that would be really usefull to the French wacko who likes to climb buildings.

Saurencaerthai · Post by **Saurencaerthai** » 2003-06-02 08:45pm

Shinova wrote:You'd need to very well-built to be able to climb like that, methinks.

Hey, provided I got a safety harness on, I just keep on goin! Climbing absolutely rules.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-06-02 08:47pm

RedImperator wrote:This will be THE hot item on every burgular's wish list.

Course many forms of house walls wouldn't support that much weight willout the siding or such pulling away... but then many burglars aren't very bright.

ArmorPierce · Post by **ArmorPierce** » 2003-06-03 01:45am

Montcalm wrote:I`ve been thinking about it and that would be really usefull to the French wacko who likes to climb buildings.

I was thinking the same thing. Anyways, I don't think that this would matter to the average person, it would be pretty hard to pull yourself considering that it would be harder than rock climbing.

Post by **Gandalf** » 2003-06-03 04:15am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
RedImperator wrote:This will be THE hot item on every burgular's wish list.
Until they get stuck one day and can't rip free until the cops arrive.

"Stick around!"

Sounds like a sticky situation.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-06-03 10:31am

Gandalf wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:
RedImperator wrote:This will be THE hot item on every burgular's wish list.
Until they get stuck one day and can't rip free until the cops arrive.

"Stick around!"
Sounds like a sticky situation.

Alright. No more puns out of you.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-06-03 07:16pm

ArmorPierce wrote:I was thinking the same thing. Anyways, I don't think that this would matter to the average person, it would be pretty hard to pull yourself considering that it would be harder than rock climbing.

At least you won't have to worry about falling to your doom if you use the stuff right.

Admiral Johnason · Post by **Admiral Johnason** » 2003-06-03 07:26pm

neoolong wrote:And when Spider-Man 2 comes out. Guess what's going to be on every kid's Christmas list.

Daddy, my finger won't come out of my nose.