Springtails are small, jumping insects. Semiaquatic varieties use their tails to jump off water in order to move around and escape predation. Among these water jumpers, results vary; some, like Keep reading
Tag: adhesion
Sound Makes Stickier Bandages
Keeping wounds safe and clean is hard when bandages are so prone to coming off. A team of researchers may have found a solution, though, using ultrasound to enhance adhesion. Keep reading
Adhering Through Vibration
This little robot relies on vibration to generate its adhesion. By vibrating its flexible disk, it generates low pressure in the thin air layer between the disk and the surface. Keep reading
Kicking Droplets
Moving the surface a droplet sits on creates some interesting dynamics, especially if the surface is hydrophobic. That’s what we see here with these droplets launched off an impulsively-moved plate. Keep reading
Lensing in a Straw
While doing the sort of experiment only a kid or a scientist would pursue – namely, staring down a straw – Dianna noticed that water in a straw creates a Keep reading
Capillary Action and Sand Castles
Capillary action – or capillarity – is the ability of liquids to flow through narrow constrictions. It results from intermolecular forces between fluids and solids. It’s a combination of surface Keep reading
Giving Droplets a Kick
Giving droplets a kick by accelerating the surface they sit on creates elaborate shapes as the drops respond. As the surface accelerates upward, the droplet flattens into a pancake. When Keep reading
Rain on Car Windows
As a child, I loved to ride in the car while it was raining. The raindrops on the window slid around in ways that fascinated and confused me. The idea Keep reading
Blowing Bubbles in Space
Blowing bubbles in your fruit juice is a bad idea when you’re in space, as astronaut Jack Fischer demonstrates. On Earth, gravity dominates water’s behavior, except when things are very Keep reading
Easy Squeezing
Nearly everyone has struggled with the frustration of trying to get ketchup, toothpaste, or peanut butter out of a container. These fluids and fluid-like substances are notoriously difficult to budge Keep reading