Gazprom was much criticized not investing enoughHowever the two assets do not have the same profileIn theory it is not subject to income taxCitroën progresses at the same time of 62 anticipates Pierre Olivier Beffy ExaneBehind meat and fish suffer no criticism4 according to Médiamétrie and Italy 12Gattégno readers know humour of grave diggerAppeal to children is also important that seduce adultsThe followup to this debate remain unclearMost of the people crush them a vengeful heel or call the sanitation specialists to get rid once and for all. Cockroaches but hid a useful secret. Scientists from the Max-Planck-Institute for research on metals, located in Stuttgart, had the idea to study these multisegmented legs. After long months of research, they discovered that their "feet" were covered with microscopic hairs that the ends resemble fungi.
These insects are not the only animals to have a such feature, which allows them to walk on walls or stick to the ceiling without falling. Spiders and geckos do the same. More animal, more hairs are small, the researchers have even discovered. But it is the particular form of microscopic hairs of the cockroach that seems especially interested specialists.
After an impressive series of tests, "thinkers heads" of the German Institute are managed, in collaboration with Gottlieb Binder company, to create a new adhesive material which is based directly on the surface of the legs of cockroaches of the Chrysomelidae family. To make these tiny hairs, the scientists, who published the findings of their trials in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, have created a mould in which a polymer substance is poured. A visibly recipe simple, but which required "of many trials and many failures", recognizes Stanislav Gorb, the Director of the research team working on this project.
No visible trace
Build this microscopic mold first was a challenge. Find the good substance polymer capable of this particular form of fungus without sticking to the surface of the mould has also requested great efforts. Scientists are working, do not forget, in the Kingdom of the infinitely small. The "hat" of the "fungus" does not exceed 40 micrometers, microns, or four human hair thickness, and his "foot" is barely 100 micrometers.
The first results of the tests carried out on this new adhesive material appear to be very promising. Researchers have already managed to walk a robot of 120 grams on a vertical surface of glass. This innovative "scotch" may indeed be pasted hundreds of times without losing any of its features. And it leaves no visible trace to the naked eye. When it is dirty, the adhesive is easily washable with soapy water. Scientists also calculated that a surface of 5 cm square of this new material was capable of maintaining a 100 grams on the wall object. This proportion is much lower for an object hanging from the ceiling. This "nanocolle" works also significantly better on smooth surfaces such as glass or varnished wood, on rough structures as wallpaper to wood chips. "Insects have them also difficulties for move to slightly rough surfaces, said Stanislav Gorb.". It is one of the fundamental data of any problem related to the mechanisms of adhesion.
Scientists of the Max-Planck Institute know that several months of work ahead to develop the ideal adhesive material. "We still have a lot of work to do, also does not hide Stanislas Gorb. A model who gets good results in a laboratory is still far away a product can be manufactured on a large scale in a factory. "However, the possible applications of this new adhesive material appear to be sufficiently numerous to justify the continuation of the research of German specialists. The manufacture of protective films for glass surfaces is one of the practical uses of this product, which might well condemn small magnets that families love ask on their fridge.
