Geckos are known for their ability to scale vertical walls and even hang upside when they want to, and not scientist are able to understand more about how the climbers can pull off these gravity-defying feats.
Researchers were able to show that Geckos can quickly turn the stickiness of their feet on and off, according to a new study.
The Oregon State University researchers were able to prove that there is a mechanism in the toes of geckos that use tiny, branched hairs called "setae" that could turn their stickiness on and off, and even "unstick" their feet without using any energy.
Researchers already knew that the tufts of tiny hairs get so close to the contours in ceilings and walls that the van der Waals force kicks in, according to Live Science. This type of bond occurs when electrons from the gecko hair molecules and wall molecules interact with each other to create an electromagnetic attraction.
Now researchers have determined how a balance of forces acting on the gecko and the angle of its toe hairs contribute to the creature's sticking system.
"A gecko by definition is not sticky he has to do something to make himself sticky," study lead author Alex Greaney, a professor of engineering at Oregon State University in Corvallis, said to Live Science. "It's this incredible synergy of the flexibility, angle and extensibility of the hairs that makes it possible."
Greaney and a team of researchers were able to create a mathematical model that shows how the setae angle and the forces that act on a gecko as it climbs to interact to create a powerful sticking system.
The setae sprouting off the bottom of a gecko's feet don't stand up at a 90-degree angle, but instead branch out at oblique angles, according to Live Science.
The model shows that if the hairs bend at an angle closer to horizontal, the surface area that the geckos can stick to increases.
Setae are also very flexible. When a gecko jumps to another surface or changes direction quickly to escape a predator, its toe hairs absorb large amounts of energy and redirect it, according to the new study.
The flexibility of the setae helps redirect the energy and make it possible for geckos to walk across surfaces at any angle, unless the surface is covered in too much moisture.
Setae that are too flexible or long would get tangled up and cause geckos to slide and fall, said Greaney.
The model also showed that geckos have the ability to balance out the force of gravity by applying their own force to a wall. Greaney said now they want to explore the role that friction plays.
The study was published this week in the Journal of Applied Physics.
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