Reptile Wars

Tommi · 09-12-2012, 09:29 AM

Western Banded Gecko

We have gecko's everywhere, and they can be seen in the strangest places, and you wonder how they can do that..well.

""With all the leaping around they do geckos need to be sure-footed to survive, so it helps that their feet are stickier than our strongest super glue. Every square millimeter of their footpads contains about 14,000 superfine hair-like structures, and each one of them is tipped with between 100 and 1000 even finer bristles (see second photo). The gecko is able to tap into powerful electrostatic forces that surge in the narrow gaps between the hairs. It’s these van der Waals forces that lend the gecko’s feet their near-supernatural tackiness. So forget nails, the mathematics of these forces indicates that — and we stress that this is purely speculation — a full-sized gecko on your ceiling could support the weight of a 290-pound chandelier

Every square millimeter of gecko footpads contain about 14,000 superfine hair-like structures.

09-12-2012, 09:29 AM	#8
Tommi Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Usually "Hello" Relationship Status: Married and Bound to Tommi's kaijira (Ts_kaijira ) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Suthun.... California that is. Across the ridge from Laguna Beach. Posts: 8,151 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,621 Thanked 21,338 Times in 5,970 Posts Rep Power: 21474861	Western Banded Gecko Western Banded Gecko We have gecko's everywhere, and they can be seen in the strangest places, and you wonder how they can do that..well. ""With all the leaping around they do geckos need to be sure-footed to survive, so it helps that their feet are stickier than our strongest super glue. Every square millimeter of their footpads contains about 14,000 superfine hair-like structures, and each one of them is tipped with between 100 and 1000 even finer bristles (see second photo). The gecko is able to tap into powerful electrostatic forces that surge in the narrow gaps between the hairs. It’s these van der Waals forces that lend the gecko’s feet their near-supernatural tackiness. So forget nails, the mathematics of these forces indicates that — and we stress that this is purely speculation — a full-sized gecko on your ceiling could support the weight of a 290-pound chandelier Every square millimeter of gecko footpads contain about 14,000 superfine hair-like structures.