Decode the ability to climb walls of geckos

American scientists found that geckos are hardened to increase their ability to stick when climbing.

Decode the climbing ability of geckos

Gecko is famous for being a talented climber. They can climb walls, crawl all over the ceiling and even hang upside down on very smooth glass surfaces.

The tiny hairs under the feet help them cling to the surface with a force called the van der Waals molecule force , without resorting to a liquid or surface tension.

The larger the gecko, the harder the body becomes, helping them to increase the adhesion force to support the entire body weight.(Photo: UMass / Sean Werle).

The superior climbing ability of geckos draws the attention of scientists and leads to the introduction of adhesive tape that can be easily attached and removed, based on the properties of the under-toe cushion. The switch

So how can geckos weighing up to 250g stick to the surface so much? There is a theory that their adhesion is related to the size of the toe pad. As a result, larger geckos with larger toe pads also help them climb as well as those that weigh only two grams.

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According to scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, another factor also contributed significantly to this ability. The bigger the body, the harder their body is, like the string. This helps them increase the adhesion force to support all body weight.

"The results of this study are very interesting because it shows that large geckos climbing well are due to simple mechanics in the adhesion system , " said Professor Duncan J. Irschick, co-author of the study. rescue, explain.

The previous hypothesis is that geckos are as good as small geckos thanks to the wider toe pads.(Photo: UMass / Duncan J Irschick).

American scientists hypothesize that man-made adhesives, based on gecko's adaptability, are more effective when they are made harder. The hypothesis based on the study of adhesion force was introduced by Michael D. Bartlett and Alfred J. Crosby, Massachusetts Amherst University, in the 2013 Langmuir magazine.

"There is a theory that the sticking glue is as hard as possible, and we want to prove this in living things," Irschick said.

The adhesion test is performed on both geckos and synthetic adhesives to verify the grip force as well as changes in the hardness of the gecko body. They found that in large geckos, tendons, skin, connective tissue and leg hair are stiffer than small ones. This increase in hardness helps the big ones create enough gravity to climb.

"The results of this study are certainly a challenge to the prevailing view that the larger the gecko, the greater the adhesion force simply because their toe pads are wider," Professor Irschick said.

The research results help us not only to understand more about climbing species but also to create more types of adhesives.(Photo: UMass Amherst).

"Not only do large foot pads help larger geckos stick better, but changes in body size also play a significant role , and this is a new research result."

When the total hardness increases, the adhesion force also increases due to the more efficient storage and distribution of the van der Waals molecular bonding force. The results of the study not only help us better understand the climbing ability of different species in size, but also help create more quality adhesives, Mr. Irschick concluded.