Walking On Water
27 August 2007, 13:19
Categories: superhydrophobicphilic
Researchers at Dalian University of Technology in China and Simon Fraser University in Canada have found that the hydrophobic microstructure of mosquito legs enables the insect to walk on water. The team discovered that the legs of two mosquito species have seven sections, each covered by a large number of teardrop-shaped scales about 15 μm wide and 50 μm long. Ten ridges 200–250 nm thick extend longitudinally along the scales and are connected by numerous fine transverse ribs.
The researchers measured the force a mosquito leg could support on the surface of water by plunging legs into water at a slow constant rate and at different entry angles. They determined that a mosquito can support 23 times its body weight on the surface of water. In comparison, the water strider Gerris remigis can support 15 times its body weight. The contact angle of a water droplet on a mosquito leg is 153°, indicating that the scales are relatively hydrophobic.
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Posted by: The Editors
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