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Synthetic setae emulate the setae found on the toes of a gecko and scientific research in this area is driven towards the development of dry adhesives. Geckos have no difficulty mastering vertical walls and are apparently capable of adhering themselves to just about any surface.
In 2007, researchers from the University of Akron and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced they had developed a form of flexible, reusable gecko tape using carbon nanotubes to create microscopic synthetic setae and spatulae capable of supporting a shear stress of 32 N/cm 2, which is four times the strength of a gecko's foot.
Nano tape, also called gecko tape is a synthetic adhesive tape consisting of arrays of carbon nanotubes transferred onto a backing material of flexible polymer tape. These arrays are called synthetic setae and mimic the nanostructures found on the toes of a gecko; this is an example of biomimicry.
Synthetic setae are a class of synthetic adhesives that detach at will, sometimes called resettable adhesives, yet display substantial stickiness. The development of such synthetic materials is a matter of current research. [6] [13] [14]
The interactions between the gecko's feet and the climbing surface are stronger than simple surface area effects. On its feet, the gecko has many microscopic hairs, or setae (singular seta), that increase the Van der Waals forces - the distance-dependent attraction between atoms or molecules - between its feet and the surface.
Synthetic setae, emulate the anatomical processes found on various animals, including the feet of basilisk lizards and the toes of geckos "Synthetic", a song by Spineshank from The Height of Callousness , 2000
Attachment systems in these organisms have similar structures at their terminal elements of contact, known as setae. Such biological examples have offered inspiration in order to produce climbing robots, [citation needed] boots and tape. [91] Synthetic setae have also been developed for the production of dry adhesives.
Even though the interaction energy is very weak (~10–100 meV), physisorption plays an important role in nature. For instance, the van der Waals attraction between surfaces and foot-hairs of geckos (see Synthetic setae) provides the remarkable ability to climb up vertical walls. [4]