Touchstone adhesive explained

[skillsthebarber]

here is an article about the carbon nanotubes that mimic the geckos feet

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0619083554.htm

Nanotube Adhesive Sticks Better Than A Gecko's Foot

Mimicking the agile gecko, with its uncanny ability to run up walls and across ceilings, has long been a goal of materials scientists. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Akron have taken one sticky step in the right direction, creating synthetic “gecko tape” with four times the sticking power of the real thing.
The researchers describe a process for making polymer surfaces covered with carbon nanotube hairs. The nanotubes imitate the thousands of microscopic hairs on a gecko’s footpad, which form weak bonds with whatever surface the creature touches, allowing it to “unstick” itself simply by shifting its foot.
For the first time, the team has developed a prototype flexible patch that can stick and unstick repeatedly with properties better than the natural gecko foot. They fashioned their material into an adhesive tape that can be used on a wide variety of surfaces, including Teflon.
Pulickel Ajayan, the Henry Burlage Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer, and Lijie Ci, a postdoctoral research associate in Ajayan’s lab, created the material in collaboration with Ali Dhinojwala, professor of polymer science at the University of Akron, and University of Akron graduate students Liehui Ge and Sunny Sethi.
“Several people have tried to use carbon nanotube films and other fibrous structures as high-adhesive surfaces and to mimic gecko feet, but with limited success when it comes to realistic demonstrations of the stickiness and reversibility that one sees in gecko feet,” Ajayan said. “We have shown that the patchy structures from micropatterned nanotubes are essential for this unique engineering feat to work. The nanotubes also need to be the right kind, with the right dimensions and compliance.”
“Geckos inspired us to develop a synthetic gecko tape unlike any you’ll find in a hardware store,” Dhinojwala says. “Synthetic gecko tape uses ‘van der Waals interactions’ — the same interactions that hold liquids and solids together — to stick to a variety of surfaces without using sticky glues.”
The material could have a number of applications, including feet for wall-climbing robots; a dry, reversible adhesive in electronic devices; and outer space, where most adhesives don’t work because of the vacuum.
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the June 18–22 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

[meyerweb]

I hope your thread title was a joke, since the article says the scientists have only created a prototype.

[Syphon]

The article is from 2007. This is probably exactly what is used in the Touchstone.
Interesting read though, thanks for providing it!

[cyndy]

peter skillman, vp of design, mentions gecko tech at about 2:45 in this vid

[fwinst]

Interesting. When a gecko loses some of the "fibers" that enable it to climb, I'm reasonably certain they would grow back. Since the synthetic version is 4x as strong, what happens as the surface loses those fibers? What I'm trying to ask is, how long can we reasonably expect our "gecko" device to last?

[schnoid]

Originally Posted by fwinst

Interesting. When a gecko loses some of the "fibers" that enable it to climb, I'm reasonably certain they would grow back. Since the synthetic version is 4x as strong, what happens as the surface loses those fibers? What I'm trying to ask is, how long can we reasonably expect our "gecko" device to last?

Very good question. I hope that we can rely on some really long warranty just in case. if not, I guess there will be a lot of people taping these things to their desks.

[Rhody]

Originally Posted by fwinst

Interesting. When a gecko loses some of the "fibers" that enable it to climb, I'm reasonably certain they would grow back. Since the synthetic version is 4x as strong, what happens as the surface loses those fibers? What I'm trying to ask is, how long can we reasonably expect our "gecko" device to last?

I bet replacement pads will be available for a price.

[BMIC50]

I am sure that this technology will get better. I imagine that it can be sold for any application (unless Palm patents it).

[palmhead]

I just found these pictures today. One of them shows the Touchstone on something almost vertical. Very cool.

http://jkontherun.com/2009/01/08/pal...semi-adhesive/

[jhoff80]

Originally Posted by PalmHead

I just found these pictures today. One of them shows the Touchstone on something almost vertical. Very cool.

http://jkontherun.com/2009/01/08/pal...semi-adhesive/

I'm not entirely sure I'd call that almost vertical, but hopefully it'll work on vertical surfaces. It would be very convenient and save a bit of space to stick it onto the wall behind my desk and just have the Pre hang there freely.

[palmhead]

You're right that almost vertical was an exageration. My enthusiasm swept away my reason. I'm with you in wanting to be able to stick it on the wall, but I'm not sure in reality that I'd do it -- even with insurance.

[Gerorne]

Install a small mirror on the wall (or surface that it works extremely well with), and attach it to that?

I didn't even think of putting it on the wall, but now that you guys mentioned it, I think I might try for that. I know the spot it would would great on all picked out. Just gotta figure out how to make it work.

[crogs571]

why would you put it on a wall? It'd have to be at crotch level or well over your head to see it since it's angled. Unless you just want to stand right in front of it.

[jhoff80]

Originally Posted by crogs571

why would you put it on a wall? It'd have to be at crotch level or well over your head to see it since it's angled. Unless you just want to stand right in front of it.

So that it doesn't take up room on my desk? And depending on the strength of the magnets you might be able to put it over eye level and upside down so that you can look up and see it..... of course, I wouldn't risk that anyway, but still.

[Gerorne]

Unless you're in a corner and can use the side wall to attach it to, or create an attachment that sets up the touchstone at a preferable angle.

Of course it doesn't necessarily have to be a wall either. Connect it to a desk drawer or the side of a bookshelf, as long as there is a material that's strong enough and depending on how strong the suction really is of course.

[ADAMINA]

Doesn’t u think these poor Indians are suffering from inferiority complex. Frustrated minds really afraid of Islam...Look at the face of this soldier LOLz, a pet dog of So-called Indian liberalism...