Biomimicry
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Fish and Flowers Inspire Diving Goggle Material

Fish and Flowers Inspire Diving Goggle Material | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"Light scattering means that many synthetic oil-repellent surfaces are opaque, limiting their use. A transparent, oil-repellent surface would have applications in biology and underwater optics, including in diving goggles and cameras. Now, Feng Chen’s research group at Xi’an Jiaotong University has developed such a material. Fish repel oil by trapping water within their scales to create a self-cleaning, oil-repellent coat and prompted part of the idea behind the work. Chen’s other brainwave was triggered by Diphylleia grayi – also known as the skeleton flower."

lavieepanouie's curator insight, April 22, 2015 5:16 PM

Ou comment la nature nous inspire !

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Characterization of the Topography and Wettability of English Weed Leaves and Biomimetic Replicas

Characterization of the Topography and Wettability of English Weed Leaves and Biomimetic Replicas | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

In a recent paper published in Journal of Bionic Engineering, researchers from BERG-IBB studied the topography and wettability of the underside of English weed (Oxalis pes-caprae) leaves using epoxy replicas created via a two-step casting process. Leaves were found to be close to super hydrophobic due to the presence of a characteristic pattern of irregular 100 µm – 200 µm × 60 µm convex papillae. The water repellency properties of such microstructured surfaces may have important applications, including self-cleaning, anti-microbial and anti-fouling.

 

Photo details: SEM image of an epoxy replica of the leaf of English weed. P.M. Pereira, 2013.


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Waterproof Surface is 'Driest Ever'

Waterproof Surface is 'Driest Ever' | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"US engineers have created the "most waterproof material ever" - inspired by nasturtium leaves and butterfly wings. The new "super-hydrophobic" surface could keep clothes dry and stop aircraft engines icing over, they say."

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Butterfly-Wing Wafers to Clad Iridescent Buildings

Butterfly-Wing Wafers to Clad Iridescent Buildings | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

Now no one can say butterflies are all style and no substance. This might look like a pretty lily pad but it is actually a wafer created with lasers to mimic the iridescent colours of a butterfly's wings. For extra credit, Shu Yang at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who led the project, also made the wafer water-repellent - another property of butterflies' wings, which helps them fly through rain.

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Lotus Leaf Inspires Fog-free Finish for Transparent Surfaces

Inspired by the water-repellent properties of the lotus leaf, a group of scientists in China has discovered a way to impart a fog-free, self-cleaning finish to glass and other transparent materials.
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Water Boatman Bug Inspires New Submarine Design That Could Skate On Top of the Ocean!

Water Boatman Bug Inspires New Submarine Design That Could Skate On Top of the Ocean! | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
A team from Hexi University in China believe that by studying the water boatman's hind wings, they can design a submarine that is not only capable of operating underwater, but also of maneuvering on the surface!
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An Optical Display Made of Water and Air and Inspired by the Lotus Flower

An Optical Display Made of Water and Air and Inspired by the Lotus Flower | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

[...] researchers at Aalto University in Finland [...] in conjunction with the Nokia Research Center and University of Cambridge [...] discovered an innovative way to write and display information using only air and water. Not only that, they've drawn inspiration from the water-repelling flower that's an emblem of enlightenment and non-attachment: the Sacred Lotus.

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Quenching the World's Water and Energy Crises, One Tiny Droplet at a Time

Quenching the World's Water and Energy Crises, One Tiny Droplet at a Time | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"In the Namib Desert of Africa, the fog-filled morning wind carries the drinking water for a beetle called the Stenocara. iny droplets collect on the beetle's bumpy back. The areas between the bumps are covered in a waxy substance that makes them water-repellant, or hydrophobic (water-fearing). Water accumulates on the water-loving, or hydrophilic, bumps, forming droplets that eventually grow too big to stay put, then roll down the waxy surface. [...]  More than a decade ago, news of this creature's efficient water collection system inspired engineers to try and reproduce these surfaces in the lab. Small-scale advances in fluid physics, materials engineering and nanoscience since that time have brought them close to succeeding."




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Nanotube Forests Drink Water From Arid Air

Nanotube Forests Drink Water From Arid Air | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"Researchers in the lab of Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan found a way to mimic the Stenocara beetle, which survives in the desert by stretching its wings to capture and drink water molecules from the early morning fog. They modified carbon nanotube forests grown through a process created at Rice, giving the nanotubes a superhydrophobic (water-repelling) bottom and a hydrophilic (water loving) top. The forest attracts water molecules from the air and, because the sides are naturally hydrophobic, traps them inside."

 

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Controlling Wettability: 'Sticky tape' for Water Droplets Mimics Rose Petal

Controlling Wettability: 'Sticky tape' for Water Droplets Mimics Rose Petal | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

A new nanostructured material may lead to surfaces that stay dry forever, never need cleaning and are able to repel bacteria and even prevent mold and fungi growth. "The newly discovered material uses raspberry particles -- so-called because of their appearance -- which can trap tiny water droplets and prevent them from rolling off surfaces, even when that surface is turned upside down," said Dr Andrew Telford from the University's School of Chemistry and lead author of the research recently published in the journal, Chemistry of Materials. The raspberry particles mimic the surface structure of some rose petals.

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Joanna Aizenberg - Extreme Biomimetics

Joanna Aizenberg displays fascinating processes in nature, and shares with us how we can mimic these processes to improve our daily lives..

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Spider Hairs Biomimicry for Hydrophobic Surfaces

Spider Hairs Biomimicry for Hydrophobic Surfaces | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

Engineering researchers have created what they say is a “nearly perfect hydrophobic interface” by mimicking spiders. By using plastic to reproduce the shape and patterns of the minute hairs that grow on the bodies of spiders, the researchers have created one of the most water-phobic surfaces yet.

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The Lotus Effect

The Lotus Effect | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

If you've ever seen a lotus leaf, you might have noticed that their leaves are water proof. Check this spectacular video from the Smithsonian channel showing this so-called  Lotus Effect.

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