Butterfly wings inspire new high-tech surfaces
A South American butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a flurry of
nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio. Researchers here have taken a
new look at butterfly wings and rice leaves, and learned things about
their microscopic texture that could improve a variety of products.
For example, the researchers were able to clean up to 85 percent of dus
t
off a coated plastic surface that mimicked the texture of a butterfly
wing, compared to only 70 percent off a flat surface. In a recent issue
of the journal Soft Matter, the Ohio State University engineers report
that the textures enhance fluid flow and prevent surfaces from getting
dirty – characteristics that could be mimicked in high-tech surfaces for
aircraft and watercraft, pipelines, and medical equipment. "Nature has
evolved many surfaces that are self-cleaning or reduce drag," said
Bharat Bhushan, Ohio Eminent
Scholar and Howard D. Winbigler
Professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. "Reduced drag is
desirable for industry, whether you're trying to move a few drops of
blood through a nano-channel or millions of gallons of crude oil through
a pipeline. And self-cleaning surfaces would be useful for medical
equipment – catheters, or anything that might harbor bacteria."
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/
Butterfly wings inspire new high-tech surfaces
A South American butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a flurry of nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio. Researchers here have taken a new look at butterfly wings and rice leaves, and learned things about their microscopic texture that could improve a variety of products.
For example, the researchers were able to clean up to 85 percent of dus
A South American butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a flurry of nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio. Researchers here have taken a new look at butterfly wings and rice leaves, and learned things about their microscopic texture that could improve a variety of products.
For example, the researchers were able to clean up to 85 percent of dus
t
off a coated plastic surface that mimicked the texture of a butterfly
wing, compared to only 70 percent off a flat surface. In a recent issue
of the journal Soft Matter, the Ohio State University engineers report
that the textures enhance fluid flow and prevent surfaces from getting
dirty – characteristics that could be mimicked in high-tech surfaces for
aircraft and watercraft, pipelines, and medical equipment. "Nature has
evolved many surfaces that are self-cleaning or reduce drag," said
Bharat Bhushan, Ohio Eminent
Scholar and Howard D. Winbigler Professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. "Reduced drag is desirable for industry, whether you're trying to move a few drops of blood through a nano-channel or millions of gallons of crude oil through a pipeline. And self-cleaning surfaces would be useful for medical equipment – catheters, or anything that might harbor bacteria."
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/
Scholar and Howard D. Winbigler Professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. "Reduced drag is desirable for industry, whether you're trying to move a few drops of blood through a nano-channel or millions of gallons of crude oil through a pipeline. And self-cleaning surfaces would be useful for medical equipment – catheters, or anything that might harbor bacteria."
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/
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