h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Gecko Tape - A5782511
Author: radioactiveBigAl1 - Patron Saint of Left Handers. Keeper of mnemonics. Saboteur of boring and banal conversation. - U723247

Some information on a fascinating new material

I agree fascinating.

As you say you can't pull a gecko off a wall, are you saying that geckos can control the polarity of these setae to enable them to move their feet at will ?

Well, here-in lies a paradox. I'm just about to add a sentence to the effect that geckos have evolved over centuries to be able to attach and remore their feet from surfaces at will. Chemists have been unable to achieve this syntetically.

Well, I just added a para about Teflon, as this is the only material to which geckos- and hence gecko tape- won't stick.

When I went to link it to the EG Entry on 'Teflon, by the IOld Writing Team, I found an Entry that is all of 5 lines long and factually inaccurate. So, I won't be able to rest until I've re-written that

Absolutely fascinating, Big Al!! Another fine piece in progress.

PS [Under pthe scanning electron microscope,...} Under the ...

Strange thing is, this is exactly how Spiderman gets around!

That's why my vitual pet is a gecko called spiderman

If you can hang a fully laden from a gecko, how does the gecko himself manage to remove his feet from the wall? I know you say he peels it off like sellotape, but can you explain this more, please?

No, that's what scientists are trying to find out - then they can emulate it.

Can you make that clear in the entry, please? I didn't notice it saying that anywhere.

I thought I had at one point - maybe it 'slipped off'. I'll take a look.

What do you think now, Gnomon?

That's a bit clearer now.

Al you say at the start that the product will be infinitely re-usable, but if I read what you're saying correctly, they haven't -as yet - devised a way to actually remove it intact. Is that correct ?

Incidently your final paragraph and first footnote are virtually identical

I think I said it's potentially re-usable. You're correct, they haven't yet found a way to remove it - which is one reason why it's not yet on the market.

Oops, it's not that it can't be peeled off, one peels it off like sellotape. It's that the artificial setae are not yet robiust enough to cope with multiple re-uses. The reason that the first footnote is identicalk to the last paragraph is that people may be wondering, from para 1, why the tape is not yet infinitely reusable.So, I ncorporated the info. twice.

What a great Entry It's this kind of thing that will keep me coming back to PR. Thanks Al

I have just two wee comments:

>...uncurling its toes when attaching, and unpeeling while detaching...< Would unpeeling be the same as curling? I had a good mental picture until I got to >unpeeling<

>attractve< - >attractive<

Fabulous stuff

fb, I've modified that.

Although they're 'van de Waals' forces, the V should be capitalised in the HEADER and at the start of a sentence as far as I know. You also need to capitalise your other HEADERs more (eg Is There Anything To Which A Gecko Can't Adhere? or summat like that )

Alex

dunnit

Great

Just one other nitpick () - there's something going on with your tags in the last paragraph, leading to an errant 'multiple uses' at the end...