Man can climb like Spiderman with new gecko technology
- Published
A man has climbed a glass wall using Spiderman style technology.
Researchers at Stanford University have made special hand and feet pads which enabled a man to stick to, and climb up, a slippery glass wall.
The pads use technology inspired by the feet of lizards, called geckos, which are able to hang upside down from ceilings and climb walls.
It could be used by soldiers or to help astronauts get around in weightless conditions.
Geckos' feet have thousands of tiny hairs which let them stick to walls and ceilings.
Forces
Forces called Electrostatic Van der Waals attract tiny particles called molecules which are next to each other.
Although the force is tiny it is multiplied between the thousands of tiny hairs on the geckos' feet.
Because of this the force is then big enough to stick them firmly to surfaces.
This man used the special pads to climb up a glass wall during the experiment.
The pads are made up of lots of smaller sections which use the force to attach to the glass.
It is so strong it can hold the weight of a full grown man.