#hydrophobic — Public Fediverse posts

Insect Wings in Extreme Macro

Photographer Chris Perani is fascinated by the microstructures of insect wings, which he captures in “extreme macro” through focus stacking–letting us see wings in glorious micron-scale detail. In addition to giving insects their brilliant colors and irridescence, these structures serve another key role: they help insects stay dry. In a world where contact with water is unavoidable, insects have instead evolved to trap air in the gaps of their wings, letting water slide off instead of sticking. (Image credit: C. Perani; via Colossal)

RE: https://fairdinkum.one/@John/116156295239340696

#Lanolin. The #sheep are effectively "self-cleaning" or at least keep their inner fleece clean & dry in the #rain, largely due to lanolin, a natural waxy grease secreted by sheep's skin that makes their wool #hydrophobic, allowing rain to bead up and roll off rather than soaking into the coat. 🤔

Evaporating Off Butterfly Scales

This award-winning macro video shows scattered water droplets evaporating off a butterfly‘s wing. At first glance, it’s hard to see any motion outside of the camera’s sweep, but if you focus on one drop at a time, you’ll see them shrinking. For most of their lifetime, these tiny drops are nearly spherical; that’s due to the hydrophobic, water-shedding nature of the wing. But as the drops get smaller and less spherical, you may notice how the drop distorts the scales it adheres to. Wherever the drop touches, the wing scales are pulled up, and, when the drop is gone, the scales settle back down. This is a subtle but neat demonstration of the water’s adhesive power. (Video and image credit: J. McClellan; via Nikon Small World in Motion)

#adhesion #biology #butterfly #evaporation #fluidDynamics #hydrophobic #physics #science #sessileDrop

How Insects Fly in the Rain

Getting caught in the rain is annoying for us but has the potential to be deadly for smaller creatures like insects. So how do they survive a deluge? First, they don’t resist a raindrop, and second, they have the kinds of surfaces water likes to roll or bounce off. The key to this second ability is micro- and nanoscale roughness. Surfaces like butterfly wings, water strider feet, and leaf surfaces contain lots of tiny gaps where air gets caught. Water’s cohesion — its attraction to itself — is large enough that water drops won’t squeeze into these tiny spaces. Instead, like the ball it resembles, a water drop slides or bounces away. (Video and image credit: Be Smart)

#biology #butterfly #cohesion #droplets #fluidDynamics #hydrophobic #insects #physics #science #superhydrophobic #surfaceRoughness #surfaceTension

Thx for a ☕ paypal.me/mosescartoons

Die neuesten Moses Cartoons per Newsletter bekommen 👉 www.mosescartoons.de

#mosescartoons #cartoonist #cartoon #karikatur #lustig #humor #hydrophobie #hydrophobic #swimming #fun #funnycartoon