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Now that scientists have figured out how geckos stick to walls, and even invented adhesives which mimic the effect, how about putting this material on the surface of car tires, for better grip on the road?
The Geico Gecko
http://www.geico.co.../word-from-sponsor/
A national mascot who is worth billions [blissmiss, Apr 09 2009]
[link]
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Maybe for sports, but I have a feeling dirt and rain are going to scupper plans for an everyday tyre. |
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It occurs to me that a drag racer might have trouble doing a burnout with synthetic gecko textured tires -- they'd have *too much* traction for the front brakes to hold the vehicle back. |
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[+] for look into it further. |
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//... I have a feeling dirt and rain are going to scupper plans for an everyday tyre.// |
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Does rain and dirt thwart geckos? |
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Because tyres wear. So unless you plan a growing tyre that can reconstitute the setae you will start experiencing van der walls forces. |
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Well you could also advertise for your car
insurance on the rims. (see link) |
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Greco Grip Tyres might be a new form of sportswear worn by participants in Classical Wrestling to counter the slippery olive-oil problem. |
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I think there is a salad option/comment in there
somewhere [zen-tom]. |
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//Does rain and dirt thwart geckos?// |
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That was a bit of a rubbish anno, particularly overlooking wear as [4whom] pointed out. Water does reduce the effect of gecko stick, I guess thats why they tend to live in hot countries. For a tyre it would lead to 2 levels of aquaplaning, the first being 'micro-aquaplaning' which needs to be born in mind when gecko racing in humid conditions. |
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//That was a bit of a rubbish anno// |
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Well if we're going to be childish: |
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Geckos have to cope with wear too - you idiot.
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One might have to consider how to either embed the appropriate materials so as to be continuously exposed throughout the tyres lifetime, or to be continuously re-applied to the surface. That's if you don't want a growing tyre, of course. |
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Incidentally, the Wikipedia gecko page includes the following snippet:
//adhesion varies with humidity and is dramatically reduced under water, suggesting a contribution from capillarity. The setae on the feet of geckos are also self cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt within a few steps// |
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So dirt may not be such an issue, but the tyres may not be as good in the wet. Then again, that's true of rubber tyres and people still seem to drive around. |
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//It occurs to me that a drag racer might have trouble doing a burnout with synthetic gecko textured tires -- they'd have *too much* traction for the front brakes to hold the vehicle back.// |
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Since they may be at their most useful as a speciality coating for short races, this won't do. I propose some form of small piston to hold the back end of the drag-racer off the ground while they spin their tyres up to speed. I'm not actually sure - is the idea to do this before the lights go green to get their large mass moving? Or is it as I vaguely recall done before the lights come up, to warm up the tyres for better grip later? If it's the latter, you just wouldn't need to do that at all. |
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//Well if we're going to be childish// |
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That anno was a bit crap as well in that when I said "That was a bit of a rubbish anno" I was actually refering to my first anno. |
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Wouldn't the sound of thousands of little gecko suckers add to the sound pollution problem?
phack, phack, phack..... |
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//Now that scientists have figured out how geckos stick to walls// |
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Figuring out is one thing. Recreating is what they've had trouble with. Even moisture in the air or tiny amounts on surfaces will ruin current artificial gecko skins in a matter of minutes. Once they can create self cleaning gecko skin, I'm sure they'll use it for all kinds of things. |
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With regards to tyres though, adhesive isn't going to be much use, you need real macro tread to get a grip (and also to drain water away). Driving sticky tyres would increase drag a lot, and cause lots of problems driving on sand/gravel/dirt etc. |
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[bofch80] That is a question asked nowhere else
but the halfbakery I'm guessing. |
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//I was actually refering to my first anno.// |
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In that case - apology accepted. |
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I, for one, will fight tooth and nail to oppose my local Council's right to paint yellow lines on my house and windows! |
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Yes, self cleaning is the real issue. A Gecko surface tire would become a dirt surface tire within a 100 yards. The Gecko's pads are self cleaning partially because they rotate the area being used to allow for cleaning. Also and most crutially the rolling motion is incorrect for Gecko adhesion and removal. You need a down and back motion to lock, followed by a forward and up motion to unlock. If a rolling motion were used then it would slide a little to grip and then tear the road surface off as it rolled. (-) A dragster with Gecko tires would gun the engine the tires would slip till they lock and then the whole dragster would attempt to rotate on the now immobile rear axle or tear that piece of tarmac off the strip. |
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