Rock climbers Jennifer and Nooshin wonder how some lizards can climb rocks so easily. They visit the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley and compare the climbing ability of different lizards. You could call it Lizard Mania! They notice that the best climbers are geckos. At a lab at the University of California Berkeley they find out why, learning that special, nanoscale hairs on Gecko Feet are the secret to their amazing climbing abilities.
Jasmine and Melinda wonder why water beads up on some plants and not others. At San Francisco's Exploratorium, they learn that surfaces at the nanoscale aren't always smooth, and that nanohairs on nasturtium leaves cause them to be water repellent. The girls collect other plants with hairy leaves and test their ability to repel water, taking some samples to Stanford University for up-closing imaging. They also compare the structure of nasturtium leaves to water-resistant fabric used in nanopants and other consumer products.
Check out nanocar engineer Jason Guerrero . He creates the smallest cars in the world: nanocars! About 20,000 of his cars could be parked side-by-side across the diameter of a single hair. What on earth? Some day nanosized vehicles might be used to transport molecules, making it easier to build things at the nanoscale.
Here's a challenging question: How much weight could a nano hold if it could use all its setae (tiny, nanosized hairs) at once? Input your answer in the Whiz Quiz on the right.
Do you think it's important to investigate how stuff works at the nanoscale? Tell us what think in the Hey...Wait a Nanosecond! feature.
