Snake scales protect steel against friction
Monday, August 17, 2015 - 10:31
in Biology & Nature
A snake moves without legs by the scales on its belly gripping the ground. It generates friction at the points needed to move forwards only and prevents its scales from being worn off by too much friction. Researchers of KIT have found a way to transfer this feature to components of movable systems. In this way, durability of hip prostheses, computer hard disks or smartphones might be enhanced. Their results are published in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.