Have you ever wondered how a butterfly can fly in the rain, even though it appears to have paper thin delicate wings; Or how droplets of water nestle, like marbles, in the cleft of nasturtium leaves?
A group of scientists in the United States have come up with what is thought to be the direst possible made made surface, based on what they observed in the natural environment.
Published in Nature, the process is described as superhydrophobic and has been inspired by studying the super-dry surfaces of the leaves of nasturtiums and butterfly wings.
Miniature ridges were added to a silicon surface which, by reducing the time water is in contact with the surface, helped shed water four times faster that any previously known man-made material.
It is thought the technology will be used in a wide applications from clothing to tent manufacturing and even to help stop ice forming on airplane wings.
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