A Source for the Excellent Floating Ability of a Water Strider

作者：Liu Shuang; Liu Zhan-Wei^*; Shi Wen-Xiong

来源：Chinese Physics Letters, 2014, 31(10): 106801.

DOI：10.1088/0256-307X/31/10/106801

• LIQUID SURFACE
• LOCOMOTION
• INTERFEROMETER
• HYDRODYNAMICS
• DEFORMATION
• SHAPE
• LEGS

A water strider's floating mechanism is of significance for the design of new biomimetic robots. However, the explanation of this mechanism has not been fully comprehended due to a lack of effective experimental methods. We describe a novel transmission speckle correlation technique, which is used to determine the deformation of liquid surfaces caused by a resting water strider, as well as a calculation of the resulting forces in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the variation of the liquid surface morphology at different times in the process of a water strider being unconscious has been measured and analyzed. The results show that the wax material secreted by water striders is a vital source for the excellent floating ability of a water strider, and that the effective time of the wax is less than 2 h.

• 出版日期2014-10
• 单位北京理工大学