Scientists from Duke University have discovered how the lotus stays dry despite growing in muddy, watery environments–a puzzle that has haunted scientists for a long time.
The scientists used an audio speaker, a powerful microscope and an ultra high-speed camera to unlock this ancient mystery. It was the first time the condensation of water on a lotus leaf’s surface and how the leaf sheds the water condensate have been observed.
The lotus leaves have tiny irregular lumps covered with even tinier protruding hairs. When water droplets land on this type of surface, they stay only at the ends of the hairs. The air pockets below then buoy the droplets off the leaf, keeping the leaf dry.
Jonathan Boreyko, a graduate student at the Pratt School of Engineering in Duke, said, “We faced a tricky problem – water droplets that fall on the leaf easily roll off, while condensate that grows from within the leaf's nooks and crannies is sticky and remains trapped”.
He added, "Scientists and engineers have long wondered how these sticky drops are eventually repelled from the leaf after their impalement onto the tiny projections. After bringing lotus leaves into the lab and watching the condensation as it formed, we were able to see how the sticky drops became ‘unsticky’”.
This biological mechanism of keeping dry has inspired the engineers working on the project to utilise man-made surfaces that resemble those of the lotus to enhance the efficiency of today’s engineering systems. The mechanism can be applied to electronic equipment or power plants that need cooling through the removal of heat by water evaporation and condensation.
The scientists used an audio speaker, a powerful microscope and an ultra high-speed camera to unlock this ancient mystery. It was the first time the condensation of water on a lotus leaf’s surface and how the leaf sheds the water condensate have been observed.
The lotus leaves have tiny irregular lumps covered with even tinier protruding hairs. When water droplets land on this type of surface, they stay only at the ends of the hairs. The air pockets below then buoy the droplets off the leaf, keeping the leaf dry.
Jonathan Boreyko, a graduate student at the Pratt School of Engineering in Duke, said, “We faced a tricky problem – water droplets that fall on the leaf easily roll off, while condensate that grows from within the leaf's nooks and crannies is sticky and remains trapped”.
He added, "Scientists and engineers have long wondered how these sticky drops are eventually repelled from the leaf after their impalement onto the tiny projections. After bringing lotus leaves into the lab and watching the condensation as it formed, we were able to see how the sticky drops became ‘unsticky’”.
This biological mechanism of keeping dry has inspired the engineers working on the project to utilise man-made surfaces that resemble those of the lotus to enhance the efficiency of today’s engineering systems. The mechanism can be applied to electronic equipment or power plants that need cooling through the removal of heat by water evaporation and condensation.
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