Gecko Tape

Geckos have the remarkable ability to run up walls and hang upside down on ceilings without any apparent effort. The secret to their ability to stick to surfaces is not adhesive or any type of glue, but hairs: their pads and feet are covered with billions of microscopic hairs. The reason this works is that all molecules are attracted to all other molecules due to small fluctuations in the electron density of the chemical bonds, this force is called Van der Waals Force. It is tiny. However the hairs increase the contact area of the pads and feet to such an extent that although each hair is attracted to the surface by tiny Van der Waals forces, there are so many of them, they can oppose the gravitational forces acting on the gecko. Other beetles and insects use the same mechanism. Synthetic versions of this hairy mechanism have just come on the market, this sample is an example. It is made of silicone rubber and has billions of microscopic hairs on its surface that give it the stickiness.