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Gecko Gear

T

Todg

SOC-13
Introduced at TL8 or 9, Gecko gear, typically gloves or boots utilize microscopic hairlike structures called setae to provide a reuseable, glue like surface that allows the wearer to climb sheer surfaces or adhere to them without requiring magnetic attraction or suction.

Aside from being used in such mundane applications as climbing gear, Geck Gear is frequently encounted as part of vacc suits in place of older magnetic boots and gloves.

Gecko Gear can adhere to almost any surface, wet or dry, including extremely smooth matterial like glass.

Geck Gear becomes available at TL8, be is expensive and sometimes restricted. At TL9 it becomes more generally available and the price drops dramatically. The Geck Adhesion material costs about Cr500 per square meter and can be applied to a variety of surfaces. Gloves run around Cr100 and boots Cr150.

Reference URL:

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030607/fob3.asp

http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/6/1/1
 
How much force can it sustain before parting?

Will it work on things like hullmetal?

Will having a charged hull make any difference?
 
Van der Waals forces are nothing to do with the weak nuclear force... they're temporary and transient electrostatic effects.

Strikes me that this would mean that a charged hull would either make VdW gecko setae adhere very strongly indeed or render them ineffective depending on the precise materials used and the nature of the hull charge.
 
Indeed. My bad. Somehow 'weak force' became 'weak nuclear force' in my brain.

I have been unable to determine if applying a charge has any effect on van der Waals forces, but I am doubtful as electromagnetic forces are different than van der Walls.

Anyone have a gecko and willing to try and experiment?
 
Originally posted by Corejob:
I have been unable to determine if applying a charge has any effect on van der Waals forces, but I am doubtful as electromagnetic forces are different than van der Walls.
Click to expand...
Actually, no they're not, but I doubt that charge levels that won't cause dramatic other problems for the ship will much affect gecko gear.
 
Originally posted by Anthony:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Corejob:
I have been unable to determine if applying a charge has any effect on van der Waals forces, but I am doubtful as electromagnetic forces are different than van der Walls.
Click to expand...
Actually, no they're not, but I doubt that charge levels that won't cause dramatic other problems for the ship will much affect gecko gear. </font>[/QUOTE]If van der Waals forces aren't different for electromagnetic forces, then why do they distinguish between the two? Enquiring minds want to know.
 
Hmmm, chemzone didn't work womble. Try van der Walls (part of CHIMEd)

Van der Walls interactions are similar to but smaller than permanent polarization across molecular bonds. The tendency toward polarization is strong in the case hydrogen, and is sometimes even called hydrogen bonding. Naturally polarized molecules would only help the van der Walls driven gecko effect.

However, electrostatic charge is more of a macroscopic effect that would not alter either van der Walls or hydrogen bonding. Molecules or lattice members with either excess or deficit electron count make up a tiny fraction of the surface molecules or atoms available for vdW interaction.
 
Originally posted by Corejob:
If van der Waals forces aren't different for electromagnetic forces, then why do they distinguish between the two?
Click to expand...
They're a subcategory of electromagnetic force -- electromagnetic forces are a ridiculously broad category. The entire field of chemistry is about electromagnetic forces at work.
 
I think that is perhaps an overbroad definition of elctromagnetic. Certainly it can be demonstrated that 'traditional' electromagnetic fields have little effect on say covalent bonding unless the energy is raised to ridiculous levels.

I'd venture to say that the field of chemistry is more about the interaction of atoms, and more specifically, electron clouds.

Bear in mind that it's been over a dozen years since I was employed as a chemist, and the brain loses data over time.
 
Anyone have a gecko and willing to try and experiment?
Click to expand...
Suddenly I'm reminded of the Far Side cartoon with people rubbing cats (or was it babies?) on their jumpers and sticking them to the ceiling...
 
Originally posted by Corejob:
I think that is perhaps an overbroad definition of elctromagnetic. Certainly it can be demonstrated that 'traditional' electromagnetic fields have little effect on say covalent bonding unless the energy is raised to ridiculous levels.
Click to expand...
What's a 'traditional' electromagnetic field? A magnetic field, an electrostatic field, or a photon?

Photons routinely interact with chemical bonds, that's what absorption spectra are all about.
 
Yes, without doubt.

Applying energy does change the orbits of electrons, but does that make chemistry about photons, or electron orbits?

Certainly, this is way off topic.
 
That ain't what I meant, but nice going on the subtext Corejob!

This is maybe more off the subject, but it seems to me that science can and does get in the way of a good game as much as it can spur the imagination. The imaginary inventors of this Gecko stuff have likely worked out all the niggling science bits with some applied handwavian meditation-- or maybe Grandfather was amused and just told them how. It don't really matter.

Suspension of disbelief is the way of RPGs, as a practicin' member of the hobby I take it as reasonable that horses fly, orcs eat people, and Zhodani commandos are bad news. The level of acceptance of hightech gee-gaws varies considerably, usually based on actual knowledge, or so my anecdotal experience of Ref'n a physics grad would suggest.

In my short time fiddlin' around this board, there be to much concentratin' on the 'realism' and not enough on 'that is so damn cool' of making things work for Traveller. IMHO, of course.
 
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