Mastodawn

solarbird Mar 20, 2024

this is some 1820s science right here

What.

“We have discovered that hard, electrical conductors (e.g., metals or graphite) can be adhered to soft, aqueous materials (e.g., hydrogels, fruit, or animal tissue) without the use of an adhesive. The adhesion is induced by a low DC electric field.“

Most importantly: it stays stuck with the voltage turned off. It’s stable for MONTHS. Reverse the polarity of the electrical flow and it unsticks. YES REALLY. This is some literal “Alessandro Volta playing around with bananas in a shed” science AND YET it WORKS and we DID NOT KNOW.

Here’s a video. Holy shit. What.

#science

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Condorito Mar 23, 2024

@solarbird

All joking aside this may be very significant for batteries, microgravity propulsion...this might sound silly but medical may be the least interesting use, even if it looks the most direct

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Ralph058 (S/he/it) AF4EZ

@Condorito @solarbird If I remember right, it is used in ISS' ECLSS. They call it electrostatic precipitation, but what it mostly attracts is shedded skin cells and hair fragments. They may get mold spores, bacteria, and viruses, too. I know about the former. I'm not sure about the latter but Mir had to be abandoned because they didn't handle them properly.