Butterfly wings: an inspiration for new design

[John Kays]

see article relating to waterproofing design
http://www.icr.org/article/7857/389

[JCH]

IMO, Nature and evolution generally solve all problems optimally or near optimally.  Humans usually try to brute force solutions without fully exploring how nature has solved the problem, or perhaps more often not even realizing that nature has solved it.

If somebody succeeds at doing what the article suggests, I will be the first customer.

[John Kays]

Yes, the article link was posted for demonstration of substance that fulfills the dream of ours for backpacking technology advancement. It is not beyond possibility considering other adaptations of nature to our passions, e.g. the recent revelation of the Zipp 454 bicycle wheel.

[Roger Caffin]

Now run the stuff through the scrub a few times and see how well it lasts.
Chuckle – or sigh.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

I’d be willing to test it : )

Thanks for posting

[DAN-Y]

Roger, have the cat lick it clean :-) Better yet, have it as a “no wash” item

[Roger Caffin]

I tried that with a sample of some EPIC-treated cotton fabric – as a ‘windshirt’ in the rain. It sort of worked, until we went through some scrub. The EPIC treatment scraped off quickly and I got rather wet.

I discussed this with a techie from the company, and he admitted straight out that this sort of thing would happen. The cotton substrate was simply unable to handle it. In a word: fragile.

Ever seen what happens to a buttefly’s wings if they get scraped? The surface coating is immediately damaged, and falls to pieces. That has been the problem with all of these surface-modification treatments so far: they don’t last in the field against abrasion.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

are you one of those people that pull off butterfly wings? : )

[Author]

Posts