Article 1 : SLIPS and pitfalls: Synthetic surfaces inspired by a pitcher pitfall trap

Némo Lemaire
10-16-2019
Credit: The Royal Society Images
Credit: The Royal Society Images

Article (url) and word count

Vocabulary

Words from the text Synonym/explanation in English Translation in French
Water-repellent Waterproof / Not easily penetrated by water, generally due to a surface coating. Déperlant
Requirement Compulsary / Something that is needed, a necessary condition. exigence, nécessité
Lubricated Make slippery / Apply a substance (oil or grease) for minimizing the friction and obtaining smooth movement. lubrifier, huiler
Carnivorous pitcher plant Carnivorous plants / Plants that get some of their nutrients, from arthropods and insect, by consumming them. Pitcher plants have modified leaves known as pitfall traps, which contains a deep cavity filled with digestive liquids. plante carnivore
Pitfall traps Trap / A pit, usually concealed, used as a trap to lure insects or other small animals. piège, piège à fosse
Peristome - / An anatomical feature that surrounds an opening to an organ or structure; in our context the “mouth” of the carnivorous plant. Péristome
Slopings leaning / Inclined from a horizontal or vertical line. Incliné, en pente
Ridges arête / A long, narrow raised part of a surface. crêtes, arêtes
Shortfall lack / A failure to get what is expected or needed. lacune
Droplets drop of water / A small drop of liquid. gouttelette
Liquid-shedding water-repellent / Not easily pierced by water. imperméable aux liquides
Harnessing utilizing / To collect and control something so that it can be used efficently. exploitation
Insights overview / A deep understanding of something; can also be used to describe a quick peek into something. aperçus
Grooves rainure / A long, narrow space in the surface of a body part. rainures

Analysis table

Researchers University of Oxford: Jian Guan (postdoctoral research assistant in fluid mechanics), Finn Box (Post-Doctoral Research Associate in fluid mechanics), Chris Thorogood (Deputy Director and Head of Science at Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum)
Published in? The Royal Society publishing (09/04/2019)
General topic? How can we take inspiration from the slippery peristome of carnivorous pitcher plants and use it to improve water transport.
Procedure/what was examined? 1) Observation of different water-repellent natural surface (mostly the peristome of Nephentes, but also ants and flies). 2) Creation of various models (trenches and steps),based on the previously studied surface and observation of the behaviour of liquids droplets on it.
Conclusions/discovery? The droplets in contact with the materials became strongly adhered (they wouldn’t fall off easily) but could freely move alongside the groove even at shallow angles; allowing the liquid’s movement to be controled to a certain extend.
Remaining questions? /

Citation

For attribution, please cite this work as

Lemaire (2019, Oct. 16). Biomimicry: Article 1 : SLIPS and pitfalls: Synthetic surfaces inspired by a pitcher pitfall trap. Retrieved from https://nemlemaire.github.io/nemo-lemaire-blog/posts/2019-09-18-article-1/

BibTeX citation

@misc{lemaire2019article,
  author = {Lemaire, Némo},
  title = {Biomimicry: Article 1 : SLIPS and pitfalls: Synthetic surfaces inspired by a pitcher pitfall trap},
  url = {https://nemlemaire.github.io/nemo-lemaire-blog/posts/2019-09-18-article-1/},
  year = {2019}
}