Wetting of hairy surfaces
By: Nelson Bernardino
From: Max Planck Institut, Stuttgart
At: Complexo Interdisciplinar, Anfiteatro
[2010-02-10]
The leaves of the Ladys Mantle are covered with hairs and display hydrophobic behavior, with water droplets suspended on the hairs without touching the leaf surface. This is surprising when one realizes the hairs are actually hydrophilic. Otten and Herminghaus [Langmuir, 20 2405 (2004)] propose this is due to the elasticity of the hairs. I will show that theoretical arguments indicate very restrictive conditions for this to be possible and that experimental results show that elasticity cannot be responsible for the observed behavior.