Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Measurement of Dynamic Force Acted on Water Strider Leg Jumping Upward by the PVDF Film Sensor
Published on: August 3, 2018
Adhesion forces and contact angles of water strider legs
Pal Jen Wei1, Sheng Chao Chen, Jen Fin Lin
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Micro/Nano Science and Technology, and Institute of Nanotechnology and Microsystems Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.
Abstract:
This study investigated the adhesion (pull-off) force and contact angles of a water strider's leg. During hydrostatic experiments, the adhesion force was found to be 2 dyn. The image of a cross section of a live leg contacted with a deformed water surface provided the contact angle of 168.8 degrees . A numerical scheme was proposed to determine the water surface on a groove wall of a seta. The results showed that the asperities of a seta are almost wetted, and the fraction of the wetted projection area was 0.69. Thus, the contact angle of a seta was 124.8 degrees .
More Related Videos
07:18Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
Published on: June 14, 2019
08:58Atomic Force Microscopy Cantilever-Based Nanoindentation: Mechanical Property Measurements at the Nanoscale in Air and Fluid
Published on: December 2, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
Adhesion
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow glass...
Contact Angle
The adhesive force is the molecular force between molecules of different materials, that is, between the molecules of the solid and the liquid. The cohesive force...
Frictional Force
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies with...
Cohesion
On a surface,...