Solution Found!
(Answers to odd-numbered Conceptual Questions
Chapter 6, Problem 17CQ(choose chapter or problem)
Problem 17CQ
(Answers to odd-numbered Conceptual Questions can be found in the back of the book.)
The foot of your average gecko is covered with billions of tiny hair tips—called spatulae—that are made of keratin, the protein found in human hair. A subtle shift of the electron distribution in both the spatulae and the wall to which a gecko clings produces an adhesive force by means of the van der Waals interaction between molecules. Suppose a gecko uses its spatulae to cling to a vertical windowpane. If you were to describe this situation in terms of a coefficient of static friction, µs, what value would you assign to µs? Is this a sensible way to model the gecko’s feat? Explain.
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
Problem 17CQ
(Answers to odd-numbered Conceptual Questions can be found in the back of the book.)
The foot of your average gecko is covered with billions of tiny hair tips—called spatulae—that are made of keratin, the protein found in human hair. A subtle shift of the electron distribution in both the spatulae and the wall to which a gecko clings produces an adhesive force by means of the van der Waals interaction between molecules. Suppose a gecko uses its spatulae to cling to a vertical windowpane. If you were to describe this situation in terms of a coefficient of static friction, µs, what value would you assign to µs? Is this a sensible way to model the gecko’s feat? Explain.
ANSWER:
Step 1 of 2
The force which is exerted on a gecko on a wall is zero.