Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Technology

Butterfly wings used to print self-cleaning windows

3 December 2008

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Butterfly wings are able to repel water with ease because of the microstructures on their surface

(Image: Stock.xchng)

ANY child can make a butterfly print, but doing so on an industrial scale is far from child’s play.

Butterfly wings – and lotus leaves – are able to repel water with ease because of the microstructures on their surface. The densely packed microscopic bumps of the lotus leaf and the waffle-like structures found on butterfly wings both make it difficult for water droplets to spread out. As a result, the drops roll off, and they take dirt with them. This makes…

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