Lotus Effect

Thanks to Sue Whitsett and Troy Dassler for sharing these activities.

Small drops of water bead up; large drops of water run off without wetting the surface of a nasturtium leaf.

Clicking a thumbnail on this web page (http://chemistry.beloit.edu/edetc/cineplex/lotus/index.html) shows a movie of that demonstration.

Addition of 4µL drops of water.

Large drops of water do not stick to the surface.

Water can be poured from leaf to leaf.

Water does not wet the leaf. The shiny surface is due to air pockets.

Water does not wet the leaf. The shiny surface is due to air pockets.

A car washing mit and soap bubbles serve as a macroscale illustration of the lotus effect. The bubbles (water drops) stay on the surface of the glove (leaf) and do not penetrate the surface, which has both large and small scale features (right).

A rug and soap bubbles serve as a macroscale illustration of the lotus effect. The bubbles (water drops) stay on the surface of the rug.

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