Title says it all.
In: Chemistry
This is actually an extremely complicated question. There are many different causes of stickiness, and they’re all confusing. You would be much more likely to get a good answer on r/askscience
As mentioned by the other poster, there are many types of sticky. They are generally caused by microscopic forces, but can also be on a macro scale.
1. Barbs, like Velcro but on a smaller scale.
2. Micro scale impurities causing bumps and stuff to increase friction, appearing as stickiness on the macro scale. (Apparently rubber is added to adhesives to make the sticky of sticky tape
3. Suction cups on a macro or micro scale. These were inspired by nature and essentially work by creating a vacuum seal under the suction cups which creates enough of an air pressure difference to hold the cups in place.
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