What gives certain objects that property of being sticky? How is stickiness transferred?
Please emphasize the “eli5”, I missed all of the crucial years of school Gr 4-10
In: Biology
Stickiness is adhesion caused by a combination of two things, both of which must be present for us to perceive something as “sticky”:
1. The material needs to naturally spread and wet the surface you’re putting it in contact with. Think oil on clean glass (vs. water on a freshly waxed car). This is controlled by the surface energy of the 2 materials.
2. The material must dissipate energy when you try to pull it off the surface, usually through viscous flow. Think taffy or silly putty (vs. water or a piece of steel).
Source: spent 12 years designing adhesives.
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