Can Spider-Man Exist In Real-Life? Depends On Which Researcher You Believe!
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
![](https://cdn4.dogobooks.com/images/5620725d-6f31-4c38-b27a-d6239a2c0147/img5.jpg)
In mid-January, scientists from University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology released some heart-breaking news for Spider-Man fans. The researchers said that the web-slinging hero could never exist in real-life. And it is not due to the lack of radioactive spiders, but because humans are simply too big to skitter up tall buildings.
For the study which was led by Dr. David Labonte, the team recorded the weight and footpad size of 225 different climbing animals. These include mites, spiders, tree frogs, geckos, and even bats. What they discovered is that the proportion of sticky pads increases disproportionately with weight. For example mites, the smallest creatures tested, required about 200 times less viscous body-surface-area than the larger geckos. This they believe, limits the size of the climbing animals because at some point, the amount of sticky surface needed becomes impractical.
![](https://cdn4.dogobooks.com/images/f063744b-d8b6-46d5-bb53-5548d144bc58/padscalingpress.png)
According to the Cambridge team's calculations, humans would need 40% of their total body surface or about 80% of the front covered with sticky pads before they would be able to climb walls. Though they could go the way of the gecko and put them all on their feet, the study's senior author Walter Federie, estimates that they would have to be the equivalent of US shoe size 114 (European 145).
![](https://cdn4.dogobooks.com/images/4a9de854-93b6-4353-9507-d9517b6c82f2/top-climbers.png)
These findings led the scientists who published their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 18, to conclude that "there is a size limit to sticky footpads as an evolutionary solution to climbing - and that turns out to be about the size of a gecko."
The researchers did state that the one way we could climb walls was by following the example of tree frogs. The smart amphibians have figured out how to increases the amount of 'glue' to compensate for the increased size. The means that the larger the frog, the stickier its footpad!
![](https://cdn4.dogobooks.com/images/47db9c8b-1c67-4cec-a7c7-6f2fcf1270c7/14563-gecko_teaser.jpg)
But researchers at California's Stanford University were not willing to kill the dreams of every Spider-Man fan. A few weeks after the Cambridge study was released they issued a rebuttal to the claims with findings of their own.
In a video published on YouTube on January 27, mechanical engineering student Elliot Hawkes said one can bypass the issue if, "You don’t just copy the gecko, but instead you are clever about how you distribute your weight." He suggests climbing a wall using a device like the Gecko Glove.
![](https://cdn4.dogobooks.com/images/84919db3-358c-4e54-a2c3-d95ab04fe698/o-gecko-inspired-gloves-570.jpg)
Created in 2014 by Hawkes as part of his dissertation or final year project, the Gecko Glove has 24 adhesive tiles that have been covered with tiny sawtooth-shaped polymer structures each measuring 100 micrometers in length. According to graduate student Eric Eason, who worked on the project with Hawkes, "When the pad first touches the surface, only the tips touch, so it's not sticky. But when the load is applied, and the wedges turn over and come into contact with the surface, that creates the adhesion force." With these ingenious gloves, anyone can attain Spider-Man-like wall scaling powers instantly.
The Stanford team says that the current prototype of the Gecko Glove can withstand up to 200 pounds. Even better, it has the potential to support up to 2000 pounds if the glove's size is increased! Though the Cambridge researchers have not issued a rebuttal yet, we have a feeling they are working on it - Stay tuned, for this argument is just getting interesting!
Resources:cam.ac.uk,Youtube.com, stanford.edu
Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
1202 Comments
- stevenuniverse13 monthsAWWW MAN. I wanted to become spiderman. I'm cool with the canon events
- nuruduty-1706804137244 monthsThe ability to climb helps animals with many things. It helps them get away from predators. It can also help them hunt for prey. Climbing walls can let animals get to high places. Getting to high places can help them see far places and if they are trying to get somewhere they can find where it is from the view or look for things to jump to. Climbing walls can also help animals get food. This is how the ability to climb walls is helpful to animals.
- gukylara-1706804137584 monthsEver wanted to walk up a wall, like spiderman? Well, you can’t but animals can now with this new technology! You see, while humans themselves can’t climb walls, animals can use these special sticky pads to climb up walls that they couldn’t already. These sticky pads, can also be extremely useful to evade predators, catch prey, and do some other cool stuff. Some of the animals that can climb these walls with the pads include mites, spiders, tree frogs, geckos, and bats? Other ways these spiderman powers can help animals is to sneak up on prey, and more specifically, go up a tree while being chased by a bigger animal. They can also carry materials and food because it would just, stick to their hand and they can use the others to climb, it’s genius! So with all of that, just imagine a mite in your home, trying to catch it, and all of a sudden it climbs up a wall. Yeah, I’m burning the house down for sure.
- ciloketo-1706804137254 monthsThe ability to walk up walls helps animals because they can take advantage of places they are not familiar with. It also helps their habitats and resources. They can forage and hide from dangerous predators who eat them. The text states ¨What they discovered is that the proportion of sticky pads increases disproportionately with weight. For example mites, the smallest creatures tested, required about 200 times less viscous body-surface-area than the larger geckos. This they believe, limits the size of the climbing animals because at some point, the amount of sticky surface needed becomes impractical.¨ This shows that usually smaller insects and animals can climb walls to keep themselves agile and safe based on their weight and limit. The ability to walk on walls helps animals in many ways.
- lytepebi-1706804140684 monthsThe ability to walk up walls can help animals in several ways. One way that the ability to walk up helps animals is that they can escape some predators easily. Another way that it can help animals is to get to places that they can’t reach easily. It can also help animals by helping them catch prey. It allows the animal to move around easily without struggling. Overall the ability to walk up walls can help animals get away, catch prey, and just move around easily
- johutigo-1706804138774 monthsI think the ability to walk up walls helps animals travel to certain areas for resources to survive and can also help them escape from predators if they are being hunted and or get away from danger in general.
- savylypy-1706804139164 monthsThe ability to walk up walls helps animals because it helps them escape from predators and explore places unexplored.
- nuruduty-1706804137244 monthsThe ability to walk up walls helps animals hunt for pray or get away from predators.
- draperai9 monthsI am spider man
- gimkitalmost 2 yearsThat's super cool how they figured that out