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July 22, 2014

Engineers look to naturally water-repellant surfaces like the lotus leaf for inspiration.

Engineers look to nature to learn how to reduce the time it takes for a water droplet to bounce away from a surface. Lotus leaves, once considered the gold standard of superhydrophobic materials, are naturally water-repellant due to the tiny bumps on their surface. Photo taken at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, Va.

Credit: Paloma E. Gonzalez


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