Learning to Walk on Water

Water striders use surface tension to walk on water.

Photo: Markus Gayda / Wiki Commons

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Children have long been mesmerized with water striders, the spider-like insects that rely on the surface tension of water to tip-toe across its surface.

While scientists had previously learned that spreading one's weight over a wider area allowed the strider to skim on the surface, it had been a mystery – until now – how water striders could jump and land without sinking.

The insects combine hydrophobic legs (that is, they chemically repel water) and propel themselves at a very specific speed: too fast, and they'd sink; too slow, and they wouldn't "bounce" off the water's surface, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Using the newly discovered principles, scientists hope to build robots that can walk on water – another example of humanity learning from the amazing variety of life on earth.

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