WALKING UP WALLS

Some lady's making Spiderman gloves. They still kinda suck.

By WILLIAM NIGH

In the great debate over which magic power would be best, invisibility and flight always seem to come out at top. Invisibility’s for desperate paranoid pervs, generally, while flight is essentially more for the bold and egomaniacal set. There are plenty of each. But what of someone who wants to walk on walls, like Spiderman without the strength, smarts, or Hollywood franchise?

A new device made of layers of metal and silicon wafers looks like it may give humans this super-clinging ability. Using a film of water to generate adhesion, the palm-sized device is one of the first that allows complete control over its stickiness. Don’t get too excited, though: At the moment the device can barely hold 70 paper clips. Still, its inventor claims this limitation will be short lived. She seems convinced that soon enough we’ll all be scaling the kitchen walls like the filthy cockroaches we are.

By WILLIAM NIGH 2 years ago

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