Ice buildup on powerlines and electric towers brought the northern US and southern Canada to a standstill during the Great Ice Storm of 1998, leaving many in the cold and dark for days and even weeks.
The image on the left shows the microstructure of a penguin feather (the 10 micrometer closeup of the inset is the equivalent of 1/10th of the width of a human hair, to give a sense of scale) Those barbs, and barbules are branches off the feather's central stem. The 'hooks' serve to attach individual feather hairs together into a mat. On the right is the stainless-steel wire cloth that the researchers decorated with nanogrooves that copy the hierarchy of the penguin feather structure (wire-like with nanogrooves on top). Credit: McGill University Whether it is on wind turbines, electric towers, drones, or airplane wings, dealing with ice buildup typically depends on techniques that are time consuming, costly and/or use a lot of energy, along with various chemicals. But, by looking to nature, McGill researchers believe that they have found a promising new way of dealing with the problem. Their inspiration came from the wings of Gentoo penguins who swim in the ice-cold waters of the south polar region, with pelts that remain ice-free even when the outer surface temperature is well below freezing. "We initially explored the qualities of the lotus leaf, which is very good at shedding water but proved less effective at shedding ice," said Anne Kietzig, who has been looking for a solution for close to a decade. She is an associate professor in Chemical Engineering at…