Self cleaning Lotus leaf imitated in plastic

Nature has some ingenious solutions which have been studied by some of the most successful inventors and creators of our time. Frank Lloyd Wright implored, Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. Now we have the prospect of a self cleaning plastic cup based on the same ideas that nature used to self-clean the Lotus Leaf - a plastic cup that can be reused without washing it, simply because contamination has no chance to stick to the surface. The ideal natural properties of the Lotus leaf's self-cleaning surface are ideal for many applications and consumer products. Work underway by the Applied Laser Technology Group of the University of Twente has shown that such products are possible by using an ultra fast femtosecond laser.

Source: gizmag.comAdded: 29 January 2007