How to Walk on Water

A team of mathematicians at MIT, including John Bush and his graduate student David HU, sought to work out exactly how water-striding insects are able to glide across the surface of a body of water. They used high speed video cameras and dyed water to observe how the insects used their center legs to row themselves along while the surface tension of the water kept them from sinking. Instead, they push down on the surface of the liquid, creating an indentation, or meniscus, which they push off from, moving the insect along. The MIT graduate student Brian Chan then built a small robot 4 inches in length that utilized the same technique as the water-strides and was able to successfully skim across the surface.
This article is an example of discovery science as the researchers simply set up equipment that would allow them to record the results of their experiment and as a result uncovered how these insects were able to walk upon the surface of the water. This research allows humans to take advantage of this ability to glide across the surface of water and may lead to new technologies involving this feat, such as robots that can skim across a body of water performing various activities.

Journal: Discover Magazine
Author: Fenella Saunders
Title of Article: How to Walk on Water
Date Published (Online): November 10, 2003