Who of us haven’t dreamed about having Spidey powers? While web slinging may still be in the realms of fantasy, crawling up walls has just entered the arena of The Possible.

Thanks to a few very brainy comic book lovers who decided to become scientists, scaling walls as an Arachnid man is now possible. 

The secret of the power lies in nanotubes – “tiny hooks” that grip imperfections on wall surfaces – built into gloves and shoes. The tubes combine three adhesive forces: the friction from the tubes and Van der Waal and capillary adhesion.

They have enough adhesive power to support a grown man’s weight and can be released by a peeling motion to break the adhesive.

Apparently these will be released within the next ten years.

In the meanwhile….

• Read the full article

• What is nanotechnology?

• Biomimetics  is the application of methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Read more…

• Are geckos the real life spidermen? Read more…

• Suit? Who needs a suit?! Photos of a man who scaled a sky scraper with barehands.

• Read more about Van der Waal forces

(Pssst….webslinging may not be as farfetched as previously mentioned. Check out ShinyShiny and Gizmodo for more details)