Test of a geckoplast pad on glass
Geckoplast is a super-adhesive nano-material used for various industrial and military applications.
Overview[]
The geckoplast technology is a time-tested and well-known one, having been around since early 21st century, it's first incarnation going under the brand name of Geckskin. The technology was developed by studying the feet of gecko lizards, the researchers initially trying to understand how these small reptiles could cling to and scale virtually any surface. Close examination under electron microscope would reveal their feet to be lined by billions of nano-scale bristles, adhesion being achieved by means of Van der Waals force rather than suction or chemical bonding, the combined adhesive strength of these bristles far exceeding that of any conventional adhesive.
A synthetic analogue was consequently developed soon thereafter, a palm-sized patch of the material being capable of holding a stocky adult man of 120 kg suspended. The material could be fairly easily detached by gradually peeling it away from the surface, yet nearly impossible to detach by pulling on it alone.
Future developments refined the adhesion properties of the material and made it more controllable by means of a weak electric current. The contemporary variant of geckoplast can be fine-controlled by means of electric current, increasing and decreasing adhesion strength according to user desire.
The nano-scale bristles responsible for geckoplast's adhesive properties
Uses[]
One of the most common uses for geckoplast is military powered armor (and also many civilian power suits). Geckoplast paddings on boots and gauntlets ensure a near-unbreakable grip and extremely firm stance on any solid surface. Additional knee and elbow pads also allow for scaling vertical obstacles, specialized stealth and infiltrator armors having them built in by design, conventional military models having them available as modular add-ons. In principle a Sidh so equipped can scale any solid walls with the ease and agility of a fly.
The technology, however, isn't infallible. Soft, wet, uneven and dilapidated surfaces should not be scaled with geckoplast, as the surface material can crumble, chip or flake away, breaking the climber's grip. For this reason, the military generally prefers more traditional scaling methods such as grappling hooks and jetpacks, habitual use of geckoplast pads for climbing being reserved for Judicators and other secret operatives who usually operate in relatively pristine and undamaged environments.