Water Beads

I’m not sure why it is but I am endlessly fascinated with beaded water, especially on flowers and leaves. It is like miniature magic show the way the water magnifies and rolls around in a ball. After the rain stopped on Sunday, I took a walk and found super sized drop on a tall leaf of grass.

I love the way the lines of the leaf are magnified on this one.

But why does it bead up on some species of leaves and not others? I found some scientific reasons I could not understand and one called the “Lotus Effect” or “superhydrophobicity” which made sense to me. It turns out that the microscopic bumps on the leaf surface of Lotus and other leaves trap air which enables the water to float on top as a bead. When the water rolls off it can also take dust with it keeping the leaf clean and ready to receive the benefits of the sun. This is so useful that engineers and scientist involved with Biomimicry are developing ways to treat plastics and metals to have the same effect. Imagine never having to wash your car or the siding of your house ever again. Now that’s what I call big top magic. I love learning about and from nature, don’t you?

Be sure to visit other blogs who have participated in Watery Wednesday.