QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online April 8, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 1601-1606 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.00908

This Article Summary Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Denny, M. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Denny, M. W.

Paradox lost: answers and questions about walking on water

Mark W. Denny

Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950-3094, USA

View larger version (17K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. A water strider standing motionless on the water's surface. Note the dimples where the feet contact the water.

View larger version (7K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Surface tension (which acts parallel to the air–water interface) pulls upward on the leg of a water strider.

View larger version (15K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. The speed of a pure capillary wave decreases with an increase in wavelength, while the speed of a pure gravity wave increases with an increase in wavelength. For real waves, the result is a minimum wave speed.

View larger version (20K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. As a water strider sweeps its middle legs backward, momentum is produced in the water associated with hemispherical vortices.