How insects walk on water?

I am sure that once in your lifetime you have seen some insects walking on water without any issues but did you question yourself how did this happen?
So you are in the right place keep scrolling!!

Insects walking on water

 

The actual reason

In one word you can say it's due to surface tension. What's that?
If you are a science student then you know that molecules of water attract each other from all directions but the molecules present in the topmost layer are not attracted equally in all directions because there are no molecules present above it. So this topmost layer experiences a force of attraction in the downward direction behaving like a spring.

Surface tension diagram

Insects have very very less weight. So when they walk on water their legs presses the water molecules and as result water molecules push them back creating a floating like condition.
Moreover, their legs are also widely spread causing the equal distribution of the weight of insects on the water.

Why humans can't walk?

Humans are way much heavier than insects. When you will try this then you will sink straight into the water because your whole body weight will concentrate on a single point on water creating much higher force on water molecules and they can't push you back.

Pro Tip- If you want to float then lie on your back on the water. You will automatically float because your weight will equally be dispersed on water.

Popular Posts

Conducting Polymers: Definition, Examples, Properties and Applications

Image
What are Conducting Polymers? As the name suggests organic polymers that conduct electricity are known as conducting polymers. They are also known as intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) and they have alternating single and double bonds along the polymer backbone (conjugated bonds) or that are composed of aromatic rings such as Phenylene, naphthalene, anthracene, pyrrole, and thiophene which are connected through carbon-carbon single bonds. Examples: Polyacetylene, Polypyrrole, Polyaniline, etc What is the reason behind conducting nature of these polymers? Conducting polymers comes in two forms that are doped conducting polymers and non-doped conducting polymers. The conductivity of non-doped conjugated polymers is due to the existence of a conductivity band similar to a metal. In a conjugated polymer, three of the four valence electrons form strong sigma bonds through sp² hybridization where electrons are strongly localized. The remaining unpaired electron of each carbon atom re
Read more

Crime Scene: Definition, Types and Characteristics

Image
What is a Crime Scene ? A place where the crime is committed or where the maximum physical evidence related to crime is found is known as a crime scene. A crime scene is a starting point of the investigation which provides information about the suspect and the victim. This helps to reconstruct the crime and fast resolution of the case. It is noted that the crime scene is not limited to a single place but may extend to a wider area depending upon the nature of the crime committed. For example, In a murder case where murder is done at one place and the body is disposed on another place. In this case, we have two crime scenes that give information about the crime. Types of Crime Scene Based on evidence found on the crime scene: 1. Primary Crime Scene The crime scene where the actual crime occurred or where more usable pieces of evidence were found is known as the primary crime scene. For example, A murder scene, theft, assault, etc. 2. Secondary Crime Scene The crime scene which is some
Read more

Documentation of the Crime Scene: Step by Step

Image
What is documentation of the crime scene and Why it is done? After securing the crime scene, the next most important step is documentation of the crime scene because documentation permanently records the crime scene and its physical evidence. Documentation should be done without any wastage of time as the scene and its evidence may get altered over time. The documentation should be done innovatively and the originality of the crime scene should be maintained and documentation should not have pauses or breaks, it should remain constant till the whole crime scene is documented. There are four main tasks of documentation that is note-making, photography, videography , and sketching . It should be noted that all four tasks are necessary and none is a substitute for another. For example, notes are not substitutes for photography, video is not a substitute for sketching, etc. Following are the sequence for crime scene documentation: 1. Note making Documentation of crime scene in the f
Read more