'Shadow method' reveals locomotion secrets of water striders
Monday, October 17, 2016 - 10:32
in Earth & Climate
While walking beside the creek in the Beijing Botany Garden one autumn, Yu Tian, a professor of mechanical engineering at Tsinghua University in China, noticed the beautiful shadows cast by water striders on the bottom of a shallow creek. If you've spent any time in or around water you've likely seen these water insects zipping along—they appear to walk or glide swiftly on the surface of still water.