5 ms·

I did read the paper and I'm not saying the analysis isn't compelling. I'm saying it is obvious and does not need a paper to be explained.

• zaroth 9y ago
  The process by which human fingers gives rise to stable contacts with smooth, hard objects is surprisingly slow. Using high-resolution imaging, we found that, when pressed against glass, the actual contact made by finger pad ridges evolved over time following a first-order kinetics relationship. This evolution was the result of a two-stage coalescence process of microscopic junctions made between the keratin of the stratum corneum of the skin and the glass surface. This process was driven by the secretion of moisture from the sweat glands, since increased hydration in stratum corneum causes it to become softer. Saturation was typically reached within 20 s of loading the contact, regardless of the initial moisture state of the finger and of the normal force applied. So, nothing to see here, totally obvious?
  • vaishaksuresh 9y ago
    Many words to say "Moist fingers grips smooth,hard objects better than dry finger". Again, I'm not saying it is useless or uninteresting or that the science is simple, I'm saying you can see the behavior without knowing the science and still understand it. Then again, what is interesting to one person might not be equally interesting another.
    • Gracana 9y ago
      But it's not just a moist finger, initial moisture doesn't matter much. It's the whole process that starts when you touch an object. That doesn't seem obvious.
• lolsal 9y ago
  You can't cite "it's obvious" in other research papers though. Now that this research is published, it can easily be cited as a fact/finding/proof.
  • vaishaksuresh 9y ago
    Fair enough.