The day is not far off when people will be able to breathe underwater without the help of breathing gadgets, but by artificial gills. Inspired by beetles that can trap air to keep from drowning, scientists in England investigated super-water-repellant surfaces possessing infinitesimally tiny structures that trap air between the surface they jut up from and the water on top of them.
The rigid hairs on the abdomen of the aquatic great diving beetle — Dytiscus marginalis — repel water so much that they create a silvery film of air that does not collapse. These air layers can essentially behave as gills! Thus, it will allow the water oxygen to flow in and carbon dioxide in the air to diffuse out.
To mimic this natural effect, scientists created a super-water-repellant porous foam-made hollow cylinder, inside which they sealed an oxygen-consuming device, and when submerged in aerated water, sensors within the cylinder showed oxygen made its way inside.
The mimicking would help supply oxygen for fuel cells and help miniaturized machines to work underwater without storing or supplying external oxygen, the scientists believe.
