Have you ever wondered how birds and insects can fly through heavy rainfall without adverse consequences? Researchers have discovered that their wings are exquisitely designed to repel water—a feature that points to an intelligent designer.

Raindrops can cause a lot of damage. Where I grew up in coastal British Columbia, raindrops can get as large as a quarter inch diameter. Such drops free falling from clouds a thousand feet high or higher can strike with considerable impact force. I have seen such raindrops rip an umbrella to shreds.

How, then, do delicate plant tissues, insect wings, bird feathers, and other life tissues survive and function under such fierce rainfall conditions? A team of five biological engineers and entomologists led by Seungho Kim answer this question in a recent article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.1

Kim’s team performed a number of experiments where they prepared (mounted) a variety of biological tissues, including insects, plant leaves, and bird feathers. They then subjected these tissues to raindrops ranging from 2.2 to 4.0 millimeters in diameter and impacting at velocities ranging from 0.7 to 6.6 meters per second. They captured the dynamics of the raindrop impacts on the various tissues with a camera with a frame rate of 5,000–20,000 frames per second. Readers can watch a 5-second video clip of what happens to a 1.7-millimeter raindrop falling on the wing of a tiger moth here: https://movie-usa.glencoesoftware.com/video/10.1073/pnas.2002924117/video-3.

Kim’s team demonstrated that all the tissues they studied possess nanoscale (requiring a powerful microscope to see) superhydrophobic (super water repellent) surfaces. These surface structures prevent the penetration of liquid water into the tissues.2 The experiments showed that when the impacting raindrops approached the tissue surfaces, the surfaces generated shock-like surface waves. The shock waves disrupted the spreading raindrops at the point of where air meets liquid. These perturbations then triggered ruptures and holes, breaking the falling raindrops in each case into dozens of tiny satellite droplets.

The result is that contact time between the falling raindrops and the tissues was very much reduced. The superhydrophobic surfaces can be so water repellent that raindrops bounce off the surface in only a few milliseconds. Because these raindrops break up into tiny droplets, heat and momentum transfers from the impacting raindrops to the tissues are reduced to tiny fractions.This means that birds or insects do not lose body heat as fast as they would otherwise.

If it were not for the amazingly designed superhydrophobic surfaces on the feathers of birds, exposure to rain would lower the body temperature of birds to a degree where they would die from hypothermia. Likewise, the same design feature on the wings of flying insects ensures that the flights of such insects during falling rain do not destabilize and either ground or kill such creatures. Similarly, this same shock wave, water repellent feature on the leaves of many vascular plants means that such leaves won’t be ripped to shreds during rainstorms. Kim’s team also noted that superhydrophobic surfaces enhance the dispersal of spores.

These kinds of research achievements give us yet more evidence that the more we study nature the more evidence we uncover for the many intricate and ingenious ways God designed Earth’s life to thrive. They also give us opportunities to copy nature’s designs to make better water repellent materials for our own use.

Check out more from Reasons to Believe @Reasons.org

Endnotes
  1. Seungho Kim et al., “How a Raindrop Gets Shattered on Biological Surfaces,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 117, no. 25 (June 23, 2020): 13901–07, doi:10.1073/pnas.2002924117.
  2. Tae-Gon Cha et al., “Nanoscale Patterning of Microtextured Surfaces to Control Superhydrophobic Robustness,” Langmuir 26, no. 11 (February 12, 2010): 8319–26, doi:10.1021/la9047402.
  3. Samira Shiri and James C. Bird, “Heat Exchange between a Bouncing Drop and a Superhydrophobic Substrate,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 114, no. 27 (July 3, 2017): 6930–35, doi:10.1073/pnas.1700197114.

 

About The Author

Dr. Hugh Ross

Reasons to Believe emerged from my passion to research, develop, and proclaim the most powerful new reasons to believe in Christ as Creator, Lord, and Savior and to use those new reasons to reach people for Christ. I also am eager to equip Christians to engage, rather than withdraw from or attack, educated non-Christians. One of the approaches I’ve developed, with the help of my RTB colleagues, is a biblical creation model that is testable, falsifiable, and predictive. I enjoy constructively integrating all 66 books of the Bible with all the science disciplines as a way to discover and apply deeper truths. 1 Peter 3:15–16 sets my ministry goal, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience." Hugh Ross launched his career at age seven when he went to the library to find out why stars are hot. Physics and astronomy captured his curiosity and never let go. At age seventeen he became the youngest person ever to serve as director of observations for Vancouver's Royal Astronomical Society. With the help of a provincial scholarship and a National Research Council (NRC) of Canada fellowship, he completed his undergraduate degree in physics (University of British Columbia) and graduate degrees in astronomy (University of Toronto). The NRC also sent him to the United States for postdoctoral studies. At Caltech he researched quasi-stellar objects, or "quasars," some of the most distant and ancient objects in the universe. Not all of Hugh's discoveries involved astrophysics. Prompted by curiosity, he studied the world’s religions and "holy books" and found only one book that proved scientifically and historically accurate: the Bible. Hugh started at religious "ground zero" and through scientific and historical reality-testing became convinced that the Bible is truly the Word of God! When he went on to describe for others his journey to faith in Jesus Christ, he was surprised to discover how many people believed or disbelieved without checking the evidence. Hugh's unshakable confidence that God's revelations in Scripture and nature do not, will not, and cannot contradict became his unique message. Wholeheartedly encouraged by family and friends, communicating that message as broadly and clearly as possible became his mission. Thus, in 1986, he founded science-faith think tank Reasons to Believe (RTB). He and his colleagues at RTB keep tabs on the frontiers of research to share with scientists and nonscientists alike the thrilling news of what's being discovered and how it connects with biblical theology. In this realm, he has written many books, including: The Fingerprint of God, The Creator and the Cosmos, Beyond the Cosmos, A Matter of Days, Creation as Science, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, and More Than a Theory. Between writing books and articles, recording podcasts, and taking interviews, Hugh travels the world challenging students and faculty, churches and professional groups, to consider what they believe and why. He presents a persuasive case for Christianity without applying pressure. Because he treats people's questions and comments with respect, he is in great demand as a speaker and as a talk-radio and television guest. Having grown up amid the splendor of Canada's mountains, wildlife, and waterways, Hugh loves the outdoors. Hiking, trail running, and photography are among his favorite recreational pursuits - in addition to stargazing. Hugh lives in Southern California with his wife, Kathy, and two sons.



Email Sign-up

Sign up for the TWR360 Newsletter

Access updates, news, Biblical teaching and inspirational messages from powerful Christian voices.

Thank you for signing up to receive updates from TWR360.

Required information missing

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy & Terms of Use apply.