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acorneau
Jun 12, 2009, 7:55 PM
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Just saw this on the NPR website: "Those of you hanging on by your fingertips to get through the week better dig a little deeper. A new study from England suggests the familiar ridges and crevices we call a fingerprint won't do anything to help you keep a firm grip." http://www.npr.org/...anklin_those_of.html
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drector
Jun 12, 2009, 8:02 PM
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Race car tires don't have tread except those used to race in the rain and climbing shoes do better without tread too. It makes sense. Maybe we need to get ride of those dumb ridges to help us climb better! Maybe finger prints are there to give us better grip on wet stuff. Dave
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angry
Jun 12, 2009, 8:06 PM
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I can't grip anything when I've lost my fingerprints. Probably has more to do with how stiff and smooth the healing skin is rather than the ridges themselves though.
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spikeddem
Jun 12, 2009, 8:11 PM
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drector wrote: Maybe finger prints are there to give us better grip on wet stuff. Dave I was listening to the NPR broadcast while they interviewed the author of the study. He said that it wouldn't be surprising if it did, in fact, increase friction on wet surfaces, but that they did not have evidence of it yet. On a side note, I never once thought of rock climbing while listening to the broadcast!
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shoo
Jun 12, 2009, 8:14 PM
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An interesting study, but very flawed and therefore not conclusive. This study only applies to smooth, dry surfaces. In this case, surface area will increase "grip." I don't want to use the word friction here to avoid all the semantic debate here. If one surface is rough, and the other is smooth, such as a finger on plastic, there is reduced surface area and therefore less grip. However, if BOTH surfaces are rough, there is an additional mechanical component here, such that the ridges on your fingers are pushing directly against the ridges on the second surface, creating an additional resistant force. This increases grip. Additionally, there could be fluid between the surfaces, such as water or sweat. Think about car tires here. If the road dry and smooth, it's better to use tires that are as smooth as possible, without troughs. However, when the road is wet, you want to have troughs for the fluid to get into more easily, so that the outermost rubber can come in more direct contact with the road. This study does not account for either of these scenarios, and is therefore only hypothesis generating, rather than conclusive.
(This post was edited by shoo on Jun 12, 2009, 8:18 PM)
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hafilax
Jun 12, 2009, 8:15 PM
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They want to test if fingerprints evolved for purposes of friction and test it on plastic?! OK, so friction on plastic is reduced, how about wood or rock. What is it with the British and poorly thought out experiments involving hands and friction? So far they've shown that cadaver fingers have better friction on wet rock and that chalk is worse and that fingerprints make friction on smooth plastic worse.
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rocknice2
Jun 12, 2009, 9:42 PM
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I saw a show on Discovery?? and they mentioned that fingerprints are used to sense texture. Quite accurately I might add
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Adk
Jun 12, 2009, 11:24 PM
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I hike with hiking boots that don't have tread. They are smooth as silk. I've always wondered why it is I slip and fall so often as compared to all my friends.
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hafilax
Jun 12, 2009, 11:28 PM
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Adk wrote: I hike with hiking boots that don't have tread. They are smooth as silk. I've always wondered why it is I slip and fall so often as compared to all my friends. What you don't hike sheets of plastic?
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desertwanderer81
Jun 13, 2009, 1:13 AM
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acorneau wrote: Just saw this on the NPR website: "Those of you hanging on by your fingertips to get through the week better dig a little deeper. A new study from England suggests the familiar ridges and crevices we call a fingerprint won't do anything to help you keep a firm grip." http://www.npr.org/...anklin_those_of.html I heard this too on NPR! GOGO NPR pwr!!!!!
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nkane
Jun 13, 2009, 1:23 AM
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A few years ago I received deep 2nd degree burns on my hands, leaving me with almost no fingerprints on my left hand. My left hand is slightly less grippy than my right, but really only when my hands are sweaty, and even then it's not a pronounced difference. So there's one data point.
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Datadep5
Jun 15, 2009, 4:11 AM
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This was tested only on plastic? 0_o I'm inclined to not believe this article on the basis that it was only tested on one material. I think they should be more concerned with the relative bond created between the atoms in your finger prints and those of the material you are gripping.
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