Today's Thoughts

By AApple

Purity

First thing I saw when I stepped outside of the house today :) Conjures a feeling of purity. In some ways, it literally is for the sake of purity (explained in the science part below)...

Warning: Science Ahead

Water droplets do not seep into leaves because leaves are covered by a cuticle, composed of waxy substances. The evolution of a cuticle, along with other properties of plants, is what allowed plants to transition from life in water to life on land. Specifically, cuticles allow for the conservation of water, but due to the nature of the waxy substance, it also prevents (potentially unclean) external water from getting into the plant through the leaves. It also has specialized properties that prevent the entrance of potential pathogens (bacteria, viruses, etc.) into the plant through the leaves. Thus, the cuticle does function to maintain the purity of the plant :)

Lotus leaves display very high repellency of water ("superhydrophobicity"). For a quick video, see here.

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.