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wattnurt t1_j0lw6y4 wrote

Reply to comment by 0xB0BAFE77 in Geckos use Van Der Waals forces to stick to walls, but how do they let go? by houstoncouchguy

>If you have a strong magnet on a fridge, you don't just grab it and pull it straight back. You pry it from one corner (usually sliding it off the edge of the fridge so you can pull up on one edge).

Slight correction, that's not really the reason for moving a magnet sideways for removing it, I.e. it's not because of mechanical leverage like you suggest. While the total amount of energy is of course the same no matter how you remove the magnet, the way the magnetic field lines run it is simply easier to impart that energy by sliding it sideways instead of pulling it straight up.

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Wrangler444 t1_j0nf7us wrote

Nah, definitely works like a lever. Put a pull retrieval magnet flat on a metal plane and pull straight back on a rope, then lift it by levering, no contest. W = f x d. Many times the force will be required to pull straight back from the middle

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