The ultrafast trap of an aquatic carnivorous plant

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• Philippe Marmottant (UJF Grenoble)
• Monday 02 November 2009, 13:00-14:00
• MR5, CMS.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Ed Brambley.

A process difficult to perform within the channels of a lab-on-a-chip is the sudden transfer of a small sample of fluid into a closed container. This operation is naturally found in the vegetal kingdom when considering the aquatic carnivorous plants Utricularia (common name bladderwort).

These plants are gifted with tiny suction traps: a slight contact opens their door, the trap sucks in liquid, and then the door closes hermetically, all this open and close sequence within the impressive time of a few milliseconds, thus barely visible with the naked eye.

We present an experimental study, recording the fast fluid motions. Finite element simulations allow to understand how the energy is stored and released, and we pose the foundations for a model that will couple the elastic properties of the plant with the fluid motion.

This talk is part of the Monday Mechanics Seminars (DAMTP) series.

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