Surface tension biomimetics need to have a transplant or repair performed. Microvelia exploit surface tension by creating a surface tension gradient that propels them forward by releasing a surfactant behind them through a tongue-like protrusion. Biomimetic engineering was used in a creative and fun way to make and edible cocktail boat that mimicked the ability of microvelia to propel themselves on the surface of water by means of a phenomenon called the marangoni effect. Burton and her colleagues used 3D printing to make small plastic boats that released different types of alcohol behind the boat to lower the surface tension and create a
Drop (liquid) droplet taking about 10 years to form and break off. In the pendant drop test, a drop of liquid is suspended from the end of a tube by surface tension. The force due to surface tension is proportional to the length of the boundary between the liquid and the tube, with the proportionality constant usually denoted formula_1. Since the length of this boundary is the circumference of the tube, the force due to surface tension is given by where "d" is the tube diameter. The mass "m" of the drop hanging from the end of the tube can be found