Gentoo penguins — residents of the Antarctic and parts of the coldest, southernmost tip of South America — jump in and out of frigid ocean water all day without accumulating ice on their feathers. Researchers say they now know why the penguins are ice-free, and they theorize that this knowledge could lead to better ways of keeping ice off airplane wings.
The explanation involves both the structure of the penguins’ feathers and the characteristics of an oil secreted by their glands.
Pirouz Kavehpour, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the research was inspired by his thoughts while watching a documentary film on penguins.
“I noticed the penguins were coming out of very cold water and sitting in very cold temperatures, and it was curious that no ice formed on their feathers,” Kavehpour said in a statement issued by the American Physical Society (APS) in late November in advance of the annual meeting of its D…
