Patent ID: 7156032

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a surface on a body, said body adapted to move through a fluid; and a plurality of structures, said structures being nanostructures or microstructures, each nanostructure of said plurality of structures having at least one dimension of less than one micrometer, and each microstructure of said plurality of structures having at least one dimension which is less than one millimeter, wherein said plurality of structures are disposed in a pattern on said surface in a way such that friction between said surface and said fluid is controlled as a function of a surface energy of said structures and wherein said friction control is a function of a variable degree of contact between said surface and said fluid resulting from an electrically-induced penetration of at least a portion of said fluid through said structures disposed on said surface, each structure of said plurality of structures maintaining an orientation that is perpendicular to said surface of said body such that as said body moves through said fluid said fluid travels in a direction across a top of each said structure; and at least a first electrode adapted to facilitate said electrically-induced penetration by applying a voltage differential between said surface and said fluid in a way such that said fluid is caused to penetrate said pattern at a select location on said surface such that said penetration of said fluid at said select location alters a direction or a speed of said body in said fluid.