Biomimetics

4. I may have a gentle name; my vegetable cousin cucumber is no good in protecting itself, however, I can strengthen my surface almost instantly.
8. Reach my threshold limit in composites, and boom, suddenly your properties skyrocket
9. On my surface, even the boldest droplet is compelled to dissolve into a flawless film.

1. What good is an ice cream cone? Can it show reversible opening and closing like me? All I need is just some water!
2. Hello humans! I'm one of the most widespread species in the world! Can you beat my ability in changing colors by adjusting my refractive index?!
3. You may brag about your wealth, but you cannot predict scattering of light from surfaces without my equation!
4. I'm a class of algorithms whereby super intelligence comes from association, much more than individual intelligence.
5. Small I may be, but with my colony, I can rule continents!
6. I'm the code that makes evolution possible, and oh, I also lend my name to computing frameworks where a combination of good and poor solutions can be used iteratively to optimize to the best solution.
7. The color blue is quite rare in the natural world. But I have perfected it through structural color. What species of butterfly am I?