  It is demonstrated that polymers sticking out of the surface of a neutral
hydrogel are capable of preventing adhesive forces from pulling a hydrogel into
close contact with a surface against which it is pressed. The proposed
mechanism for lubrication or surface protection suggests a possible mechanism
for protecting the cornea from a contact lens, which is held against the eye by
Laplace pressure. This mechanism, however, is only able to keep a gel coated
surface from sticking to a surface against which it is pressed, if the gel and
surface are bathed in fluid. Expected optical properties of the gel-surface
interface are discussed, in order to suggest possible ways to study the
gel-solid interface experimentally.
