  The functionality of adhesives relies on their response under the application
of a load. Yet, it has remained a challenge to quantitatively relate the
macroscopic dynamics of peeling to the dissipative processes inside the
adhesive layer. Here we investigate the peeling of a reversible adhesive made
of a polymer gel, measuring the relationship between the peeling force, the
peeling velocity, and the geometry of the interface at small-scale. Experiments
are compared to a theory based on the linear viscoelastic response of the
adhesive, augmented with an elastocapillary regularization approach. This
theory, fully quantitative in the limit of small surface deformations,
demonstrates the emergence of a "wetting" angle at the contact line and
exhibits scaling laws for peeling which are in good agreement with the
experimental results. Our findings provide a new strategy for design of
reversible adhesives, by quantitatively combining wetting, geometry and
dissipation.
