system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is happening at the molecular level when sticky things like tape or glue adhere to something?

I'm guessing the mechanisms for tape and glue are vastly different but I'm interested to know what's happening in both of them.
gpt
As you alluded to in your question, it depends on the type of adhesive.

On the one end is things like weak tapes, like sticky notes or some very cheap cellotapes. These work using intermolecular forces like hydrogen bonding or van der Waals forces.

The other extreme would be things like epoxy glues, which form chemical bonds with the surface they are adhering to (and why there are more limits on the types of surfaces you can use epoxy with versus tape).