We address the question of hair tangles and show experimentally that curly hair tends to become less tangled than straight hair. A statistical model based on geometry confirms our findings. The model gives an interesting geometric approach to hair behavior.
REFERENCES
1.
L. D.
Landau
and E. M.
Lifshitz
, Statistical Physics, Part 1
, 3rd ed. (Elsevier, Butterworth Heinemann
, 1997
).2.
L. D.
Landau
and E. M.
Lifshitz
, Statistical Physics, Part 2
(Elsevier, Butterworth Heinemann
, 1995
).3.
4.
5.
6.
T. A.
Witten
, “Polymer solutions: A geometric introduction
,” Rev. Mod. Phys.
70
, 1531
–1544
(1998
).7.
J.
Wittmer
and A.
Johner
, “Formation of polymer brushes
,” in Proceedings of Dynamics of Complex Fluids
, edited by T.
McLeish
(Kluwer
, Dordrecht, 1996
), cond-mat/9805260.8.
J.
Klein
, “Evidence for reptation in an entangled polymer melt
,” Nature (London)
271
, 143
–145
(1978
).9.
P. G.
Degennes
, “Reptation of a polymer chain in the presence of fixed obstacles
,” J. Chem. Phys.
55
, 572
–579
(1971
).10.
P. G.
Degennes
, “Dynamics of entangled polymer solutions. I. The Rouse model
,” Macromolecules
9
, 587
–593
(1976
).11.
S. T.
Milner
, “Polymer brushes
,” Science
251
, 905
–914
(1991
).12.
B.
O’Shaughnessy
and D.
Vavylonis
, “The slowly formed Guiselin brush
,” Europhys. Lett.
63
, 895
–901
(2003
).13.
S.
Foster
, E.
Wenz
, and P.
Lindner
, “Density profile of spherical polymer brushes
,” Phys. Rev. Lett.
77
, 95
–98
(1996
).14.
D. I.
Dimitrov
, A.
Milchtev
, and K.
Binder
, “Polymer brushes in cylindrical pores: Simulation versus scaling theory
,” J. Chem. Phys.
125
, 034905
–1
(2006
).15.
M. E. J.
Newman
and G. T.
Barkema
, Monte Carlo Methods in Statistical Physics
(Claredon
, Oxford, 1999
).16.
J.
Halal
, Hair Structure and Chemistry Simplified
, 4th ed. (Milady, Thomson Learning
, Albany, NY, 2001
).© 2007 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2007
American Association of Physics Teachers
AAPT members receive access to the American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher as a member benefit. To learn more about this member benefit and becoming an AAPT member, visit the Joining AAPT page.