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Shape of a ponytail and the statistical physics of hair fiber bundles

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Goldstein, Raymond E., Warren, Patrick and Ball, Robin (2012) Shape of a ponytail and the statistical physics of hair fiber bundles. Physical Review Letters, Vol.108 (No.7). Article no.078101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101

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Abstract

A general continuum theory for the distribution of hairs in a bundle is developed, treating individual fibers as elastic filaments with random intrinsic curvatures. Applying this formalism to the iconic problem of the ponytail, the combined effects of bending elasticity, gravity, and orientational disorder are recast as a differential equation for the envelope of the bundle, in which the compressibility enters through an “equation of state.” From this, we identify the balance of forces in various regions of the ponytail, extract a remarkably simple equation of state from laboratory measurements of human ponytails, and relate the pressure to the measured random curvatures of individual hairs.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Physics
Journal or Publication Title: Physical Review Letters
Publisher: American Physical Society
ISSN: 0031-9007
Official Date: 17 February 2012
Dates:
DateEvent
17 February 2012Published
Volume: Vol.108
Number: No.7
Page Range: Article no.078101
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Open Access Version:
  • ArXiv

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