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posted by martyb on Thursday January 19 2017, @06:38AM   Printer-friendly
from the hair-raising-scheme dept.

The second coming of the hair shirt?

In a new study, researchers at the University of California San Diego investigate why hair is incredibly strong and resistant to breaking. The findings could lead to the development of new materials for body armor and help cosmetic manufacturers create better hair care products.

Hair has a strength to weight ratio comparable to steel. It can be stretched up to one and a half times its original length before breaking.

[...] The faster hair is stretched, the stronger it is. "Think of a highly viscous substance like honey," Meyers explained. "If you deform it fast it becomes stiff, but if you deform it slowly it readily pours."

Hair consists of two main parts -- the cortex, which is made up of parallel fibrils, and the matrix, which has an amorphous (random) structure. The matrix is sensitive to the speed at which hair is deformed, while the cortex is not. The combination of these two components, Yu explained, is what gives hair the ability to withstand high stress and strain.

And as hair is stretched, its structure changes in a particular way. At the nanoscale, the cortex fibrils in hair are each made up of thousands of coiled spiral-shaped chains of molecules called alpha helix chains. As hair is deformed, the alpha helix chains uncoil and become pleated sheet structures known as beta sheets. This structural change allows hair to handle up a large amount deformation without breaking.

An abstract is available but the full article is paywalled.


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  • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:31PM

    by linkdude64 (5482) on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:31PM (#456098)

    Reminds me of Suprotect impact foam, which Held uses in their gloves. From one rider to another, the Held Titans are the most protective gloves on the market, period. Above and beyond the Knox Handroid. If you like your hands as much as I do for typing/drawing/writing/working, etc. I highly recommend them.

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  • (Score: 2) by CoolHand on Thursday January 19 2017, @05:50PM

    by CoolHand (438) on Thursday January 19 2017, @05:50PM (#456123) Journal
    Thanks for the suggestion.. They seem pretty race-oriented. They don't seem very weatherproof. I generally go for ones more in line with touring and/or commuting (in all kinds of weather). I do value my hands, though.
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