Detangling hair

ORAL

Abstract

Tangled hair is difficult to manage. We investigate the everyday problem of taming a tangle of hair with a comb by focusing on a minimal model of this system: a pair of chiral, elastic helical rods entangled to form a braid. As a single, stiff tine combs through the double-helix, it leaves two untangled filaments in its wake. We use experiments, theory and computation to characterize this problem with both mechanics and topology.

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Presenters

  • Thomas Plumb-Reyes

    Harvard University

Authors

  • Thomas Plumb-Reyes

    Harvard University

  • Nicholas Charles

    Harvard University

  • L Mahadevan

    Harvard University, SEAS, Harvard University, Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard, John A. Paulson School Of Engineering And Applied Sciences, Harvard University, SEAS, Harvard, SEAS, Physics, OEB, Harvard University