<p>Physicists claim to have developed a simple equation that explains and predicts the shape of a ponytail, a finding they say could help scientists better understand natural materials such as wool and fur.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The new equation, the researchers said, also takes into account the stiffness of hair, the effects of gravity and the presence of random curliness or waviness.<br /><br />The work, published in Physical Review Letters journal, could help scientists better understand natural materials, such as wool and fur.<br /><br />"It's a remarkably simple equation," Dr Raymond Goldstein of Cambridge University was quoted as saying by the BBC News.<br /><br />According to the physicist, their findings showed how physics could be used to "solve a problem that has puzzled scientists and artists ever since Leonardo da Vinci remarked on the fluid-like streamlines of hair in his notebooks 500 years ago".<br /><br />Prof Goldstein worked on the equation with Prof Robin Ball from the University of Warwick and Patrick Warren, from Unilever's Research and Development Centre.<br /><br />The "Ponytail Shape Equation", they said, represents the first scientific understanding of the distribution of hair in a ponytail.<br /><br />It provides new understanding of how a bundle is swelled by the outward pressure which arises from collisions between the component hair, they noted.<br /><br />Together with a new mathematical quantity known as the Rapunzel Number, the equation can be used to predict the shape of any ponytail, they explained.<br /><br />It opens the way to a better understanding of materials made up of random fibres. This will resonate with some in the computer graphics and animation industry, where a realistic representation of hair and fur has proven a tough challenge, the researchers added.<br /><br />The research will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Physical Society in Boston later this month.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Physicists claim to have developed a simple equation that explains and predicts the shape of a ponytail, a finding they say could help scientists better understand natural materials such as wool and fur.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The new equation, the researchers said, also takes into account the stiffness of hair, the effects of gravity and the presence of random curliness or waviness.<br /><br />The work, published in Physical Review Letters journal, could help scientists better understand natural materials, such as wool and fur.<br /><br />"It's a remarkably simple equation," Dr Raymond Goldstein of Cambridge University was quoted as saying by the BBC News.<br /><br />According to the physicist, their findings showed how physics could be used to "solve a problem that has puzzled scientists and artists ever since Leonardo da Vinci remarked on the fluid-like streamlines of hair in his notebooks 500 years ago".<br /><br />Prof Goldstein worked on the equation with Prof Robin Ball from the University of Warwick and Patrick Warren, from Unilever's Research and Development Centre.<br /><br />The "Ponytail Shape Equation", they said, represents the first scientific understanding of the distribution of hair in a ponytail.<br /><br />It provides new understanding of how a bundle is swelled by the outward pressure which arises from collisions between the component hair, they noted.<br /><br />Together with a new mathematical quantity known as the Rapunzel Number, the equation can be used to predict the shape of any ponytail, they explained.<br /><br />It opens the way to a better understanding of materials made up of random fibres. This will resonate with some in the computer graphics and animation industry, where a realistic representation of hair and fur has proven a tough challenge, the researchers added.<br /><br />The research will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Physical Society in Boston later this month.<br /><br /></p>