Because you're worth it
May 1, 2001
Imagine a high-tech composite material that exists as fibres that are just 50 µm wide and up to 1 m long. The same material has a tensile modulus in excess of 5 x 109 Pa and can spring back to its original length when it has been stretched by over 25%. It also fails to rupture under loads exceeding 3 x 108 Pa, and remains exceptionally flexible. You're probably thinking of a man-made fibre. Even if you are told that this is a natural material, you might think of the silk spun by spiders. But you'd be wrong - the material is human hair. This combination of superior mechanical properties results from the complex and unique organization of the different elements that make up hair.
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