the guy Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 is it possible to melt hair in, like, a pan or an oven or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 possibly if you used an inert atmosphere(nitrogen) otherwise it'll just catch fire. although i suspect it will still decompose rather than melt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the guy Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 would it work if you melted it in a vacuum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 that would be more technically involved than an inert atmosphere for the same result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the guy Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 wouldn't helium be a better atmosphere than nitrogen since it's less reactive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 in theory yes, in practice, nitrogen is cheaper and its not going to react with anything in hair unless under extreme conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padren Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Out of curiosity, wouldn't melting it in a vacuum result in some elements evaporating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 no it`s not possible to melt it (with heat) but you can dissolve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hair is made of keratin (a polymer of amino acids). These will decompose, not melt. You'll most likely end up with, Piperidine, or Diketopiperazine... or compounds that look like that. In fact, you'll probably end up with both, and a lot more. Hair consists of many amino acids, and they'll fall apart and form many different compounds. I suggest heating in presence of nitrogen. There is already so much nitrogen bonded to the hair, that the little bit that might react from the nitrogen-gas will not make a huge difference. Don't bother with any other (more expensive) gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the guy Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 could you grow keratin in a lab? if so how? could you grow it in a mould or somehow get it to grow in a certain shape? btw when i say grow its just a generalisation if theres another method please speak up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I'd polymerize it, or indeed grow it (but not in a lab, but simply on your head, then cut it ). Did you read the wikipedia website (I already provided the link)? Keratin is, as mentioned before, a polymer is amino acids. You have to make the peptide bonds to polymerize that. It is an amino acid condensation. I found this website that has a nice little animation of the reaction. The big trick is: 1. to get the amino acids to polymerize in the right order (it is not just 1 amino acid, but several types). 2. to get the keratin polymers to interact in the right way to become a real hair... although... this second step might not be the most important if you want to melt it anyway (which is not possible). Synthetic keratin exists. Just google for it until you find how to make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosubotic Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Hello... I know that this is not a scientific question, but science could maybe help me here... Please tell me how could I decompose hair... Some human hair and hair from carpets (synthetic) stuck around the wheels of my boy's walker, so the wheels cannot spin. How could I decompose that hair, without damaging the plastic wheels. Are they any chemicals that I can find easily in a store, that could solve my problem? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Hello... I know that this is not a scientific question, but science could maybe help me here... Please tell me how could I decompose hair... Some human hair and hair from carpets (synthetic) stuck around the wheels of my boy's walker, so the wheels cannot spin. How could I decompose that hair, without damaging the plastic wheels. Are they any chemicals that I can find easily in a store, that could solve my problem? Thanks in advance! Doubtful. Tweezers and an Xacto knife are your best bet, if I'm accurate on the scale here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Doubtful. Tweezers and an Xacto knife are your best bet, if I'm accurate on the scale here. Bleach, apparently. Also, Hair removal cream. Edited December 13, 2016 by StringJunky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Bleach, apparently. Also, Hair removal cream. I wouldn't have thought either would work on synthetic carpet fibers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I wouldn't have thought either would work on synthetic carpet fibers. I didn't see the synthetic part of the question. I tried a sample of my hair and didn't work; it must be synthetic. I tried 36% HCL and didn't work either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I can appreciate the chemistry route, it would certainly be the coolest and most scientific. But I know there are also people out there (you know who you are -- that's right, I'm talking to you now) who LOVE doing this sort of thing physically. These are the people who always peel the warning labels from lighters, love untangling piles of yarn or holiday lights, twitch uncontrollably when they see a peeling sunburn, and don't suffer sweater pills lightly. Going after fibers in a caster with tweezers and a scalpel is their version of neurosurgery; they're removing something extraneous that's impairing brain function, mostly because now they know it's there it'll drive them crazy until they remove it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I can appreciate the chemistry route, it would certainly be the coolest and most scientific. But I know there are also people out there (you know who you are -- that's right, I'm talking to you now) who LOVE doing this sort of thing physically. These are the people who always peel the warning labels from lighters, love untangling piles of yarn or holiday lights, twitch uncontrollably when they see a peeling sunburn, and don't suffer sweater pills lightly. Going after fibers in a caster with tweezers and a scalpel is their version of neurosurgery; they're removing something extraneous that's impairing brain function, mostly because now they know it's there it'll drive them crazy until they remove it. My mother would stress about something like this. I asked for some rags once to clean something oily. She presented me with a carrier-bag of cloths, perfectly square-cut cloths, perfectly folded and smelling of conditioner. A friend of mine said to another friend, in my presence: " His mother could serve my dinner on her kitchen floor, give me a knife and fork and I'll eat it." Perfectionism is a mental illness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Perfectionism is a mental illness. So is relating everything to extremes. I prefer to think of those folks as fantastic administrators. We need them as editors so typos aren't missed. We need them as merchandisers to keep shelves stocked label out. We need these folks for mass mailings, so our holiday cards don't go out with crooked stamps and labels. A bit of OCD is practically required in some jobs. And you have to admit, it's nice having a bag of clean cloths around for the oil and grease. My wife does that for me with old towels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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