A Closer Look At Hairdryers

by Eliza Melzono on January 19, 2010

in Hair Styles

Everyone has a basic routine everyday: we get done washing our hair and we reach for our hairdryer, turn it on, and immediately we have hot air that dries our hair quickly and helps us get ready for the day. There are several excellent reasons for everyone to use a hairdryer to dry their hair, and the main one in the winter is not going outside with wet hair to keep from catching a cold or the chills. Even though it’s something we use every day, most folks don’t consider how hairdryers work in being able to expel hot air that doesn’t end up burning our heads or our hair.

Blow dryers are basically easy to understand. Two major components, air and heat, are important to allowing the appliance to work properly. Essentially, a blow dryer works by forcing heat and air together inside the dryer. The heated air is then funneled through the appliance in a single direction and out the end.

The heat that’s being generated from the inside element is created quickly, but it would not be useful is all that heat stayed inside the unit – it would become overheated and way too hot to be touched, and without the heat exiting the unit the hairdryer would not be working the way it’s supposed to be.

There is also a fan inside the hairdryer to push out the air; an elementary motor which turns the fan, pushing out the air so that you can dry your hair. Further, most hairdryers have the capacity to change from hot to cold air should you desire to do so.

In addition, many hairdryers are capable of regulating the heat so that you can decide how hot the air needs to be. The temperature of the heating element determines how hot the air which is pushed out of the hairdryer will be.

A basic heating coil regulates the level of heat being generated, and when the dryer is connected and turned on, it’s those coiled wires that warm and get hot. The coil, or nichrome wire, is created from the alloy metals of nickel and chromium, which can also be found in a lot of other household in the kitchen, such as kettles and toasters.

Nickel and chromium are superb conductors of heat, while nichrome wire is a lousy conductor for electricity, so it’s the alloy that’s heat resistant, which in turn allows it to become heated – and that gives you the hot air from the dryer.

Eliza has written much more on hair dryers, check out her other articles at bio ionic hair dryer or Sunbeam hair dryers.

categories: hair,hair information,shopping and product reviews,style,gadgets,technology,beauty,fashion,self

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