The Operation of Hair Dryers

Basics of Hair Dryers

A hair dryer similar to this one can be found in nearly every pharmacy or bargain shop. Two switches are included in the basic model; one controls the airflow rate and the other turns them on and off. A separate switch on certain models allows you to control the airflow’s temperature as well.

By accelerating the evaporation of water from the hair’s surface, the hair drier dries your hair. The air around each hair strand becomes hotter due to the hot air that a hair drier emits. More water can evaporate from your hair into the air because heated air can hold more moisture than room temperature air. The water droplet’s individual molecules may more easily overcome their attraction to one another and transition from a liquid to a gas state as a result of the temperature rise.

Read More: GHD hair dryer

Thousands of patents for various hair dryer designs have been granted since they were initially created, although the majority of them just make minor cosmetic adjustments to the hairdryer’s outside packaging to make it seem prettier. Over the years, not much has changed in terms of the operating system within hair dryers, with the exception of the installation of a few safety features.

Just two components are needed for a hair drier to produce the hot air blast that dries your hair:

a basic fan with a motor and a heating source

Hair dryers convert electrical energy into convective heat through the use of a heating element and a motor-driven fan. The entire system is rather straightforward:

When the hair dryer is plugged in and the switch is turned to “on,” current passes through it.

The heating element receives power from the circuit first. This is often just a plain, coiled wire in hair dryers, although more costly versions may incorporate fancier materials, such as a ceramic coating impregnated with tourmaline.

The little electric motor is then caused to spin by the current, turning the fan.

The fan’s airflow passes over and past the heating element and down the hairdryer’s barrel.

Forced convection allows the heat produced by the heated element to warm the air as it passes over and through it.

The barrel’s end emits a jet of heated air.

Now that we have the heat, continue reading to see how the hair dryer generates heat.

Air Flow in a Hair Dryer

How can a hair drier produce an airflow this powerful in the first place? This particular device makes use of a tiny fan that resembles a water wheel or hydraulic turbine. The fan of a hair dryer uses electrical energy to create airflow, as opposed to the water wheel, which uses the potential energy of flowing water to generate power. The fan, which is securely fastened to the motor’s tip, houses the tiny motor. Both the motor and the associated fan spin when the motor is powered on. The hair dryer’s side casing has tiny round air inlets that allow air to be drawn in by the centrifugal force of the fan blades. A safety screen covers these openings to keep other objects—like hair strands—from getting pulled in as well. The hair dryer’s barrel is subsequently blasted with air.

There are two airflow settings on most hair dryers, including this one: high and low. Because altering the airflow necessitates altering the motor’s rotational speed, the hair dryer’s manual may refer to this as having a high or low speed. The simplest way to do this is to change the current passing through the section of the circuit that supplies the motor. Both the motor and the fan spin slowly when the power supply is low. The hair dryer pushes through less air. The motor accelerates when power is applied. As the fan spins quickly, more air is drawn in and the airflow is increased.

Hair dryers that are more recent and cost more money are equipped with devices that produce hot air that is charged with particles known as ions. According to the firms using this technology, hair should grow healthier, smoother, and shinier as well as dry faster and remove static. Hair is supposed to be easier to maintain and less likely to gather dust and debris when static is reduced. Ion generators can appear in several distinct design schematics and be positioned throughout the hair drier.