HAIR HYGROMETER: IMPROVISED INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE CHANGE IN

HUMIDITY

BY:

JANECCA B. MARBELLA

JUDE FRANCO GONZALES

STEVE LO

JESUS GUILLERMO

BSCE
Introduction

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. It is one of the important measurements

that weather observers make because the amount of water vapor in the air determines whether

clouds or fog are likely and whether it's going to rain.

One of the instruments for humidity is hygrometer which measures the percentage of

humidity. A hygrometer is a device used to measure the humidity, or amount of water vapor in

the air. The more water vapor in the air, the higher the humidity. High humidity can make a hot

day feel even hotter because our bodies cannot sweat as efficiently with the extra moisture in the

air. A common way these devices work is by using a material that attracts moisture, and that

changes depending on how moist it is. The probably simplest method of these is to use a human

hair. The hair will change length, depending on the moisture. Hence it calculates the relative

humidity of a particular place. When humidity is high, the number of hydrogen molecules in the

air increases and temporary hydrogen bonds form between the proteins, resulting in an

interesting change in hairstyle. In this research, an improvised hygrometer is utilized using

strands of hair as its sensing element.

To understand how a hygrometer made with hair strands works, it is important to

understand the structure of a shaft of human hair. (The shaft is the part of the hair that sticks out

above the surface of the skin, whereas the hair follicle is the part that is below the skin's surface.)

In human hair shafts, several outer layers of flattened cuticle cells surround a layer of cortical

cells (making up the cortex), which surrounds the central core of cells, called the medulla. The

flattened cuticle cells are relatively tough and have a scale-like appearance when magnified,
along with a coating of specialized molecules (called lipids) that repels water, helping to protect

the hair strand. The cortical cells are fibrous and contain pigment granules of varying darkness

that give hair strands their natural color. The predominant proteins in hair are from a group

called keratins, from the same protein family that forms your fingernails. The chemical bonds

link the keratin molecules are what give a hair strand its strength and flexibility as well as its

predictable response to humidity.

Objective

1. To make an improvised hygrometer using strands of hair.

2. To make use of the hair hygrometer in determining changes in humidity for five days.

Methodology

Prepare all the materials needed in making the hair hygrometer

Wipe down the strands of hair with diluted isopropyl rubbing alcohol.

Make three pointers total and make sure each of your pointers is the exact same size.
Tape a dime onto each pointer, centered about 4.5 cm from the left side of the pointer. Poke one

of the nails through one of the pointers, about ½ cm from the left side of the pointer. Wiggle the

nail until the pointer moves freely and loosely around the nail.

To each pointer glue three hair strands, between the dime and the nail hole, about 1 cm to 1.5 cm

to the right of the nail hole. As usual, use the same position for each of the pointers. Position

each pointer on one of the wood or polystyrene bases about three quarters of the way down the

side (about 19 cm down) with the left side of the pointer about 1 cm from the left side of the

base. Carefully hammer a nail through each pointer's nail hole and securely into the base.
 3 hair strands

Carefully hammer in another nail about 2.5 cm from the top of each base, in line with where the

hair was glued to the pointer. As usual, use the same position for each of the hygrometers.
Gently pull the hair strands taut, so that the pointer points parallel to the ground. That is, make

sure the point of the pointer is perpendicular to the hair. The hair should hang perfectly vertical

and the pointer should point perfectly horizontal. Glue the free ends of the hair strands to the top

nail on each base. You may need to hold the hair strands taut while the glue starts to dry so that

they dry in a taut position.

Make three hair hygrometers. Calibrate each one using the two extremes on your hygrometer

scale, 0% and 100% humidity.

a. For 0% humidity, dry the strands gently with a hair dryer until the strands no longer

decrease in length (the pointer no longer moves). Mark this location as 0%.
a. For 100% humidity, close up the hygrometer in a plastic box with a wet sponge or paper

towel. Wait at least ten minutes. Mark the pointer location lightly, re-seal the box, and

wait another ten minutes. Keep doing this until the pointer location is no longer changing.

Mark the final pointer location as 100%.

For intermediate values, you could just divide the space between 0% and 100% into four equal

increments and mark the locations for 25, 50, and 75%.
Results and Discussions

For five days, the hair hygrometers were used to observe the changes in humidity from

February 27- March 3, 2017. The humidity is recorded in the morning (9am), afternoon (3pm)

and evening (9pm). There were three hygrometers made and only the two hygrometers gave the

same results. These hair hygrometers were left in a safe place for five days. These are the results

obtained.
 FEBRUARY 27, 2017
80
70 75 75
60
50
50
40
30
20
10
0
Morning Afternoon Evening

Humidity, %

On February 27, 2017, the humidity in the morning is 75%. It decreased in the afternoon

which has a 50% humidity and went back to 75% in the evening.

FEBRUARY 28, 2017

120

100
100
80
75
60
40 50

20

0
Morning Afternoon Evening

Humidity, %

On the 2nd day, the humidity in the morning is 100%. In the afternoon, it went down to

50% and increased to 75% in the evening.

 MARCH 1, 2017
120

100
100 100

80

60

50
40

20

0
Morning Afternoon Evening

Humidity, %

On March 1, 2017, the humidity in the morning and evening is 100%. In the afternoon,

the humidity is 50%.

MARCH 2, 2017
120

100
100
80
75
60

40 50

20

0
Morning Afternoon Evening

Humidity, %

On March 2, 2017, the highest humidity recorded is in the evening which is 100%. The

lowest humidity obtained is in the afternoon which is 50%.

 MARCH 3, 2017
80

70 75 75

60

50
50
40

30

20

10

0
Morning Afternoon Evening

Humidity, %

On the last day, the humidity in the morning and evening reached 100%. In the afternoon

the humidity is 50%.

Conclusion

The graph shows the percentages of humidity. Based from the results obtained, it is

evident that there were changes occurred in the length of hair. The change in length of the

strands of hair shows that the humidity also changes. Strands of hair can relax and lengthen when

the humidity increases, and then contract again when the humidity decreases. Therefore, the

researchers concluded that strands of hair is an ideal sensing element to identify change in

humidity. The readings of hair hygrometer is less accurate compared with another instrument

that measures humidity, such as a psychrometer or an electric hygrometer. Hair hygrometer

would only give a rough approximation of humidity. There are also factors that might affect the

results of a hair hygrometer such as its sensitivity to contamination. As an overall assessment,

the objectives of the research have been met. The researchers were able to create an improvised

hair hygrometer and investigate the change of humidity in air using hair hygrometer.

Reference

https://www.scientificamerican.com/

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/