Fig. 8.

Physical model of mutual repulsion as a follicle alignment mechanism. Electrically conducting (e.g. copper) rods are suspended from a conducting plate by ball-and-socket joints; the figure shows only one row from the two-dimensional array. (A) In the initial configuration, the rods are randomly oriented. (B) Electrifying the system aligns the rods because this configuration minimizes electrostatic repulsion between neighbors.