{"id":73171,"date":"2014-10-21T19:31:19","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T23:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2022-10-28T14:06:27","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T18:06:27","slug":"are-your-buds-twisted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/are-your-buds-twisted\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Your Earbuds Twisted?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Are<\/a>Does this sound familiar? You are about to walk the dog, grab your iPod and have to spend the next 5 minutes untangling the $%*&@ earbuds<\/strong>. It seems to happen to everyone who owns an Apple iPod or iPhone your “EarPods<\/a>.” (even though Apple has shipped its white in-ear headphones with every iDevice since the iPod in 2001, they updated its earbuds to “EarPods” in 2012)<\/em><\/p>\n

Your earbuds have conspired against you. Whatever you call them, the earbuds have mysteriously tangled<\/strong> themselves into a knot so vicious that you risk snapping the wire to get them undone. Especially the little thin wires that go to each earpiece.<\/p>\n

\"Tangled<\/a>To be fair, Jim Edwards<\/a> at the Business Insider<\/em><\/a> says<\/a> it happens to all earbuds, not just Apple’s<\/a> (AAPL<\/a>). But iPhone tangles seem more visibly conspicuous because their wires are white as part of Apple’s branding<\/strong>. BI <\/em>observes that the knots even occur when you coil them carefully before putting them away. Typically the headphone wires will knot themselves on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

Earbuds tangle for a reason<\/h3>\n

Mr. Edwards explains that tangling happens for a reason, and it has been the subject of scientific research. Dorian M. Raymer and Douglas E. Smith of the University of California at San Diego<\/a> Department of Physics proved that iPhone earbud tangles are predictable. The tangle is a function of the length of the wire<\/strong> and the amount of “agitation<\/strong>” the wire is subjected to. The author explains that when \u2014 length versus agitation \u2014 are plotted against each other, the rate of knots and tangles obeys a statistical pattern that describes a curve.<\/p>\n

\"angles<\/a>The physicists published a paper titled “Spontaneous knotting of an agitated string<\/a>” (PDF). Their research revealed that the length of a cord influences how much it will tangle when sealed inside a rotating box. The length of Apple’s iPhone earbuds is 55 inches long and right at the 50% tangle-rate-sweet-spot of the curve.<\/p>\n

BI<\/em> provided a schematic showing how a cord that starts off neatly coiled and quickly becomes tangled. The tangle test shows that one end of a wire only has to cross another part of the wire twice to start spontaneously knotting itself.\u00a0The research shows that your earphones are indeed spontaneously knotting<\/strong> themselves. The knots really do form as a matter of physics, so it is an unstoppable force of nature that can’t be prevented<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That is until Professor Robert Matthews of Aston University<\/a> in England saved the day. Rebecca Borison<\/a> at BI<\/em> says<\/a> the physicist has developed a surefire way to end all earbud tangling: clip them together<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"spontaneous<\/a>Professor Matthews suggests that you clip the two earbuds together and attach them near the audio jack to create a loop. He claims that this will reduce tangling tenfold. He told ABC News,<\/p>\n

First, by forming the loop you’ve effectively reduced the length of string able to explore the 3-D space by 50%, which makes a big difference. Second, you’ve also eliminated the two ends, which are the prime movers of knot formation.<\/p>\n

rb-<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

CNET<\/a> says the tangled earbuds research has attracted interest from biochemists concerned with the tendency of thread-like DNA to get itself tangled. The new study suggests nature may form loops in DNA to prevent this from happening.<\/em><\/p>\n

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