MEXICO: Eyelashes are aesthetically appealing, but scientists have always searched for their primary function. Some have hypothesized that they serve to reduce the occurrence of objects hitting the eye by creating a physical barrier. However, experimental evidence has been lacking. Now a new study sheds important new insights into just how eyelashes protect eyes.
Researchers measured the dimensions of almost two dozen mammal eyes and their corresponding eye lashes. They conducted wind tunnel experiments and constructed complex fluid dynamics models to determine the primary role of eyelashes. As it turns out, the lashes perform best when they are about one third the length of their eyes—just the right length to keep air flow over the eyeball to a minimum.
Less air moving over the eyeball translates to less evaporation of the tear film that keeps the delicate cornea moist and fewer airborne particles contacting the eyeball surface. The results of the study were reported on Tuesday in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
“All mammals have wet eyes, and airflow is the enemy of that,” said lead author Guillermo Amador, a doctoral student at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
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