Physicist reveals secret behind ‘cooling’ towels

Physicist reveals secret behind ‘cooling’ towels

2024-08-06

Cooling tricks are all the rage over summer. At a recent family event in Taichung, TPP city councilor Chiang Ho-shu provided towels to keep kids cooler as they played in the water. But do they actually get cold? A physicist said it’s a matter of heat dissipation through water absorption. By snapping the towel, the water carries the heat away, instantly lowering its temperature.

Kids have a water fight in the park, playing until they’re soaked head to toe. It’s not surprising to see them with a water gun in hand along with a cooling towel.

They drape the towels around their necks and continue playing, helping them to cool down even more. Their parents also enjoy the towels as they relax off to the side.

Participant
I took my kid’s towel to use. It’s really nice.

Participant
It’s cold. Like you just took it out of the fridge.

But is the towel really cooling? What’s the science behind it?

Chang Jui
Physicist
Polyester is itself a hydrophobic material. However, when it’s woven together very tightly, it absorbs water easily through capillary action. Yet the water can easily be rung out, so as the water is being absorbed and then released, it takes a lot of heat with it.

Huang Yu-lun
FTV reporter
It really is hot outside. You can see the sun is very bright, and even I have a cooling towel. But there’s one downside, and that’s the need to soak them.

There’s no need to hole up inside with the AC all the time. Playing in the water with a cooling towel is just as refreshing.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

戶外消暑撇步! 玩水搭配"涼感巾" 理化老師解析為何清涼

2024-08-06

炎炎夏日，涼感小物超夯！民眾黨台中市議員江和樹，日前舉辦親子戲水活動，擔心鄉親中暑，準備了涼感巾發送，讓小朋友玩水，涼上加涼。涼感巾真的有那麼厲害，真的會涼嗎？理化老師分析，就是透過吸水散熱的原理，甩動毛巾，水分帶走熱量，讓毛巾瞬間降溫。

小朋友來到公園玩水、打水仗，玩到全身都濕淋淋，拿水槍已經不稀奇啦，人手一條消暑利器，涼感毛巾。

小朋友把涼感毛巾，掛在脖子上，再去玩水，簡直是涼上加涼。孩子玩水，家長就在一旁放空，也對涼感巾愛不釋手。

[[民眾]]
“把小朋友涼感巾拿來用，很舒服啊”

[[民眾]]
“很涼，跟冰箱剛拿出來一樣涼”

只是涼感巾真的會涼嗎？有沒有科學實證呢？

[[理化老師張瑞]]
“聚酯纖維本身是一個疏水材料，可是呢，當它編織很細的時候，它很容易藉由毛細水(毛細作用)呢，讓水分吸進來，可是呢，卻很容易讓水分散失掉，所以在吸水散失這個水分的過程中，它就會帶走非常多的熱量”

[[民視記者黃毓倫]]
“天氣真的好熱，你看現在太陽這麼大，像我手上就有一塊涼感巾，但是使用它也有撇步，那就是一定要沾水弄濕”

炎炎夏日，不一定要關在室內吹冷氣，走出戶外玩水搭配涼感巾，一樣很清涼。

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民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
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The rise of food trucks and other mobile businesses

As inflation shapes Taiwan’s economy in new ways, a new model for businesses seems to be on the rise. Mobile businesses run out of trucks are more and more prevalent. The rise of food trucks is one clear trend. Many people are attracted to run food trucks because of the low startup and running costs. They are also a practical solution to the “food desert” problem that can leave certain urban spots lacking in good dining options. Today let’s take a look at the rise of the mobile dining industry.

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Super stretchy pizza dough is stretched out by hand and then topped with an even layer of ham, pineapple and cheese. Into a 350-degree kiln it goes for five minutes. Every evening, three food trucks take it in turns to roll up to this disused lot in Linkou, New Taipei. They’re aiming for the takeaway market.

Anna Yang
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I can take my food truck anywhere and meet different customers. I don’t have to pay regular rent. We pay for this day by day.

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During the pandemic, we had quite an advantage. People were leaning towards takeaway products. Some other food trucks were doing really well, making NT$30,000 or NT$40,000 a month.

Member of public
When people finish work or school they can come here to get something to eat. There are lots of choices, because there are different trucks every week.

These trucks can easily be driven all over the country and there are no restrictions on where they can be parked. They’re very mobile and startup costs for a small business are a maximum of NT$1.2 million. It’s much cheaper than starting a business in bricks and mortar. Businesses also don’t need to pay rent to a landlord, they just need to handle the day-to-day expenses. Customers can book their orders on social media and leave reviews. Waste is reduced and they don’t even need to issue paper receipts. All this has attracted many young people to running a food truck, of which there are currently about 1,000 in Taiwan. Some carwash companies have made their parking space available to rent for these food trucks.

Mr. Yang
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We have a quick car wash and we wash scooters and do car beauty services. Lots of our customers were saying that they come here to get their car done and it’s hard to find a bite to eat. So we found some food trucks who we could work with.

According to the food truck association, if the minimum daily takings from are assumed to be NT$5,000, then the national industry is worth at least NT$1.8 billion a year. It seems like a major new “mobile economy” may be on the rise.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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Eight Olympians return to Taiwan after competing in Paris

Eight Olympians returned to Taiwan Tuesday morning, after vying for glory in Paris. They were received at the airport by fans, friends, and family. Speaking with media, they shared their thoughts on the Games, as well as their plans for the future.

Yang Yung-wei, Zhang Bo-ya, and six other Olympic athletes returned home to a hero’s welcome Tuesday morning.

A screen at the airport read “We are proud of you,” showing support regardless of whether the athletes won or lost. In the arrivals hall, fans waited with presents and signs to welcome Team Taiwan. Swimmer Wang Kuan-hung’s family was also present, flowers in hand.

Wang Kuan-hung’s father
I think he’s great. He improved on his past performance, so he did great.

Judoka Lin Chen-hao’s brother dressed up as a T. rex to give her a surprise. There was also a welcome party from Taichung’s Shin Min High School, where she and Yang had studied.

Yang Yung-wei
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You all are my biggest source of support. You all give me strength every time I’m on that stage. On Aug. 1, I officially joined the National Taiwan University of Sport as a member of faculty. I’m still unsure about my next steps, whether I will change my role and focus on coaching. For now, what I want to do is rest.

Lin Chen-hao
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I heard all of your cheers and received all of your support. You all motivated me to keep pushing forward and be even braver at the competition.

The athletes thanked their fans and their family. Wang, who broke a Taiwan swimming record in Paris, said he was eager to challenge his coach to a game of tennis.

Wang Kuan-hung
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I think that right now, I’ll head over to play tennis with my coach. Not long ago I was facing off against athletes from all over the world. Now I’m back in Taiwan, and I’ll be facing off against my coach.

Huang Chih-yung
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He might compete at an event in Taiwan late August, and we hope to win gold at the Universiade and the Asian Games. At the 2028 Olympics, he’ll definitely aim to make the Top 8.

Two rising stars shared their experiences in Paris.

Han An-chi
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They took care of me very well. I’m very happy to have represented Taiwan.

Zhang Bo-ya
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It was very exciting to compete in the Olympics for the first time. I competed in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. It was a kind of challenge for me.

With the encouragement of fans, friends, and family, the athletes are ready to keep on striving to shine on the global stage.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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Asia Blockchain Summit kicks off with predictions from Indian astrologer

The Asia Blockchain Summit is back again in physical format after five years online. The event kicked off at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, with cryptocurrency companies showing off their latest advancements. Highlights include a gaming console that can be used to mine bitcoin, a partnership between a convenience store chain, and a crypto exchange. Present at the event was astrologer Abhigya Anand, who shared his insights into the future of the industry.

Abhigya Anand
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This year and next year might be a little bit difficult, especially 2025. Not specifically Taiwan and China, but the South China Sea is going to be in some trouble. And 2028 to 2032 is a dangerous period for the world in general.

Astrologer Abhigya Anand also weighed in on the U.S. presidential election. He said that despite a lack of astrological data, the signs point to a Donald Trump win.

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In the next 20 years there are going to be at least four to five different technologies – currently we know about artificial intelligence and probably a lot of people know quantum computing, and we also know about blockchain.

Anand was among the speakers at the Asia Blockchain Summit. He read Taiwan’s future and predicted that blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies will make big strides over the next 20 years.

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This game I’m playing is The King of Fighters, which was popular in the ’80s and ’90s. Previously you had to spend tokens to play, but now you can play to earn bitcoin.

This new device looks a lot like the handheld console Game Boy. The case is orange, bitcoin’s signature color. Players can collect points to exchange for bitcoin. The console can also connect to Wi-Fi, allowing users to mine bitcoin while they play.

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When you connect to Wi-Fi, it shows you the gas fee rate for bitcoin, the block height, and the likelihood of mining a block. It’s a bit like playing the lottery.

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Experts say dogs experience “separation anxiety” a lot like children

Have you ever seen a dog looking sad when their owner leaves the house? Lots of dogs are sad to be left alone. Experts say that dogs experience “separation anxiety” a lot like children. For some dogs, though, it’s much more intense, and that can cause serious headaches for their owners. What causes a dog to feel anxious to be left alone? We spoke to an expert as well as the owner of a dog who seriously struggles to be home alone.

Her owner leaves, and Nana the Shiba Inu starts to pace the living room. Before a minute has passed, she tries to open the door.

Where’s everyone gone? Nana is feeling anxious and tries desperately to break down the door, then bites at the lock. But this door won’t budge and her owner isn’t back yet.

But he does return, in less than five minutes. He finds Nana shaking all over and panting. It’s hard to see her in this state and he gives her lots of reassuring pats.

Whenever Nana’s owner is out, she tries to break the door, gnaws at the shoe rack and even chews holes in the walls. She broke this stainless-steel door mechanism – but it broke her tooth in the process. When the wall was damaged, nails were revealed, so her owner has covered it with tape to try to prevent her getting hurt.

Nana is four and a half years old and it’s been this way since she was about one. Her owner feels helpless. But when he went to an expert for advice, he learned that Nana has separation anxiety.

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She starts getting anxious before I go out. She bites the door, she might open the door, bite the wall or the shoe rack or anything at all. When it’s really bad, she pees and poos everywhere. One time, she appeared at the top of the balcony, and we were very worried she might jump down.

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If a dog moves house a lot as a puppy, that experience can make them feel insecure. Secondly, it’s very related to the personality of the dog. If they’re more dependent on their owner, and they’ve been together a long time, when the owner leaves, they’ll have a stronger feeling of anxiety. We ask owners to have a railing at the door, and separate it off. When the owner leaves, they have to go through a second door to finally leave, which means their dog won’t see them disappearing in front of them.

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Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Indonesian immigrant restores ancient family home in Kinmen to former glory

And now, we have the story of a member of the Minnanese diaspora who has returned to his ancestral home in Taiwan. Tsai Chi-fa was raised in Indonesia. Hundreds of years ago, his forebears were early inhabitants of Kinmen. Now Tsai has restored the family home to its former glory and plans to move in with his son and grandson. The former businessman is also readjusting to retirement, and has taken up a keen interest in coffee roasting and coffee house culture.

Tsai Chi-fa describes his ancestral home as it was when he first visited: The ancestral tablets were still in the house, but it had fallen into ruin and was overgrown with wild plants. After regaining possession of the house from its manager, he carried out a renovation of the historical architecture, restoring this 200-year-old Minnanese mansion to its former glory.

Tsai Chi-fa
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My father wasn’t able to do this. But I think they would be happy that I can do it, as their descendent. I think my father and grandfather are happy up in heaven to know I have done this. That’s what I’m most happy about.

Tsai plans to move into the restored mansion, and invite his son and grandson to come and live with him here. Accordingly, he’s rearranged the layout of the rooms and facilities, so the building will serve better as a modern family home.

Tsai Chi-fa
Indonesian immigrant
This was two rooms originally. The original rooms didn’t have an ensuite bathroom. I turned the two rooms into one room so it’s bigger. This will be my room. You want to have a big room if you can.

Tsai likes how Kinmen is free from traffic jams, air pollution and violent crime. He feels safe and comfortable here. But it will take a while for him to get used to a slower pace of life after a lifetime of working hard to build his wealth. So, together with a friend from Aceh Province in Indonesia’s Sumatra, he’s started a new business importing coffee beans. They’ve bought equipment to start up a small roasting operation.

Tsai Chi-fa
Indonesian immigrant
After roasting a batch, we record it. I write down what I did, how long we roasted it for, and how it tasted.

After eight years living in Kinmen, Tsai has made lots of friends here. His little coffee parlor is a popular hangout spot where people chat about local life.

This is the story of a man who has made the long journey from Indonesia to his ancestral home in Kinmen, and whose perseverance has allowed him to put down roots in the home of his forebears.

As an adherent of traditional family ethics, he hopes his son will continue to preserve the family seat, handing down the family tradition and preserving the good for the next generation.

This story was provided by the program "We Are Family"
Funded by New Immigrant Development Fund

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-08-06