Warming to a tough task

Sometimes, it can be due to Raynaud's Syndrome, where the normal process of supplying blood to the extremities is reduced in order to preserve core body temperature. Alternatively, sufferers may simply wish to indulge in sports or outdoor work where they will achieve a poorer performance if they wear gloves. Gloves keep hands warm, but can interfere with the ability to handle things. Electrically heated gauntlets are available for motorcyclists and pilots, but must be plugged into an electrical supply. And nobody wants to have to go round wearing a battery pack, just to keep their hands warm. The ancient Chinese and Japanese used small coal-fired braziers to warm their hands, but this is hardly practical while playing golf or riding horses. And there are various articles about products that produce heat in gloves by some chemical reaction. Water from the atmosphere slaking quicklime seems to be a common technology, but it would appear to pose serious hazards, if the whole thing were suddenly to get soaking wet and produce a great deal of heat all at once. There has to be a better solution. Not perhaps to solve the problems of Himalayan climbers and astronauts, but sufficient for those engaged in winter games playing – or having to work in excessively air-conditioned or badly heated offices. The Challenge A simple solution is needed to keep hands warm in mild cold, without the need to wear thick gloves. High-technology solutions involving electricity are to be avoided, as are solutions based on chemical reactions – whether one shot or reversible. Instead, we suggest going back to applying ingenuity and basic physics. The solution in the 'Coffee Time Challenge' area of our website (www.eurekamagazine.co.uk) solves the problem very neatly, at low cost and in no way interferes with the normal life of the user. Nor does it pose any possible hazard. A professional expert who comes from the appropriate medical field has designed the solution and it has since been found to be very helpful by many people. Once you discover what it is, it may well seem self-evident. But could you come up with anything its equal or better? For those without access to the web, the solution will be described fully in our December edition. Solution The solution to the November Coffee Time Challenge is the 'HeatBand', developed by Leslie Rees, who lives in Essex. This is a multi-layered band worn on the wrist, with a waterproof outer surface, a metallised reflective inner core and an absorbent inner lining. The inner liner traps air and prevents heat loss by conduction and convection, while the middle layer prevents heat loss by radiation. As blood passes close to the surface of the skin at the wrist, heat is reflected back, so that the body keeps open the vessels that supply blood to the wrist. Rees has previously designed products for patient thermo regulation and hypothermia prevention for the NHS, MOD and emergency services. He came up with the idea for this particular product when his grand-daughter began to suffer from painfully cold hands. As he told Eureka: "I was involved with this for a number of years. It's known technology. We have just developed it a bit further." The bands are thin enough that they can be worn discreetly and do not interfere with normal clothing or movement. Users include skiers, golfers, horse riders, outdoor workers and ordinary people.