Water absorbency of various towels were studied by modified Larose Method, which consists of a vertical glass cell in order to observe the position of meniscus by the use of the laser scanning micrometer. Profile of the water uptake could be roughly expressed by the equation similar to that of diffusion by cylindrical coordinates. It is
　∂u/∂t=α(∂²u/∂r²+1/r・∂u/∂r)+β∂²u/∂z²,
where u is absorbed ratio to the equilibrium uptake, t is time, and r and z are the space coordinates measured along parallel and perpendicular directions to the plane of towel, respectively.
　The magnitude of coefficients, α and β determined by the simulation, is a measure of water absorbency and we can discuss the comparative merits of the towels from these terms. The value of is smaller than that of α for every sample. These coefficients could not be related with the towel constructions, but β was certainly connected with the area of towel in contact with glass filter, estimated by the image scanner method.

DESCENTE SPORTS SCIENCE Vol.15/THE DESCENTE AND ISHIMOTO MEMORIAL FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION SPORTS SCIENCE