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This study used a 2 × 2 experimental design to explore the effects of message type (non-narrative vs. narrative information) and social media metrics (high vs. low numbers of plays) of low-carbon-themed social media short videos on people’s willingness to protect the environment. Subjects completed questionnaires after viewing short videos that contained different message types and social media metrics, and a final sample of 295 cases was included in the data analysis. The study found that, while the type of information (i.e., non-narrative or narrative) of the low-carbon-themed social media short videos had no direct effect on people’s willingness to protect the environment, its indirect effects were significant. These indirect effects were achieved through immersion experience and social influence. Subjects who watched narrative videos had a higher level of immersion experience, which in turn was significantly and positively correlated with environmental intention; meanwhile, those who watched non-narrative videos experienced a higher level of social influence, which in turn was significantly and positively correlated with environmental intention. In addition, subjects who viewed high-volume videos experienced a more positive effect on their willingness to protect the environment. This study explored how message design could promote subjects’ perceptions and positive attitudes towards environmental protection, with important managerial implications.

Water is vital for life, and without it, biomolecules and cells cannot maintain their structures and functions. The remarkable properties of water originate from its ability to form hydrogen-bonding networks and dynamics, which the connectivity constantly alters because of the orientation rotation of individual water molecules. Experimental investigation of the dynamics of water, however, has proven challenging due to the strong absorption of water at terahertz frequencies. In response, by employing a high-precision terahertz spectrometer, we have measured and characterized the terahertz dielectric response of water from supercooled liquid to near the boiling point to explore the motions. The response reveals dynamic relaxation processes corresponding to the collective orientation, single-molecule rotation, and structural rearrangements resulting from breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds in water. We have observed the direct relationship between the macroscopic and microscopic relaxation dynamics of water, and the results have provided evidence of two liquid forms in water with different transition temperatures and thermal activation energies. The results reported here thus provide an unprecedented opportunity to directly test microscopic computational models of water dynamics.

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