Why water sometimes pushes away tiny balls
Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water—A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When water touches certain surfaces like Nafion, tiny plastic balls get pushed away. Scientists disagree why this happens. Some say water changes structure, but tests show no special water structure. Instead, electric forces from surface charges and tiny air bubbles explain it better.
Surprising Findings
Nafion makes water as acidic as 1.2M sulfuric acid
Most people think of water as neutral, but this surface creates acidity levels that would normally dissolve metals—yet it's not due to special water structure.
Practical Takeaways
When designing microfluidic systems, focus on surface charge and concentration gradients rather than 'structured water' theories
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When water touches certain surfaces like Nafion, tiny plastic balls get pushed away. Scientists disagree why this happens. Some say water changes structure, but tests show no special water structure. Instead, electric forces from surface charges and tiny air bubbles explain it better.
Surprising Findings
Nafion makes water as acidic as 1.2M sulfuric acid
Most people think of water as neutral, but this surface creates acidity levels that would normally dissolve metals—yet it's not due to special water structure.
Practical Takeaways
When designing microfluidic systems, focus on surface charge and concentration gradients rather than 'structured water' theories
Publication
Journal
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Year
2019
Authors
Daniel C. Elton, P. D. Spencer, J. Riches, E. D. Williams
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Claims (10)
Scientists have seen multiple times that tiny plastic beads move away from certain water-friendly surfaces in water, and this is a real physical effect that needs to be explained.
Using a special neutron imaging technique, scientists found no evidence of denser water near Nafion surfaces, which contradicts the idea that EZ water is much denser than regular water.
When scientists looked at light patterns near Nafion surfaces, they found the patterns were actually caused by light reflecting off the surface, not by any special water structure.
A theory based on how particles move in response to concentration differences explains the exclusion zone phenomenon better than the idea of a new water phase, matching what scientists have observed in experiments.
Nafion makes the water around it very acidic, about as acidic as 1.2 M sulfuric acid, which helps explain why particles are repelled from its surface.