Father Giambattista Beccaria of the University of Turin made careful
observations for 20 years. He finally wrote, "It appears that nature
makes extensive use of atmospheric electricity for promoting vegetation."
He also added, " We have also observed that artificial electricity
without sparks has the same effect on vegetation."
Air Ions
What was this electricity that these early pioneers were experiencing?
Not until the latter part of the 19th century did Elster and Geitel in
Germany and J.J. Thomson of England discover ions in the air. "Ion"
comes from the Greek for "traveler". The term was first
used to describe charged atoms moving in solution. For example, when table
salt is dissolved in water, the sodium chloride splits into sodium ions
and chlorine ions which will migrate to negative and positive electrodes
respectively.
Air ions are somewhat different from ions in solution. Energy is needed
for their formation -- even the shearing of water droplets in a waterfall
supplies enough energy to make the fine spray carry a considerable load
of small negative air ions while the heavier positive ions stay in the
tumbling water. Ion concentrations have been measured at spas located near
waterfalls to be as high as 35,000 per cubic centimeter of air.
Urban Air Is Ion Depleted
However, modern urban environments present a different kind of air quality:
ion depletion.
Very few human activities add small ions to the air while many of them
lead to ion loss. Industrial pollutants, traffic-engendered smog, and the
ducts of ventila-tion systems all strip ions from the air.
As a result, we suffer not only the direct toxic effect of pollutants
we generate but also long continued exposure to air in which the normal
total ion concentration of about 2,000-3,000 per cubic centimeter (as found
in the relatively clean air of open country) is reduced to barely detectable
levels. Headache, somnolence, loss of attention, and general discomfort
are just some of the initial reactions to air ion depletion.
Treatment of Disease With Ions
As noted in the book, The Ion Effect, by Fred Soyka (Ballantine
Books, 1991), electronic negative ion generators have been used for the
treatment of migraines, bedsores, allergies, asthma, catarrh,
hay fever, eczema, burns, emphysema, and even as a substitute for tranquilizers.
It was discovered that negative ions lowers serotonin in the body, and
this explains why people tend to feel more alert, stable, and energized
in their presence. Dr. Kreuger found that bacteria, staphylococci, and
fungi growth is halted in the presence of negative ions, which explains
the healing side effect. Dr. I. Kornblueh mounted experiments at the Northeastern
Hospital, U. of Penn. Graduate Hospital, and at the Frankford Hospital
in Philadelphia where he was able to report that 63 per cent of patients
suffering from hay fever or bronchial asthma "have experienced partial
or total relief" from negative ion therapy. Positive ions, on the
other hand, make breathing more difficult, from Russian studies.
Ion and Ozone Synergy
Russian studies have also pointed indicated that "atmospheric ozone
and ions are the vehicles of freshness". In studies at the Academy
of Medical Sciences, Drs. Gubernskii and Dmitriev found that 0.005 ppm
(parts-per-million) to 0.02 ppm of ozone added to normal deozonated indoor
air increased animals' resistance to the cold, to infection, to toxic substances,
and to oxygen deprivation. A general increase in the immune "biological
potential" and the vital capacity of the lungs was reported.
Also produced during a thunderstorm, three atoms of oxygen combine
in a temporarily stable molecule called ozone. As soon as ozone encounters
almost anything, including another ozone molecule, it breaks apart and
oxidizes the substance. This includes odor-causing chemical gases, bacterial
and microbial cells, and even dust particles.
Present in fresh country and mountain air in the average concentration
of 0.03 ppm, atmospheric ozone is what gave your mother's clothes on the
line that fresh smell.
Not surprisingly, nature uses ozone to clean the air, even in polluted
cities like Los Angeles and Mexico City, where ultraviolet light in the
presence of "photochemical smog" produces enough ozone to break
down the automobile hydrocarbons in the air. Where there is a lot of auto
exhaust and sunlight, nature creates a lot of ozone to oxidize the poisons.
