The Zhadin effect: a non thermal mechanism of interaction between magnetic fields and living matter

Department of Production Plants and Human Settlements

L. Giuliani1;2, M. N. Zhadin1;3, N.V. Bobkova1;3, Enrico D’Emilia 2, S. Grimaldi1;4 , A. Lisi 1;4 and E. Del Giudice1;5

1 International Commission for ElectroMagnetic Safety (ICEMS), Venice, Italy2 National Institute for Prevention and Occupational Safety (ISPESL), Rome, Italy3 Institute of Cell Biophysics, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia4 National Council for Researches, Rome, Italy5 International Institute of Biophysics, Neuss, Germany

Two reasonable experiments have suggested classic physics is no more suitable to explain the structure of water and the interaction of

magnetic fields with molecules in aqueous solutions.

The first one - due to W.G. Armstrong (1898)– shows that a water bridge between containers of water can rise when a high electric field

is applied.

The second one – due to M.N. Zhadin (1998) – shows that an ion current

is arising in an electrolytic cell where nucleic acid is solved in water under the superimposition of DC –AC magnetic fields and of DC

electric field. Furthermore the AC magnetic field has and to tune the cyclotronic frequency of the nucleic acid and has to be very weak, so

that provided energy – transferred to the solution – results to be lower than the energy that the ion current needs to overcome the noise of the

thermal bath.

"...Amongst other experiments I hitupon a very remarkable one. Taking

two wine-glasses filled to the brimwith chemically pure water, I

connected the two glasses by a cottonthread coiled up in one glass, and

having its shorter end dipped into theother glass. On turning on the

current, the coiled thread was rapidlydrawn out of the glass containing it,

and the whole thread deposited in theother, leaving, for a few seconds, a

rope of water suspended between thelips of the two glasses. ..."

Armstrong, William George,THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, Feb 10(1893) 154, 39-140 Salisbury Court, Fleet

Street, London, E.C.

The experiment of Armstrong has been successfully replicated by E. Fuchs and collaborators in Gratz 2007: when a high voltage (15-25 kV at least) is applied between two beakers, filled of water, a floating water bridge arises, between them.

The bridge, has a diameter of 1-3 mm and it does not collapse when the beakers are pulled apart at a distance (depending on the applied voltage)- from 1.5 to 2.5 cm. It is formed by three concentric cylinders. The external one is crossed by mesoscopic aggregates of water electrically charged.

Water density decreases while its temperature increases from 20±C to 65±C in a period of about 45 minutes, at the end the bridge collapse.

Background 1

In the J. Physics D: applied physics papers (2007,2008, 2009) the Austrian researchers were not able to fully understood the phenomena.

We replicated the experiment and we tried to develop a theory in the frame of QED in order to give an interpretation of the Armstrong’s experiment.

Furthermore using copper electrodes we detected a current flowing along the bridge in agreement with the motion of mesoscopic particles detected by the group of Fuchs in the cylindric surface of the bridge.

Background 1

Background 1

In our facility at the ISPESL laboratories in Monteporzio Catone (close to Rome), we have reproduced the Fuchs experience (Fig.1-2-3).

Fig.1 Fig.2

When the high electric field is applied the mesoscopic aggregates increase their angular momentum dissipating heat, as in the Joule effect, that causes the increase of the temperature. The electric charge on the surface of the of the aggregates causes their motion along the direction of the electric field switched on. This motion is intrinsic within the bridge of water.

As temperature increases the percentage of bulk water – always present in the interstices of the mesoscopic particles – increases and the percentage of water included in the mesoscopic particles until bulk water becomes dominant.

Then the water bridge falls.

Background 1

Experimental set up 1High voltage has been generated by a High

voltage power supply type Hunting 2000 with an output of 0-200 KV DC and 0- 10 mA. Voltage has been continuously recorded (Keithley Instruments 610 CR).

Experiments has been performed using copper and platinum electrode alternatively as anode and catode, in two 50 ml glass beakers filled up to 2 mm from the edge with double distilled water (18.2 mΩ, 25 °C), mounted on an insulated guideline driven by a step motor in order to move back and forward the two beakers with a 0.13mm resolution.

Experimental set up 1

The cathode has been grounded while the

anode were set at a potential of 25 KV with a maximum output current of 1mA.

Only when a copper cathode was employed a copper ion current has been detected through the bridge.

At the end of each experiments water pH has been monitored using a Crison GLP 21 pHmeter. Variations resulted in the order of -0,5 pH.

In the last decades the effect of weak ELF magnetic fields on living organisms has been investigated [4-5].

In order to have a simple physical model Zhadin and collaborators [6] have introduced a non biological system made up by an aqueous diluted solution of amino acids (e.g. glutamic acid. GLU) contained in an electrolytic cell where a D.C. voltage is applied.

Its value ranges in the same interval of cell membrane potentials (-80 mV); a combination of two parallel magnetic fields, one static, the other alternating is applied orthogonally to the current direction.

Background 2

When the frequency of the alternating magnetic fields matches the cyclotron frequency of the ionized amino acid a very narrow peak appears in the electric current. This effect has been named, in the literature, the Zhadin effect.

It seemed to be involved in the observed magnetic phenomena occurring in living matter.

We replicated the Zhadin’s experiment in our facility of the C.N.R. in Rome.

Background 2

Background 2

APPLIED SIGNAL

NOISE

NOISE DELAY

Background 2

APPLIED SIGNAL

Magnetic field generated by

“Zhadin effect” at 4.99 Hz

NOISE DELAY

Experimental set up 2

AMAGNETIC ROOM

SAMPLE

Experimental set up 2

Control unit (humidity, tempeature, C02)

Signal Generat

or

Picoammeter

In some previous papers [5-8] the effect is examined in the frame of QED [4].

The motion of ions seems to be induced by mesoscopic aggregates of water that provide the energy requested by ions to overcome the noise of the thermal bath.

These mesoscopic aggregates are called coherent domains (CDs), in the frame of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED).

They can be viewed as rotating ellipsoides, that can be considered, at room temperature, as spheres with a radius of about 40 nm, having a boundary depth of about 4 nm. Each CD contains, at room temperature, about 5,500,000 water molecules.

Water can be considered as an equilibrium dynamic between water

molecule and water organized in mesoscopic aggregate

The coherent status |S > of a CD is the coherent superposition of the fundamental state s1 and the excitated state 5d of the water molecule.

The percentages of molecules belonging to each status every time (the CD is flickering: so many molecules enter the CD how many escape) result:

< S|s1 >= 0,87 < S|d5>=0,13

From the above consideration we are able to calculate that the CD should be able to provide about 650,000 electrons.

In the Armstrong’s experiment – as well as in its replication due to Fuchs and other - the applied electric field is enough strong to be able to induce the ionization of several molecules, providing a net fractionary charge q, per each molecule in the range:

0< q <=0,13.

Further electrons could be provided due to kT at room temperature, about 300° K:

kT = 0,026 eV

The energy Et of the transition between the fundamental state 1s and the excitated state 5d is:

Et = 10,06 eV only 0,54 eV

The energy of ionization is :

Ei=10,60 eV (only 0,54 eV higher the Et ).

At hydrophobic interfaces – like glass and water the ionization potential of water molecules shifts down in the order od thenths of eV.The gap of energy between the excited state 5d and the ionized state then results to be filled up by the combined action of:

• the shift of the ionization potential at the interfaces;

• the kT;

• the applied voltage.

The electric potential Vb, due to the electric field arising between the glass interfaces on the basis of the water bridge, for the applied voltage, induces a (ponderomotive) force Fp:

Fp = -(q2/m)GradA2 = qVb

Since the mass of the electron less than 10-4 times the mass of the molecule,the ponderomotive force stresses the molecules aiding the cloud of almost free electrons to escape.

Eventually the mesoscopic aggregates of water (the CDs) achieve a positive charge and become donors of electrons, interact redox reactions with the oxigene in the air.

As a matter of fact, the witer bridge does not rise in an atmosphere of Helium or Argon [1-2].

The time variation of the applied potential Vb then induces a time variation of the electric field at the glass interfaces that induces a variation of the phase of the angular momentum of each CD, in agreement with

d/dt ≈ V

Since the applied voltage is proportional to the square of the magnetic vector potential A, also the gradient of the phase becomes positive, because:

Grad ≈ A

As a consequence all the CDs rotate in tune (super coherence).

Their sincronous rotation is around the direction of the electric field is along the axis of the superimposed electric field, due to the applied voltage.

Thus the bridge rises.

For the mesoscopic structures- detected on the external cylindric surface of the water bridge, appear to be moving in a rotatory and traslatory way resulting in an elicoidal motion.

CONCLUDING REMARK 1

The exceptional behaviour of water reported in this presentation, gave evidence about the existence of water molecules organized in mesoscopic structures (CDs).

The formation of mesoscopics structure (supercoherence) can be taken in account for the unreasonable behaviour of water under strong eletric field

CONCLUDING REMARK 1

The Armstrong’s experiment is a spectacular proof of the structure of the water that appears to be a bi-phase liquid, as Boltzmann predicted. The action of CDs forming the bridge is the same that operates inducing the ion current in a electrolytic cell when a proper combination of both static electric and magnetic fields with a weakest magnetic field tuned with a proper frequency is applied, according to the Zhadin’s experiment (Zhadin and oth., 1998).

The QED model for the Zhadin effect [8] assumes that ions are captured within cyclotron orbits around the CDs where they travel with an angular speed, which is their cyclotron frequency times 2.

When a magnetic field oscillating on the same frequency is applied, ions are extracted from the cyclotron orbits and are channelled within the cell electric current, producing the observed peak.

This model, however, requires a further development about the properties that the aminoacid molecules acquired in the solution. A significant progress in this direction has been produced in reference [9], where it is shown that the aminoacid molecules need to be attracted on the boundaries of water CDs by a resonant interaction

Should the aminoacid have in its spectrum an oscillation mode resonating with the oscillation frequency of the coherence domain, the aminoacid will become a “guest” of the domain, participating in the same collective dynamics.

This occurs to the glutamic acid molecules at suitable values of pH in the aqueous solution (1,5 <pH< 3).

In this situation an infrared oscillatory mode of the molecule matches the frequency of the collective oscillation of the CD that is 0,26 eV at T=0 decreasing down to about 0,20 eV at T=300 K.

Incidentally we observe that the above requirement holds for all molecules interacting with CDs of water, which is perhaps the requirement to be involved in living processes.

The resonant attraction is governed by a dispersive force: the same kind of dispersive force which is at work in the well known phenomenon of laser couling [10]. By the way this selective mechanism could account for the so far mysterious phenomenon that only about twenty aminoacids out of one hundred known to chemists are present in living organisms.

Once attracted within the water CDs, these guest molecules settle in the outer side of the CD where they feel the effect of the so called gradient force.

As above, according to standard electrodynamics, a particle having mass m and charge q is subjected to a ponderomotive force.

The ponderomotive force is non vanishing on the boundary of CDs, where the self trapped CD electromagnetic field drops off exponentially to zero. Moreover the ponderomotive force is inversely proportional to the mass.

Consequently a molecule which is present on the CD boundary gets stretched since the electrons, that are thousands of times lighter than nuclei are pushed outwards along the CD radius much more then nuclei. In this way the aminoacid zwitterions acquire a polarization that adds up to the one it could have in the ground configuration. Eventually the aminoacid could loose also one electron becoming an ion, able to feel the applied magnetic fields. In this process ions are produced within the water CDs and released from them according to the available magnetic fields.

On the left it is described the motion of the ions on the boundary of a water CD due to the external application of a magnetic field having the same frequency – the cyclotronic one – to which the ion is forced around the CD due the static magnetic field .

Fig. 8 from [8]

CONCLUDING REMARK 2

The arising and the time evolution of the electric current is thus governed by such field [11-12].

If the field is too strong the ions escape in the bulk. If it is too weak ions fall again in the boundary of the CD.

That’s the reason for which – in the Zhadin’s experiment - the intensity of the applied AC magnetic field has to be so weak: about one thousand time less than the present static magnetic field (usually the geomagnetic).

CONCLUDING REMARK 2

The Zhadin’s effect seems to be one of the mechanisms able to induce ion current in cells, as well as the authors have shown in recent papers concerning the maturation of stem cells induced by weakest magnetic fields (A.Lisi and oth., 2005,2006; R. Gaetani and oth., 2009) [13-19].

CONCLUSIONS

Both Armstrong’s and Zhadin’s experiments provide an evidence of the action of water CDs as they are working within living matter and a proof of a kind of non thermal interaction of weak magnetic fields with living organisms.

According to G. Heyland warning [12] also artificial electromagnetic fields are concerned with the Zhadin effect, e.g. for the frequency of the modulation at 8 Hz, due to GSM and DCS communication.

REFERENCES

[1] E. C. Fuchs, J. Woisetschläger, K Gatterer, E. Maier, R. Pecnik, G. Holler and H. Eisenkölbl, The floating bridge, J.Physics D: applied physics, 40:6112-14, 2007

[2] E. C. Fuchs, K Gatterer, G. Holler and J. Woisetschläger, Dynamics of the floating water bridge, J.Physics D: applied physics, 41: 185502-06, 2008

[3] E. C. Fuchs, B. Bitschnau, J. Woisetschläger, E. Maier, B. Beuneu and J.Teixeira, Neutrons to investigate the structure of water: the heavy water bridge, J.Physics D: applied physics, 42: 065502-05, 2009

[4] M.N. Zhadin V.V. Novikov, F.S. Barnes, N.F. Pergola, Combined action of static and alternating magnetic fields on ionic current in aqueous glutamic acid solution. Bioelectromagnetics 19:41-45, 1998

REFERENCES

[5] G. Preparata, QED Coherence in matter, World Scientific Publishing Co. Ltd., Singapore, 1995.

[6] A.R. Liboff, “Geomagnetic cyclotron resonance in living

cells,”J.Biol.Phys,VOL.9,99-102,1985

[7] C.F.Blackman, S. G. Benane, D. E. House, and W.T.Joines, “Effects of ELF (1-20Hz) and modulated (50Hz) RF fields on the efflux of calcium ions fropm brain tissue in vitro,” Bioelettromagnetics, Vol.6, 1-11, 1985

[8] Del Giudice, E., M. Fleischmann, G. Preparata, and G. Talpo, On the `unreasonable' effects of E.L.F. magnetic ¯Fields upon a system of ions, Bioelectromagnetics, 23:522-530, 2002.

REFERENCES

[9]M.N. Zhadin and L. Giuliani, “Some problems in modern bioelectromagnetics," Electromagn.Biol. Med., 25(4), 227-243, 2006.

[10] N.Comisso, E. Del Giudice, A. De Ninno, M. Fleischmann, L. Giuliani, G. Mengoli, F. Merlo, and G. Talpo, “Dynamics of the ion cyclotron resonance effect on amino acids adsorbed at the interfaces," Bioelectromagnetics, Vol. 27, 16-25, 2006

[11] L. Giuliani, S. Grimaldi, A. Lisi, E. D'Emilia, N. Bobkova, and M. N. Zhadin, “Action of combined magnetic fields on aqueous solution of glutamic acid: the further development of investigations," Biomagn. Res. and Tech., 6(1), 2008.

[12] G. Heyland, Physics and Biology of Mobile Telephony, The Lancet, Nov. 2000

REFERENCES

[13] A. Lisi, M.T. Ciotti, M. Ledda, M. Pieri, C. Zona, D. Mercanti, S. Rieti L. Giuliani, S. Grimaldi S., Exposure to 50 Hz electromagnetic radiation promote early maturation and differentiation in newborn rat cerebellar granule neurons J Cell Physiol. 2005 Aug;204(2):532-8.

[14] A. Lisi, M. Ledda, E. Rosola, D. Pozzi, E. D’Emilia L. Giuliani, A. Foletti , A. Modesti, S.J. Morris, S.Grimaldi, Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposure promotes differentiation of pituitary corticotrope-derived AtT20 D16V cells. Bioelectromagnetics. 12, Jul 2006

REFERENCES

[15] A. Lisi, M. Ledda, E. Rosola, D. Pozzi, E. D’Emilia L. Giuliani, A. Foletti , A. Modesti, S.J. Morris, S.Grimaldi, Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposure promotes differentiation of pituitary corticotrope-derived AtT20 D16V cells. Bioelectromagnetics. 12, Jul 2006

[16] A. Lisi;  A. Foletti;  M. Ledda;  E. Rosola;  L. Giuliani,  E. D' Emilia, S. Grimaldi, Extremely Low Frequency 7 Hz 100 µT Electromagnetic Radiation Promotes Differentiation in the Human Epithelial Cell Line HaCaT, Electr. Biol. Med. 25(4):269-80; Dec. 2006

REFERENCES

[17] A. Lisi, M. Ledda, F. De Carlo, D. Pozzi, E. Messina, R. Gaetani, I. Chimenti, L. Barile, A. Giacomello, E. D'Emilia, L. Giuliani, A. Foletti, A. Patti, A. Vulcano, S.Grimaldi,  Ion cyclotron resonance as a tool in regenerative medicine,   Electromagn Biol Med 27: 2. 127-133, 2008  

[18] A. Lisi, M. Ledda, F. De Carlo, E. D’Emilia L. Giuliani, A. Foletti , S.Grimaldi,  Calcium ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) transfers information to living systems: effects on human epithelial cell differentiation,   Electromagn Biol Med 27: 3. 230-240, 2008

[19] R. Gaetani, M. Ledda, L. Barile, I. Chimenti, F. De Carlo, Forte, Ionta, L. Giuliani, E. D'Emilia, Frati, Miraldi, D. Pozzi, E. Messina, S. Grimaldi, A. Giacomello, A. Lisi,  Differentiation of human adult cardiac stem cells exposed to Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields.   Cardiovasc. Res. Acc.d Feb. 2009