Regarding the article below, we quote from the literature
review section, but not from the conclusion section, as the author's bias
against the magnetic effect is so profound, that he does not accept the
positive evidences discovered from his own research! The posting
web site is from CSICOP, a group which attacks nearly any idea that strays
from the most rigid of orthodox academic dogma, which by theory demands
that the magnetic effect "cannot exist". They surely would have attacked
the airplane and rocket, if those inventions were only being tested out
today -- and history shows, both the Wright brothers, and Goddard's rocketry,
were viciously attacked by the "skeptics" of their day. In
spite of this problem, the evidence supplied below, directly from the "skeptics"
own website, is quite positive on the subject of the magnetic effect.
James DeMeo, Ph.D.
http://www.csicop.org/si/9801/powell.html
Magnetic Water and Fuel
Treatment: Myth, Magic, or
Mainstream Science?
Mike R. Powell
...
Liburkin et al. (1986) found that magnetic treatment affected the structure
of gypsum (calcium sulfate).
Gypsum particles formed in magnetically treated water were found to
be larger and "more regularly
oriented" than those formed in ordinary water. Similarly, Kronenberg
(1985) reported that magnetic
treatment changed the mode of calcium carbonate precipitation such
that circular disc-shaped particles are
formed rather than the dendritic (branching or tree-like) particles
observed in nontreated water. Others
(e.g., Chechel and Annenkova 1972; Martynova et al. 1967) also have
found that magnetic treatment
affects the structure of subsequently precipitated solids. Because
scale formation involves precipitation
and crystallization, these studies imply that magnetic water treatment
is likely to have an effect on the
formation of scale.
Some researchers hypothesize that magnetic treatment affects the nature
of hydrogen bonds between
water molecules. They report changes in water properties such as light
absorbance, surface tension, and
pH (e.g., Joshi and Kamat 1966; Bruns et al. 1966; Klassen 1981). However,
these effects have not
always been found by later investigators (Mirumyants et al. 1972).
Further, the characteristic relaxation
time of hydrogen bonds between water molecules is estimated to be much
too fast and the applied
magnetic field strengths much too small for any such lasting effects,
so it is unlikely that magnetic water
treatment affects water molecules (Lipus et al. 1994).
Duffy (1977) provides experimental evidence that scale suppression in
magnetic water treatment devices
is due not to magnetic effects on the fluid, but to the dissolution
of small amounts of iron from the
magnet or surrounding pipe into the fluid. Iron ions can suppress the
rate of scale formation and
encourage the growth of a softer scale deposit. Busch et al. (1986)
measured the voltages produced by
fluids flowing through a commercial magnetic treatment device. Their
data support the hypothesis that a
chemical reaction driven by the induced electrical currents may be
responsible for generating the iron
ions shown by Duffy to affect scale formation.
Among those who report some type of direct magnetic-water-treatment
effect, a consensus seems to be
emerging that the effect results from the interaction of the applied
magnetic field with surface charges of
suspended particles (Donaldson 1988; Lipus et al. 1994). Krylov et
al. (1985) found that the electrical
charges on calcium carbonate particles are significantly affected by
the application of a magnetic field.
Further, the magnitude of the change in particle charge increased as
the strength of the applied magnetic
field increased.
Gehr et al. (1995) found that magnetic treatment affects the quantity
of suspended and dissolved calcium
sulfate. A very strong magnetic field (47,500 gauss) generated by a
nuclear magnetic resonance
spectrometer was used to test identical calcium sulfate suspensions
with very high hardness (1,700 ppm
on a CaCO3 basis). Two minutes of magnetic treatment decreased the
dissolved calcium concentration
by about 10 percent. The magnetic field also decreased the average
particle charge by about 23 percent.
These results, along with those of many others (e.g., Parsons et al.
1997; Higashitani and Oshitani
1997), imply that application of a magnetic field can affect the dissolution
and crystallization of at least
some compounds.
Whether or not some magnetic water treatment effect actually exists,
the further question, and the most
important for consumers, is whether the magnetic water treatment devices
perform as advertised.
Numerous anecdotal accounts of the successes and failures of magnetic
water treatment devices can be
found in the literature (Lin and Yotvat 1989; Raisen 1984; Wilkes and
Baum 1979; Welder and Partridge
1954). However, because of the varied conditions under which these
field trials are conducted it is
unclear whether the positive reports are due solely to magnetic treatment
or to other conditions that were
not controlled during the trial.
Some commercial devices have been subjected to tests under controlled
conditions. Unfortunately, the
results are mixed. Duffy (1977) tested a commercial device with an
internal magnet and found that it had
no significant effect on the precipitation of calcium carbonate scale
in a heat exchanger. According to
Lipus et al. (1994), however, the scale prevention capability of their
ELMAG device is proven, although
they do not supply much supporting test data.
Busch et al. (1997) measured the scale formed by the distillation of
hard water with and without
magnetic treatment. Using laboratory-prepared hard water, a 22 percent
reduction in scale formation was
observed when the magnetic treatment device was used instead of a straight
pipe section. However, a 17
percent reduction in scaling was found when an unmagnetized, but otherwise
identical, device was
installed. Busch et al. (1997) speculate that fluid turbulence inside
the device may be the cause of the 17
percent reduction, with the magnetic field effect responsible for the
additional 5 percent. River water was
subjected to similar tests, but no difference in scale formation was
found with and without the magnetic
treatment device installed. An explanation for this negative result
was not found.
Another study of a commercial magnetic water treatment device was conducted
by Hasson and Bramson
(1985). Under the technical supervision of the device supplier, they
tested the device to determine its
ability to prevent the accumulation of calcium carbonate scale in a
pipe. Very hard water (300 to 340
ppm) was pumped through a cast-iron pipe, and the rate of scale accumulation
inside the pipe was
determined by periodically inspecting the pipe's interior. Magnetic
exposure was found to have no effect
on either the rate of scale accumulation or on the adhesive nature
of the scale deposits.
Consumer Reports magazine (Denver 1996) tested a $535 magnetic water
treatment device from
Descal-A-Matic Corporation. Two electric water heaters were installed
in the home of one of the
Consumer Reports staffers. The hard water (200 ppm) entering one of
the heaters was first passed
through the magnetic treatment device. The second water heater received
untreated water. The water
heaters were cut open after more than two years and after more than
10,000 gallons of water were heated
by each heater. The tanks were found to contain the same quantity and
texture of scale. Consumer
Reports concluded that the Descal-A-Matic unit was ineffective.
Much of the available laboratory test data imply that magnetic water
treatment devices are largely
ineffective, yet reports of positive results in industrial settings
persist (e.g., Spear 1992; Donaldson
1988). The contradictory reports imply that if a magnetic water treatment
effect for scale prevention
exists, then it only is effective under some of the conditions encountered
in industry. At present, there
does not seem to be a defensible guideline for determining when the
desired effect can be expected and
when it cannot.
One of the claims made for residential magnetic treatment devices is
that less soap and detergent will be
required for washing. Compared to the claim to suppress scale formation,
this claim has received little
direct attention in the literature. To decrease soap and detergent
consumption, the concentration of
dissolved hardness minerals must be decreased. The tests by Gehr et
al. (1995), described earlier,
demonstrated a decrease in dissolved mineral concentration of about
10 percent. ...
A literature search for magnetic fuel treatment studies revealed that
such studies are practically
nonexistent. I found a total of three references. Two of these (Daly
1995; McNeely 1994) were anecdotal
accounts describing the use of a magnetic treatment device to kill
microorganisms in diesel fuel, a fuel
treatment application not usually mentioned by magnetic fuel treatment
vendors.
The third reference (Tretyakov et al. 1985) describes tests conducted
in which the electrical resistance
and dielectric properties of a hydrocarbon fuel were found to change
in response to an applied magnetic
field. This report does not address whether the observed physical property
changes might affect fuel
performance in an engine, but it references two research reports that
may contain performance data
(Skripka et al. 1975; Tretyakov et al. 1975). Unfortunately, I could
obtain neither report, and both are
written in Russian.
...
* Bruns, S. A., V. I. Klassen, and A. K. Konshina. 1966. Change in the
extinction of light by
water after treatment in a magnetic field. Kolloidn. Zh. 28: 153-155.
* Busch, K. W., M. A. Busch, D. H. Parker, R. E. Darling, and
J. L. McAtee, Jr. 1986. Studies
of a water treatment device that uses magnetic fields. Corrosion 42
(4): 211-221.
* Busch, K. W., M. A. Busch, R. E. Darling, S. Maggard, and S.
W. Kubala. 1997. Design of
a test loop for the evaluation of magnetic water treatment devices.
Process Safety and
Environmental Protection. Transactions of the Institution of Chemical
Engineers 75 (Part B):
105-114.
* Chechel, P. S., and G. V. Annenkova. 1972. Influence of magnetic treatment
on solubility of
calcium sulphate. Coke Chem. USSR. 8: 60-61.
* Daly, J. 1995. Miracle cure. Motor Boating and Sailing. October, p. 36.
* Denver, E., executive ed. 1996. Magnets that don't do much to soften
water. Consumer
Reports. February, p. 8.
* Donaldson, J. D. 1988. Magnetic treatment of fluids -- preventing scale." Finishing. 12: 22-32.
* Duffy, E. A. 1977. Investigation of Magnetic Water Treatment
Devices. Ph.D. dissertation,
Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.
* Gehr, R., Z. A. Zhai, J. A. Finch, and S. R. Rao. 1995. Reduction
of soluble mineral
concentrations in CaSO4 saturated water using a magnetic field. Wat.
Res. 29 (3): 933-940.
* Hasson, D., and D. Bramson. 1985. Effectiveness of magnetic
water treatment in suppressing
CaCO3 scale deposition. Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Dev. 24: 588-592.
* Higashitani, K., and J. Oshitani. 1997. Measurements of magnetic
effects on electrolyte
solutions by atomic force microscope. Process Safety and Environmental
Protection.
Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers 75 (Part B):
115-119.
* Joshi, K. M., and P. V. Kamat. 1966. Effect of magnetic field
on the physical properties of
water. J. Ind. Chem. Soc. 43: 620-622.
* Klassen, V. I. 1981. Magnetic treatment of water in mineral
processing. In Developments in
Mineral Processing, Part B, Mineral Processing. Elsevier, N.Y., pp.
1077-1097.
* Kronenberg, K. J. 1985. Experimental evidence for effects of
magnetic fields on moving water.
IEEE Trans. on Magnetics, vol. Mag-21, no. 5: 2059-2061.
* Krylov, O. T., I. K. Vikulova, V. V. Eletskii, N. A. Rozno,
and V. I. Klassen. 1985.
Influence of magnetic treatment on the electro-kinetic potential of
a suspension of CaCO3.
Colloid J. USSR 47: 820-824.
* Liburkin, V. G., B. S. Kondratev, and T. S. Pavlyukova. 1986. Action
of magnetic treatment
of water on the structure formation of gypsum. Glass and Ceramics (English
translation of
Steklo I Keramika) 1: 101-105.
* Lin, I., and Y. Yotvat. 1989. Electro-magnetic treatment of
drinking and irrigation water. Water
and Irrigation Rev. 8:16-18.
* Lipus, L., J. Krope, and L. Garbai. 1994. Magnetic water
treatment for scale prevention.
Hungarian J. Ind. Chem. 22: 239-242.
* Martynova, O. I., E. F. Tebenekhin, and B. T. Gusev. 1967. Conditions
and mechanism of
deposition of the solid calcium carbonate phase from aqeuous [sic]
solutions under the influence
of a magnetic field. Colloid J. USSR 29: 512-514.
* McNeely, M. 1994. Magnetic fuel treatment system designed to
attack fuel-borne microbes.
Diesel Progress Engines and Drives. November, p. 16.
* Mirumyants, S. O., E. A. Vandyukov, and R. S. Tukhvatullin. 1972.
The effect of a constant
magnetic field on the infrared absorption spectrum of liquid water.
Russ. J. Phys. Chem. 46:
124.
* Parsons, S. A., S. J. Judd, T. Stephenson, S. Udol, and B.-L.
Wang. 1997. Magnetically
augmented water treatment. Process Safety and Environmental Protection.
Transactions of the
Institution of Chemical Engineers 75 (Part B): 98-104.
* Raisen, E. 1984. The control of scale and corrosion in water
systems using magnetic fields.
Corrosion 84. Conference proceedings, Nat. Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers,
Houston, paper
no. 117.
* Skripka, N. I., A. A. Litvinov, and I. G. Tretyakov. 1975. Influence
of operational factors on
oxidizability of liquid hydrocarbons. Operational Properties of Fuels,
Lubricants and Technical
Liquids Used in Civil Aviation [Kiev] 1: 11-14. [In Russian.]
* Spear, M. 1992. The growing attraction of magnetic treatment. Process
Engineering. May, p.
143.
* Tretyakov, I. G., M. A., Rybak, and E. Yu. Stepanenko. 1985. Method
of monitoring the
effectiveness of magnetic treatment for liquid hydrocarbons. Sov. Surf.
Eng. Appl.
Electrochem. 6: 80-83.
* Tretyakov, I. G., E. S. Denisov, and A. N. Solovev. 1975. Effects
of magnetic field treatment
on electrophysical properties of aviation fuels. Operational Properties
of Fuels, Lubricants and
Technical Liquids Used in Civil Aviation [Kiev] 1: 41-42. [In Russian.]
* Welder, B. Q., and E. P. Partridge. 1954. Practical performance
of water-conditioning gadgets.
Ind. Eng. Chem. 46: 954-960.
* Wilkes, J. F., and R. Baum. 1979. Water conditioning devices
-- an update. Int. Water Conf.:
40th Annual Meeting, paper no. IWC-79-20.
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