Magnets and water

This post was split from a post on the affect of very weak and natural electromagnetic fields on water. This post concerns strong, and often static, magnetic fields and water. Hydration of KCl is promoted by filed in the 0.1-0.3T range. Even stronger fields of up to 6.5T can slow calcium carbonate buildup on pipes. Exposure of Ca²⁺ containing biological solutions to fields one tenth as much can influence behavior around the acetylcholine receptor channel. Even exposing a snail artificial saline to mT at 4 Hz can alter the conductance of Ca²⁺/Na⁺ acetylcholine receptor channels.

static fields and saturated potassium chloride

That very concentrated solutions refract light differently is a given. Water just has a different structure. experimental setup Can static magnetic fields of 0.1-0.3 T affect the structure of water and the way it interacts with K⁺ and Cl^–? Wang 2024 addressed this in a recent study. Saturated aqueous salt solutions are used in food and drug preparation and more. Wang argued that the random and disordered arrangement of ions in solution may impact addition of other components. These authors used a combination of techniques: contact angle measurement, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and computer based molecular simulations. Magnetic fields promoted K-O and Cl-H contact pairs and increased the radius of hydration. Solubility of difficult to dissolve solutes was predicted to increase.

Magnetic fields for calcium carbonate descaling

Al-Helel 2018 presented a very good physical chemical discussion on the use of a descaling loop to prevent calcium carbonate deposits from forming in a pipe. Calcium carbonate deposits were encouraged by heating over to over the boiling temperature of water at high pressure, essentially a pressure cooker for the lay reader. The magnetic field strength was 6.5 T. The authors used high and low calcium and carbonate as well as equal proportions.

Instead of the magnetic field moving relative to the charged particles in PEMF, ions dissolved in water flowing through a static magnet pipe experience Lorentzian forces Al-Halal depicted anions veering towards one N/S interface of the magnet while cations veered to the N/S interface on the opposite side of permanent magnet pipe. Magnetic field exposure tended not to effect the solution pH. Scaling was measured by pressure of water flowing through the pipe. When calcium was equal to, or less than, carbonate, magnetic field exposure increased the time to scaling pressure build MF exposure increased the conductivity of high calcium solutions but had no effect on solutions with high carbonate and low calcium. When the two were equal, MF decreased the conductivity. The discussion got to physical chemistry concepts that apply to biological systems.

• Conductivity of solutions inversely depends on the radius of they hydration shell. At high calcium concentrations MF was concluded to strip calcium of waters of hydration. Al Helal presented a table with atomic/molecular radii, waters of hydration, and elecrophoretic at 25°C mobility in waters in units of , u/m²s^-1V^-1, Both anions are about 0.18 nm in diameter.
• Chlorine has two waters in the hydration shell and carbonate four. The difference in mobility is not that great.
• Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ are both about 0.1nm in diameter. Ca²⁺ has 7 waters of hydration and Na⁺, on average, 3.5 waters. The electrophoretic mobility (conductance) in water are similar. It was concluded that the MF was stripping Ca²⁺ of some of its water of hydration.

Al Helal 2018 also concluded that the brief exposure to a magnetic field left a molecular memory that prevented scaling.

Ca²⁺ and Cl^– in a magnetic field

This post begins in 1994 in Yerevan, Armenia. Sinerik Ayrapetyan and coauthors tested the hypothesis that magnetic fields exposed solutions containing calcium chloride have altered physiochemical properties that can affect biological systems.

• Decreasing concentrations of CaCl₂ were exposed to a 27mT magnetic field for 2 min. Control solutions were left unexposed. As expected, the electrical conductance decreased with the concentration of the solution. Magnetic field exposure slightly decreased conductance at 10-100 mM CaCl₂. In the micromolar range magnetic field exposure increased conductance slightly. Similar changes in conductance were not seen for solutions of potassium and sodium chloride.
• A cautionary note is that these solutions were exposed to room air and would be expected to contain some dissolve nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is in equilibrium with bicarbonate and carbonate in a pH dependent manner.
• The ganglion of the land snail, Hefix pomurin, was dissected and maintained in a physiological saline solution that was similar to human physiological saline except that it was buffered with an artificial buffer called TrisHCl . Calcium and magnesium chloride concentrations were higher and sodium chloride a bit lower. Being cold blooded, the experimental temperature for this isolated snail ganglion was 22 “C. This solution was spiked with a radioactive isotope of Ca²⁺ so as to measure uptake into the ganglion. Prior exposure to 4.6mT resulted in a 74% reduction in Ca²⁺ uptake whereas 38mT exposure reduced Ca²⁺ uptake to 63% of the control.
• The isolated snail ganglion has a tendency to fire simultaneously. When the control saline was exchanged with one that had been exposed to a static magnetic field, the frequency of spontaneous firing increased.
• Ayrapetyan and coauthors measured the concentration of “cyclic” nucleotides cGMP and cAMP. Switch to a physiological saline solution that had been exposed to 27 mT decreased cAMP suggestive of inactivation of adenylyl cyclase, an enzyme that is controlled by many hormone receptors. cGMP, a signaling molecule increased by nitric oxide, was increase when the ganglion were incubated in a magnetic field exposed saline solution.
• The magnetic field exposed saline solution also caused the ganglion’s volume to increase.

Ayrapetyan and coauthors attributed their observations to increased hydration of Ca²⁺. Iwasaka and Ueno exposed water solutions of glucose to 14 mT static magnetic fields and used near infrared to document an increase in hydrogen bonding.

Ca²⁺ containing “snail blood” after 4 Hz PEMF

In the follow up Ayrapetyan 2004 snail ganglion study physiological saline was treated with PEMF of 2.5 mT and 4 Hz for 30 minutes. This saline solution had salts similar to what is in “snail blood” so as to test the hypothesis that a very low frequency pulsed electromagnetic field could alter the way that a Ca²⁺ presents itself to a biological target found in humans and snails.

• NaCl—80mM,
• KCl—4mm,
• CaCl₂ —7mM,
• MgCl ₂—13, mM
• Tris-HCl (pH 7.8)—10mM,
• glucose—10mM.

The human blood electrolyte range is as follows for these ions.

• Cl- 95-105mM
• phosphate 1-1.5mM
• bicarb 22-32 mEq
• Na⁺ 135-145 mM
• Ca²⁺ 2.1-2.8 mM

Acetylcholine receptors are Na⁺/Ca²⁺ channels in snails and humans. They bind to acetylcholine and actylcholine, open, and allow the passage of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ into the neuron so as to set off an action potential. This research gate cartoon from Hendrickson 2013 illustrates the dual conductance as well as subunits that can interact with Na⁺ and Ca²⁺. A related Britannica cartoon of the acetyl choline showing a different artist’s perspective of this dual conductance channel. Now imagine changes in the diameter of these ions depending on the hydrated radii that might change with magnetic field treatment of the physiological saline. PEMF 4Hz treatment of the physiological saline depressed the acetylcholine response at 23^oC but not at 12^oC

References

• Al Helal A, Soames A, Gubner R, Iglauer S, Barifcani A. Influence of magnetic fields on calcium carbonate scaling in aqueous solutions at 150°C and 1bar. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2018 Jan 1;509:472-484. Sci-Hub free paper
• Ayrapetyan SN, Grigorian KV, Avanesian AS, Stamboltsian KV. Magnetic fields alter electrical properties of solutions and their physiological effects. Bioelectromagnetics. 1994;15(2):133-42. Sci-Hub free paper
• Ayrapetyan SN, Hunanyan ASh, Hakobyan SN. 4 Hz EMF treated physiological solution depresses Ach-induced neuromembrane current. Bioelectromagnetics. 2004 Jul;25(5):397-9. free paper
• D’Emilia E, Giuliani L, Lisi A, Ledda M, Grimaldi S, Montagnier L, Liboff AR. Lorentz force in water: evidence that hydronium cyclotron resonance enhances polymorphism. Electromagn Biol Med. 2015;34(4):370-5. Sci-Hub free paper
• Iwasaka M and Ueno S Effects of 14 Tesla Magnetic Field on Hydration and Structure of Water Molecules Electricity and Magnetism in Biology and Medicine Sci-Hub free paper
• Wang J, An S, Ren J. Regulating Microstructure and Macroscopic Properties in Saturated Salt Solutions Containing Disordered Anions and Cations by Magnetic Field. Molecules. 2024 Jan 22;29(2):543.PMC free paper