The elusive mechanism of the magnetic 'memory' of water

It has been claimed that preliminary water treatment with magnetic or elect romagnetic (EM) fields can help descale metal surfaces, improve cement hydr ation, change zeta potential of colloids, make plants irrigated with such w ater grow faster, enhance efflux of calcium through biomembranes or influen ce the structure of model lyposomes. The effects persist minutes or hours a fter the water treatment. It is well known that relaxation phenomena in wat er occur on a picosecond to second timescale. The nature of these 'mysterio us' and questionable phenomena uniquely known as the 'magnetic memory of wa ter' has recently been scrutinized. Based on our recent work as well as oth er recent publications, we propose a model for the observed phenomena. We p ropose that the gas \ liquid interface is perturbed by the action of magnet ic and electromagnetic fields. As in the case of the sonochemical gas \ liq uid interface treatment, some free radicals and/or reactive oxygen species are observed after the treatment (ozone, superoxide, hydroxyl radicals, sin glet oxygen, atomic hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid, etc.). The perturbations of the gas \ liquid interface relax more slowly (minutes to hours). The presence of gases, such as carbon dioxide or noble gases whi ch promote clathrate-like structures of water, significantly enhanced the o bserved effects. Some reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide are also stable for hours or days in the absence of heavy metals. The 'magneti c memory of water', we propose, is the combination of perturbations of the gas \ liquid interface and the production of reactive oxygen species. This model is still speculative and will be tested by other researchers. Numerou s tests in different independent laboratories are needed before any final c onclusions can be made. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.