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Negative Ions and Positive Vibes
Source:
Technology Review, Jan 1983 v86 p74(1).
Negative ion generators are curious little devices--their manufacturers'
claims are inevitably followed by exclamation marks. "Is your air healthy?" asks
one ad. "Recreate fresh mountain quality air indoors!" Negative ions, say
manufacturers, make you feel alive, revitalized, and alert while relieving
depression, headaches, and allergies. Trillions of these incredible negative
ions somehow are supposed to kill bacteria and make plants grow better.
But do such claims have any scientific basis?
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Possibly. First, it is true that the number of "small ions" in the air
--electrically charged molecules and atoms that are highly mobile-- varies
widely. Clean outdoor air may have 1,000 positive and 1,000 negative ions in
each cubic centimeter, while polluted city air probably has fewer, and air-
conditioned offices may have only 100.
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Commercial ion generators can indeed change indoor ion levels drastically.
When a high negative voltage is sent into a needle point, it generates both
positive and [sic] negative ions. The negative ions are repelled by the negative
needle (like electric charges repel) and blown into the room by a fan. The
physics of ion measurements are almost certainly more complex than manufacturers
and some experimenters recognize. However, an efficient ion generator may bring
a room to even higher negative ion levels than typically found outdoors.
The question is whether increasing the number of negative ions makes people
feel more comfortable and work more efficiently. The answer is especially
important in regard to the video screens that display words and numbers at
computer terminals. These screens, which many users say cause fatigue and
headaches, usually have positive voltages strong enough to wipe out nearby
negative ions.
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L. H. Hawkins, from the Human Biology and Health Department of the University
of Surrey in England, has performed two sets of experiments to find out how
negative ions affect people. In the first set, Hawkins maintained high levels of
negative ions in a room part of the time, but maintained predominately positive
ions in the room the rest of the time. The people in the room, unaware that the
ions were being manipulated, performed standard tasks.
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When the ions were negative, the subjects did 25 percent better at
complicated tasks such as drawing something while looking at its reverse image
in a mirror. There was a smaller but statistically significant 6 percent
improvement in simpler tests such as reaction time. Women seemed more sensitive
to ions than men, and high humidity and temperature tended to wash out the
benefit of negative ions.
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In a second test, Hawkins installed two commercial ion generators in a
congested computer office. The fans on these generators could be switched on
separately from the ionizers, and with the fans always running, nobody in the
office knew whether the ionizer was working. According to Hawkins' measurements,
with the ionizer on, the office had about 3,500 negative and 100 positive ions
per cubic centimeter of air; with it off there were about 550 negative and 500
positive ions.
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At the end of their shifts, the 54 people in the office filled out
questionnaires about how they felt and how they rated their environment.
Negative ions did seem to produce positive effects. Workers complained of
headaches in only 6 percent of the shifts when the ionizer was operating, but
they complained in 26 percent of the shifts when it was off. The questionnaires
revealed similar increases in how pleasant workers felt and decreases in
complaints about nausea and dizziness.
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Since some workers in computerized offices stay at terminals near video
screens all day, where negative ions are so depleted, ionizers could be helpful
accessories. But Hawkins emphasized that his findings are tentative. Negative
ions are chemically reactive, so they could have some damaging effects. And
other factors will undoubtedly prove far more important for workers, such as how
satisfying the work itself is or what the boss is like.
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More about Nikken -
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