Negative ion products and materials

It does not continue to rise forever because the negative ions are neutralized by positive ions or absorbed by tiny particles such as dust and water droplets in the air.

Please refer to How to choose the right negative ion generator (aka. ionizer).

Tourmaline generates negative ions when external force is applied to it or when temperature changes. You need to stimulate the tourmaline product, otherwise it does not generate negative ions.

Bamboo charcoal generates negative ions when external force is applied to it or when it is blown by wind.

The electronic properties of the negative ions can change after they react with positive ions and dust in the pipe. They can also be neutralized by the positively charged inner wall of the pipe.

There are some requirements to meet.

(1) The negative ions are detected not only at the blow off point but also a certain distance away from the generator. [e.g. xxxxxxx (pcs/cc) at 1m away]

For your reference, the international ion generation standard suggests 100,000 (pcs/cc)+ at 1m. We are not sure how effective this negative ion count is.

(2) The negative ions are dispersed to every direction.

(3) The generator is designed to minimize ozone production meeting safety standards and not to produce harmful nitrogen oxides (Nox).

(4) The amount of negative ion generation is adjustable.

(5) No maintenance work is required.

Practically, there is no negative ion generator that meets all the requirement. We suggest you should make sure the product you are about to purchase meet at least (1) and (2) in order to absorb negative ions but this information is not always found in the specification.Please also refer to How to choose the right negative ion generator (aka. ionizer).

Negative ion counts decrease because:

(1) They are neutralized by positive ions.
(2) They are absorbed by dust.
(3) They spread to where negative ion density is lower.

According to "Theory and practice of air ion" (co-authored by Kimura/Taniguchi), negative ion density is in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. This means it drastically decreases as you go further away.

Of course, it can be affected by positive ion density, dust in the air and other factors.

You cannot simply compare tourmaline with other ores but some ores generate more negative ions than tourmaline does.

However, some of these ores emit gamma rays which exceed the natural level, so you have to consider how the rays affect your body during the long term use. Tourmaline does not emit such harmful rays which exceed safety levels.

Monazite contains thorium and uranium which are radioactive substances and it emits gamma rays. The gamma rays collide with molecules in the air to form negative ions. Tourmaline does not emit harmful rays which exceed safety levels. It is believed that tourmaline generates negative ions due to the piezoelectric or pyroelectric effect caused by the distorted crystallographic structure. Thus, negative ions are generated in different ways.

It is possible that most of negative ions are neutralized by positive ions or absorbed by tiny particles for a while until the air is purified, thus these negative ions are not detected by the ion counter because they are no longer negative ions once neutralized or absorbed. This is why it takes several minutes before negative ions start to be detected.

According to "Medical domain - theory and practice of air ion" written by Prof. Kimura&Taniguchi of Hokkaido University School of Medicine, negative ion density is in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the generator.
Therefore, the ion density at 1.0m can be calculated as:

30000(pcs/cc) * 1 / (1.0(m) / 1.8(m) * 1.8(m))2 = 97,200(pcs/cc)

This figure is just for your reference because it can practically be affected by the surrounding air, humidity and other factors.

Positive ions do NOT lower the negative ion generation efficiency BUT lower the negative ion count by neutralization. It is ideal if positive ions are not generated at all because not only do they have negative effects on the human body but also they neutralize negative ions to lower the negative ion count. (Negative ions are no longer negatively charged once neutralized.)

Some tourmaline products have the effect but it has not been elucidated how tourmaline works.

According to some experiments, tourmaline generates a very little amount of hydrogen.

Corona discharging is a phenomenon where light is emitted and very little current flows between a sharp metal electrode and a flat electrode when high voltage is applied between the electrodes. It is categorized into AC and RF corona discharging depending on the voltage applied to the electrodes.

Single corona discharging uses one electrode, while bipolar corona discharging uses both electrodes to ionize the air. The air is ionized when electrons move between the electrodes. Many negative ion generators utilize this characteristic.

It is not the amount of negative ions generated per second but that detected at a moment. It would be a huge amount if the number of negative ions generated per second were possibly counted.

It is said that the performance of tourmaline as "Electronic Stone" is not determined by the color but by the hardness of the tourmaline stone and the length of the growth line of the crystal.

The safety standard set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is 0.1ppm or less. Some conditions apply but these levels of ozone concentration are said to be not harmful for the human body in working areas. 0.1ppm of ozone can be detected by the sense of smell.

It is said that a small amount of metal ingredients (minerals) contained in tourmaline dissolves in water.

It depends on the person. If your generator is generating a certain amount of negative ions it will "remove cigarette smoke". If not, it is generating a very small amount of negative ions, at most. This is a way you can make sure if it is working effectively without using an ion counter.

Generally, the ion count detected at the blow off point is shown in the specification and it decreases as you go further away from the generator. Thus, negative ions detected at a certain distance away may be or may not be more than those found around the basin of a waterfall.

Technically, it is almost impossible because wood charcoal generates negative ions only when external force is applied to it.

It should be determined based on clinical tests. Theoritically, we are not sure but some studies report that electronically generated ions are smaller and small ions are said to have more positive effects on the human body but it does not mean electronically generated ions always have better effects.

You cannot enjoy relaxation effects because tourmaline generates a very little amount of negative ions when pressure or heat is not applied to it.

You need to stimulate the tourmaline by applying pressure to it and stay within 20-30cm from it, otherwise negative ions will not work on you.

You have to consider not only the distance from the generator where 2,000,000(pcs/cc) negative ions can be detected but also how the ion count decreases as you go further away from the generator.
(It is possible that 2,000,000 is detected at the blow off point.)

If negative ions do not reach you, the generator is just wasting electricity.

This method, which is also known as the pulse discharging method, has a negative discharge electrode needle only. High Voltage Pulse* is added to the electrode to generate electrons.

These electrons are dispersed towards the floating capacitor and collide with oxygen molecules to ionize the oxygen.

Unlike corona discharging, this method does not cause ionization near the discharge electrode because the high voltage pulse has a smaller energy than that of the DC discharging method. No ozone is produced due to the smaller energy.

*Electric current which flows only for a second.

Reference: Encyclopedia of applications of air negative ion (co-authored by Tomoo Ryushi and Hisao Sasaki, supervised by Japan Society of Indoor Environment and Health)

There are ceramic products which improve the fuel efficiency and I have seen some. However, it depends on the car and driving conditions. We do not know how ceramic works.

The main difference is that clustered ions contain positive ions. The clustered ions seem to work better because viruses and bacilli are reduced. An ion counter can detect both positive and negative ions simultaneously. It is said it is possible to adjust the balance of both ions.

If the water is not stale, there should be no problem because no tap water contains chlorine which exceeds the standard level and the density of chlorine drastically falls once the water is splashed.

It not only purifies the air but also helps you to enjoy negative ion effects. A negative ion air purifier generates far more negative ions than found naturally in the air.

A negative ion air purifier generates negative ions. The ions combine with particles and fall onto the floor to remove them from the air. A standard air purifier intakes the air using a fan and the air is purified when it passes through the filter(s). Negative ions not only purify the air but can also produce positive effects on the body.

Negative ions can lower humidity but cannot control it.

Negative ions can be absorbed when placed close to the floor/wall/desk/table/ceiling or other objects. Please refer to "Where should I install it?".

It is negligible because our negative ion generators consume less than 10W.