Water Radiolysis

Of all the radiation-chemical reactions that have been studied in aqueous solution, the most complex and bewildering is the decomposition (dissociation) of pure water itself. Early workers had shown that water decomposed to hydrogen and oxygen, with some hydrogen peroxide, under bombardment from X-rays. A detailed study of the reaction was made in 1913 by Duane and Scheuer and their results were confirmed twenty-five years later by Lanning and Lind. Meanwhile Risse and then Fricke had shown that water under X-rays in a closed vessel appeared to decompose practically not at all. Fricke indeed found traces of gas resulting from irradiation, but on analysis this turned out to be composed of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, obviously arising from organic impurities in the water. When the water was more carefully purified the carbon dioxide disappeared, but a trace of hydrogen gas was always found even from irradiation of the most highly purified water. On the other hand, Guenther and Holzapfel irradiated water with X-rays in contact with a large free volume in a vacuum system and found large continuing yields of hydrogen gas. The experimental situation on water radiolysis in 1940 was indeed confusing. This confusion is reflected in the ideas about water radiolysis expressed in D. E. Lea's otherwise excellent book "Actions of Radiations on Living Cells" published in 1946. A better understanding of the subject had already been obtained within the U.S. atomic energy project, but this material could not be published at that time.

The research into this subject is biased towards those reactions found generally in nuclear reactor design and operations. However there is a great deal of basic information concerning our specific interest - the resultant products of vibrated water and what happens during the process. For instance, water undergoes a breakdown sequence into hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen radicals and assorted oxygen compounds such as ozone which when converted back into oxygen releases great amounts of energy. Some of these are explosive. The work being done in cold fusion is somewhat similar in that water is vibrated with an electron flow. Small wonder Pons and Fleischman urged great care be taken so as to avoid explosions. It is advised here and now that research work into this field be done with extreme caution. Even the basic work of cavitation can become explosive as diluting water with certain chemicals before cavitation can be detrimental to one's laboratory, equipment and health.

Considering the human body is approximately 70% water its exposure to x-rays and other radiant energy sources in light of the above may be quite significant. It is doubtful medical research has explored some of these aspects of radiant chemistry in terms of biological effects of dissociation of the water content (and the other many aqueous solutions) of the body. Perhaps we can expect some more insightful answers in the near future as mainstream science begins to merge disciplines connected through application of vibration science. People everywhere are surrounded by dozens if not hundreds of radiant energy sources everyday. It cannot (and should not) be rationally assumed that all these energy sources, in all cases and arrangements, have been adequately studied.