An air ioniser is a device which uses high voltage to ionise, or electrically charge, molecules of air. These machines can be designed either to generate specifically charged ions (all positive or all negative), or to create both polarities indiscriminately^{[citation needed]}. However, most commercial air purifiers are designed to generate negative ions. Negative ions are particles that temporarily contain an extra electron, causing the entire molecule to possess a negative electrical charge. Conversly, a positive ion is deficient by one electron and has an overall positive charge. Unfortunately, the high electric fields used to create the air ions can also generate ozone (an energetic allotrope of oxygen), and NO_x. Both are toxic. Even in relatively low concentrations, they can irritate lung tissues, cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and can worsen the conditions of persons suffering from asthma. In electrical engineering High voltage refers to a voltage which is high. ... An ion is an elementary particle or system of elementary particles with a net electric charge. ... A Sharp FU-888SV Plasmacluster air purifier. ... e- redirects here. ... Look up charge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that optical field be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Ozone (disambiguation). ... Allotropy (Gr. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... The term nitrogen oxide is a general term and can be used to refer to any of these oxides (oxygen compounds) of nitrogen, or to a mixture of them: Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Dinitrogen monoxide (N2O) (Nitrous oxide) Dinitrogen trioxide (N2O3) Dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) Dinitrogen...

Ionic air purifiers

Ionic air purifiers use an electrically charged plate to produce negative gas ions that particulate matter sticks to (in an effect similar to static electricity). Many ionisers are sold as air purifiers, but in this regard they are very inefficient. They will clean the air to a small degree, by charging dust and smoke particles which will then be attracted to a neutral or positively charged surface. Heavier combined particles may precipitate (fall) out of the air should two smaller particles of different charge clump together. “Multivalent” redirects here. ... Static electricity is a class of phenomena involving the net charge present on an object; typically referring to charged object with voltages of sufficient magnitude to produce visible attraction, repulsion, and sparks. ... After just three years of use, dust has blocked this laptop heat sink, making the computer unusable Dust is a general name for minute solid particles with diameters less than 500 micrometers (otherwise, please see sand or granulates and, more generally, finely divided matter). ... Smoke from a wildfire Smoke is a suspension in air (aerosol) of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. ...

The use of negative ions continues to be a less accepted mainstream therapy in Eastern Europe and the Far East than in Western Europe or the United States^{[citation needed]}, although problems with nosocomial infections (hospital acquired "super-bugs") have led the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK to do extensive research into the effect of negative ions on this area of hygiene.^[1] Recent SARS outbreaks have fueled the desire for personal ionisers in the far east, including Japan (where many products have been specialized to contain negative ion generators, including toothbrushes, refrigerators and washing machines). There are no specific standards for these devices. This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus. ... Three toothbrushes The toothbrush is an instrument used to clean teeth, consisting of a small brush on a handle. ... “Freezer” redirects here. ... Front-loading washing machine. ...

Positive Effects of Negative Ions

Cedars-Sinai has a page last reviewed 03-15-2006 which discusses negatively ionized air as an alternative treatment for certain conditions. The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks published a article September 26 1981 which discusses the beneficial role of negative ions and the positive ion fields created by CRT (cathode ray tube) computer monitors. Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT Electron guns Electron beams Focusing coils Deflection coils Anode connection Mask for separating beams for red, green, and blue part of displayed image Phosphor layer with red, green, and blue zones Close-up of the phosphor...

Air purifier criticisms

Criticisms of ionisers as air purifiers include:

• Cleaning range, as portable units are typically built to clean one room only.
• All the affected airborne particles ultimately wind up on surfaces close to the ioniser, making the area immediately surrounding the ioniser dirty and reducing the unit efficiency as the high voltage emitter is slowly covered in dirt. Overall cleaning efficiency roughly on par with the static charge from the front of a powered-up CRT TV screen.^{[citation needed]}
• Companies or individuals who sell (or support the use of) air ionizing devices claim additional, less easily substantiated effects, including:
  • Generation of ozone as a beneficial byproduct.
  • Creation of an ionic wind, caused by the repulsion of similarly charged ions near the electrodes.
• Even the best ionisers will produce a small amount of ozone, which is highly toxic (see below).

For other uses, see Ozone (disambiguation). ... The Biefeld-Brown effect is an electrokinetic effect that was discovered by Thomas Townsend Brown (USA) and Dr. Paul Alfred Biefeld (CH). ...

Ions vs ozone

Ionisers should not be confused with ozone generators, even though both devices operate in a similar way. Ionisers use an electrostatically charged plate to produce positively or negatively charged gas ions that particulate matter sticks to (in an effect similar to static electricity). Ozone generators are optimised to attract an extra oxygen ion to an O₂ molecule, using either a corona discharge tube or UV light. Even the best ionisers will produce a small amount of ozone, and ozone generators will produce gaseous ions of molecules other than ozone (unless fed by pure oxygen, not air).^{[citation needed]} This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Static electricity is a class of phenomena involving the net charge present on an object; typically referring to charged object with voltages of sufficient magnitude to produce visible attraction, repulsion, and sparks. ... In electricity, a corona discharge is an electrical discharge brought on by the ionization of a fluid surrounding a conductor, which occurs when the potential gradient exceeds a certain value, in situations where sparking (also known as arcing) is not favoured. ...

Ozone is claimed by some alternative medicine proponents to be relatively harmless to humans, but this is a demonstrable fallacy. Ozone is a highly toxic and extremely reactive gas.^[2] A higher daily average than 0.1 ppm (0.2 mg/m³) is not recommended and can damage the lungs and olfactory bulb cells directly.^[3] At high concentrations, ozone can also be toxic to air-borne bacteria, and may destroy or kill these sometimes infectious organisms. However, the needed concentrations are toxic enough to man and animal that the FDA explicitly demands ozone therapy not be used as medical treatment,^[4] and has taken action against businesses that fail to comply with this regulation.^[5] Alternative medicine describes practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. ... The olfactory bulb is a structure of the vertebrate forebrain involved in olfaction, the perception of odors. ... Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating food (humans and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal) and radiation emitting devices (including non-medical devices), biologics, and... Ozone therapy is a controversial practice that some practitioners and advocates of alternative medicine claim can be used for healing. ...

Consumer Reports court case

Consumer Reports, a non-profit U.S.-based product-testing magazine, reported in October 2003 that air ionisers do not perform to high enough standards compared to conventional HEPA air filters. In response to this report, The Sharper Image, a manufacturer of air ionisers (among other things), sued Consumer's Union (the publishers of Consumer Reports) for product defamation. The Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze unit did meet all EPA guidelines, including less than 50 ppb ozone production^{[citation needed]}. Consumer Reports gave the Ionic Breeze and other popular units a "fail" because they have a low Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). CADR measures the amount of air circulated during a short period of time, and was originally designed to rate fan-based purifiers. The Sharper Image claimed that this test was a poor way to rate the Ionic Breeze, since it does not take into account other features, such as 24-hour a day continuous cleaning, ease of maintenance, and silent operation. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California subsequently struck The Sharper Image's complaint and dismissed the case, reasoning that The Sharper Image had failed to demonstrate that it could prove any of the statements made by Consumer Reports were false. The Court's final ruling in May 2005 ordered The Sharper Image to pay $525,000 USD for Consumer Union's legal expenses.^[6] Consumer Reports, an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union, publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. ... HEPA (IPA: ) is a type of air filter. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with air cleaner. ... I like to go there alot but, i dont like to leav, TO MUCH FUN AND SO MANY THINGS TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Sharper Image logo The Sharper Image Corporation NASDAQ: SHRP, founded by Richard Thalheimer, is a speciality retailer that operates throughout the United States. ... The parts-per notations are used to denote low concentrations of chemical elements. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ...

See also

• Air purifier
• Electrostatic precipitator
• Ozone generator
• Seasonal affective disorder
• Ion therapy

A Sharp FU-888SV Plasmacluster air purifier. ... An electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or electrostatic air cleaner is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas (such as air) using the force of an induced electrostatic charge. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, also known as winter depression is an affective, or mood, disorder. ... Ion therapy involves the use of various devices that generate negatively charged particles as a means of countering what its proponents believe are the adverse health effects of positively charged ions in the atmosphere. ...

References

1. ^ "Air ionisers wipe out hospital infections", The New Scientist, August 30, 2006.
2. ^ "Ozone: Good Up High, Bad Nearby", Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Website, August 30, 2006.
3. ^ "Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effectiveness and Health Consequences", EPA Website, August 30, 2006.
4. ^ "TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS; CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; SUBCHAPTER H--MEDICAL DEVICES", U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) website, August 30, 2006.
5. ^ "Ozone Generators Generate Prison Terms for Couple", U.S. FDA website, August 30, 2006.
6. ^ "Sharper Image pays $525,000 to end lawsuit against CU", Consumer Reports, August 30, 2006.

External links

• New Scientist - Air ionisers wipe out hospital infections
• Do "corona discharge" devices alleviate asthma?
• Overview of electrofilter precipitator
• NIOSH Immediate Danger to Life or Health (Ozone) Documentation
• Ionic Air Purifiers and Smog
• The Negative-Ion Myth
• personal clean-air comfort zone