Good Mood In A Box

from the what's-next?--good-karma-in-a-box? dept

It's always fun to take a look at what trend is sweeping Japan at any given point in time. The latest, is an apparent obsession with any sort of device that gives off negative ions. While scientists say there's no evidence negative ions do anything, many people believe that they make people "feel good". No one wants to miss out on their chance at having more "feel good" ions in their life, so they're buying up all kinds of electrical appliances (hair dryers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, etc.) that promise to give off negative ions as a side benefit.
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  1. identicon
    IonMighty, 7 Jun 2002 @ 12:48am

    No Subject Given

    What's new about this? I've had an ioniser for 15 years. And as I recall there *is* solid evidence that negative ions have an effect on people. Certainly the atmosphere in a room with an ioniser running is quite different from when it is switched off.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Uncle StoatWarbler, 7 Jun 2002 @ 4:06am

    Re: No Subject Given


    Less dusty for starters.

    Place a piece of paper on the ground in front of the ionoser to see what I mean.

    One of the most beneficial products of ionisers is that they charge dust particles, which then clump together (flocculate) and become too heavy to stay in the air anymore.

    The ionisers cause things to be fired away from the electrodes at relatively high speed too, so the dust catching thing works over a surprising range. Look for dirty "spray" patterns on clean surfaces around any ioniser.

    (downside is that those dirt patches can be hell to get clean. Some dust particles are scarily filthy.)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Phibian, 7 Jun 2002 @ 5:52am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Ionizers also make it easier to breathe if you have asthma - probably related to the dust thing, but also ionized oxygen is supposed to be easier to absorb.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Ed, 7 Jun 2002 @ 9:27am

    Re: No Subject Given

    My pseudoscience sense is tingling at the last statement. It's not like we have any problems absorbing oxygen in the first place, (asthma is a mechanical problem of airway restriction, not a chemical problem). Plus, ionic compounds have vastly different properties than other molecules containing the same kind of atoms. Consider the harmless Chloride ion in table salt and poisonous Chrlorine gas. The main use for ionic forms of oxygen that I know of is as a bleach.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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