Johnston
Magnetic Fields
Page 4
I found this facinating. For that matter, it was really the first time that I had stopped to consider the electric and magnetic fields which must exist within the cells and how they might interact with each other and with the ions and the water molecules in the cells. Until this point I had been strictly working on the physical aspects of the cells. I was focusing on figuring out ways to reduce their internal resistance and was only looking at the more macroscopic levels of their operation, ie: electric charge being delivered, current flow, size of the electrodes needed so current will flow with least possible resistance, number of ions which need to be present within the cell to carry the desired current, etc.. This new observation opened up a whole new area of research for me and the more I thought about it the more obvious that it became that this new area would end up being just as important as any other component in the cells.
To further test the validity of the phenomenon I put together another cell with a slightly different configuration (see illustration below). In this cell I used a round, one quart glass container (a) and electrodes made of non-ferrous, food grade stainless (b). They were 4" long by 1 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick. When inserted into the container the lower ends of the electrodes were about 1 1/2" above the bottom of the cell. Next I filled the container about 3/4 full of water and then added a 25% solution of NaOH/KOH and water electrolyte (c) to finish filling the container to about 1 1/2" from it's top. Outside the cell, immediately adjacent to the electrodes, I placed two small (2" x 1" x 1/2") ceramic magnets (d). The same ones used in the previously described experiment. The poles of the magnets were oriented as shown below.
The effect, when I turned on the power (12 volt, DC), was to cause the water within the cell or more specifically, the water below the electrodes, to begin to rotate. This rotation was obvious to the naked eye. The current through the cell at this point was measured at 3 amps. Gas production was normal for this current level. The water between and around the electrodes was in motion also but in a more chaotic way and it's movement seemed to be independent of the movement of the water below the electrodes. I then added more electrolyte solution (to decrease the internal resistance of the cell) until a current of 10 amps was able to flow through it. I observed that, the more current that flowed through the cell; 1) the more gas that was produced and 2) the faster that the water below the electrodes rotated around the lower part of the cell.
At this point I tried to visualize all of the fields that would be present in the cell. There would be the electromagnetic field around each electrode (see figure below) and also the permanent magnetic field(s) of the magnets. With the magnets oriented as shown their fields (the fields of the permanent magnets) could be expected to link into one large field which would be present throughout the lower portion of the cell. To some extent the fields of the electrodes could also be anticipated to interact with the field supplied by the permanent magnets. This effect could be expected to be able to be manipulated in many different ways by varying the position of the electrodes and the strength of the various fields and even by the way the electric charge is delivered (AC, DC, Fluctuating DC, etc.).
To make sure that it was indeed the permanent magnetic field which was causing the water to rotate around inside the cell I first removed the magnets. The water rotation slowed and within a minute or so, came to a stop. I then replaced the magnets so that like poles faced each other. No movement was observed in the water. Next, I reversed the orientation of the magnets from the way they were at first (north pole facing cathode and south pole facing anode) and the water began to spin around in the opposite direction as it had at first. Then I switched the orientation of the magnets back to their initial positions while the water was spinning and observed that the water slowed to a stop, then reversed direction and came back up to full speed. In all cases the water would accelerate up to a certain maximum speed and then maintain that speed of rotation for as long as the current continued to flow. This speed seeming to be determined by the combination of the following factors; 1) the amount of current flowing through the cell and 2) the strength of the permanent magnetic field.
The question which presents itself here regards the mechanics
by which the water below the electrodes is caused to spin. The electrical
energy that is supplied to the cell is all accounted for within the process
of electrolysis (between electrolytic conduction and heat losses) and since
the amount of gas produced by the the cell is not obviously diminished
by causing the water below the electrodes to spin and because it takes
energy to set any object into motion and then maintain that motion there
must be another source of secondary or incidental energy that is being
brought into play here by the configuration of the various components of
the system and their orientation to and interaction with each other.