(07-11-2015, 01:28 PM)LionKing Wrote: Thank you athanas. Negative ions sound a tad new agey to me, but coming from you its always interesting.
well you should be more apprehensive about "jing, chi and shen" those are the things western science beleive is new age bullsh*t. Those are terms I learned from ancient esoteric Taoist traditions that are not really accepted by science. Negative Ions however are the least esoteric substances in my post, they are very well accepted and known in western science, e.g. your body uses calcium ions to create tension in your muscles and activate them, and magnesium ions to relax them. It is also known that falling water create a lot of negative Ions in the air
e.g. during a storm or near a waterfall as the H2O bond gets ripped apart to H3O+ and OH- (latter released into the air as negative ions)
Quote:The atmosphere we breathe normally is full of positive and negative ions. Air conditioning, lack of ventilation, and long dry spells remove negative ions, which usually serve to latch onto airborne dirt particles and wrestle them to the floor, rendering the air purer. Roughly one-third of the population seems to be particularly sensitive to negative-ion depletion. The proportion of negative ions is highest around moving water (storms, oceans, rivers, waterfalls)—It's no wonder that we feel so energized at the beach. The best ratios of negative to positive ions are associated with waterfalls and the time before, during, and after storms. The worst are found in windowless rooms and closed, moving vehicles. Air purifiers typically work by emitting negative ions, which purify room air by attaching to impurities and sinking them.
High concentrations of negative ions are essential for high energy and positive mood (Thayer, 1996)[1]. In fact, Marian Diamond, a professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that levels of negative ions are inversely related to levels of serotonin in the brain. Negative ions suppress serotonin levels in much the same way that natural sunlight suppresses melatonin. Hence the invigorating effect of fresh air and sunshine and the correspondingly depressed feelings associated with being closed in and dark. If you deplete the air of negative ions, you experience an increase in serotonin and its attendant drowsiness and relaxation—not what you want when mental agility is demanded. Diamond's research (1988)[2], along with other information on ions, is summarized in Yepsen (1987).[3]
negative and positive Ions aren't esoteric at all. Only me comparing them to jing chi and shen makes them look esoteric. I just find it funny how scientists observe the effects of ions (negative -> lower serotonin, lower depression, asthma cure and higher sex drive, positive -> aggression, tension, ill feeling) and don't see any connection to those "random" effects. E.g. they can explain why neg ions could be beneficial for asthma but they are surprised and have no clue why and how it increases sex drive. But when you know negative Ions are yin, and positive Ions are yang it's no surprise at all how they interact with your body. Yang (positive) Ions activate and deplete your body, Yin (negative) Ions recharge and refill your body. When your body is full of Yin it turns to Yang (higher sex drive) just like a night turns to day.
Negative Ions are actually the reason why the air smells so fresh after a storm, they bind to the positively charged impurities in the air and pull them to the ground leaving the air clean. And knowing that falling water produces negative Ions, the "vitamins of the air" is it still a surprise why the stereotype of a chi-gathering taoist monk is somebody who meditates under the waterfall? Or is climbing a mountain to meditate in a cave? (Very high concentration of Ions in air of high altitude) They do this because of the higher amount of chi (Ions) around them so they can progress twice as fast as usual with gaining mental clarity ("enlightenment").
