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Re: north and south in the water



On Tue, 5 May 1998, jim mcconville wrote:

My new Magnet Source Catalog offers WaterTreatment Magnets one attatches to
water pipes for such things as descaling and reducing hardness. There is a
polarity to the arrangement. The magnetised water is said to feel wetter,
cleaner, softer etc. I am skeptical but willing to listen (and learn?).

I've collected some info about magnets and water (as part of my Weird
Science page), see http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/weird.html
There are links under "Magnets and Chemistry" to articles about "water
softener" magnets.

From what I've read, these magnets sometimes do affect suspended minerals,
but there are scams about it anyway (e.g., claims that they ALWAYS work,
vastly overpriced magnets, etc.) What if they only affect certain types
of minerals (from certain parts of the country?) Selling them to everyone
is then a ripoff. Or suppose a particular field configuration is needed,
and some products lack it and therefor do nothing? Or, if the magnets
cause mineral particles to flocculate rather than to build a dense crust,
this doesn't necessarily mean they affect the soap-sudsing and the "feel"
of hard water. If all they do is interfere with mineral buildup, then
companies which claim that they "soften" water are essentially lying.

On the other hand, magnets on automobile fuel lines have never been shown
to work, yet still they are sold, and still there is a group of users who
believe in them. Are fuel-line magnets a ripoff, or are they a religion?

Outspoken skeptics have long been sneering at fuel-line magnet pseudo-
science, and when these water-softener magnets first appeared, they
attacked them as obviously being pseudoscience. Without checking first.
Some skeptics are as bad as the "true believers", both groups latch onto
an opinion and refuse to be bothered by the facts.

I don't know if sales of these magnets is such a good idea. If unproven
technology is sold as a guaranteed cure for clogged pipes, maybe it does
work and maybe it's a ripoff, but there's no question that many of the
sellers are dishonest. They don't emblazon their products with "UNPROVEN"
and "EXPERIMENTAL ONLY" and "UNKNOWN OPERATING PRINCIPLE, UNPREDICTABLE
RESULTS."

((((((((((((((((((((( ( ( ( ( (O) ) ) ) ) )))))))))))))))))))))
William J. Beaty SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
billb@eskimo.com www.eskimo.com/~billb
EE/programmer/sci-exhibits science projects, tesla, weird science
Seattle, WA 206-781-3320 freenrg-L taoshum-L vortex-L webhead-L