Protons and the

electrical conduction in a
Floating Water Bridge
9th Conference on the Physics, Chemistry and Biology of Water
Bulgaria, October 9th, 2014
Elmar C. Fuchs

combining scientific excellence with commercial relevance

High Voltage and Water

High Voltage and Water

Discovery
Armstrong, William George, "Electrical
Phenomena", in: THE ELECTRICAL
ENGINEER, Feb 10 (1893) p154-155

"...Amongst other experiments I hit

upon a very remarkable one. Taking
two wine-glasses filled to the brim with
chemically pure water, I connected the
two glasses by a cotton thread coiled
up in one glass, and having its shorter
end dipped into the other glass. On
turning on the current, the coiled thread
was rapidly drawn out of the glass
containing it, and the whole thread
deposited in the other, leaving, for a few
seconds, a rope of water suspended
between the lips of the two glasses. ..."

Visualisation:
Panasonic digital video camera, real time

Sir William George Armstrong,

1st Baron Armstrong
* November 26, 1810
December 27, 1900

Experimental Set-up
42 nF

6 cm

500M
V

0,000g
0,500g

500 k

+
15 kV

I = 0,5 mA (const.)

0,000g
-0,500g

Bridge Formation
slow motion

Visualisation:
Photron SA1 High
Speed Camera
(B/W). Slow Motion
Factor 120.

Bridge Expansion

Visualisation:
Panasonic Digital
Camcorder,
real time.

Macroscopic analysis
Electric displacement (calculation)

Microscopic analysis
Ultrafast vibrational energy relaxation
Measurement of the OH-vibration in an HDO molecule
Duration of vibration gives information about the H-bond
network

liquid water
0C

liquid
water

phase transition

liquid water
hexagonal ice
ice 0C

Vibration stops faster in solid phase and last longer in

liquid phase

ice

Microscopic analysis
Ultrafast vibrational energy relaxation

liquid water
0C

liquid
water

OH - stretch vibrational lifetime / fs

700

600

water bridge
~ 25C
phase transition

500

400

The thermalization dynamics following the vibrational

relaxation are much slower in the water bridge
(~1.50.4 ps) than in bulk HDO:D2O (~25090 fs)
The observed relaxation time of ~63050 fs of the
water bridge is not observed at any temperature for
bulk water

ice 0C

ice
300

The -OH vibrational relaxation time (T1) is faster in the

floating water bridge (~63050 fs) than in bulk water
(~74040 fs), and slower than ice (38416 fs)

These results show that in the bridge water exists in a

new state different from both liquid and solid.

Electrical conduction
Electrical conduction in water normally involves electrolysis.
Electrolysis entails:
Gas production
pH change

Gas production is not

observed during water
bridge operation.

Electrical conduction
Electrical conduction in water normally involves electrolysis.
Electrolysis entails:
Gas production
pH change

Gas production is not

observed during water
bridge operation.
How much gas would actually be produced?
Farady's law: n = (It)/(zF)
I = 400 A, t = 30 min, z = 2 (number of electrons per mole gas) and F = 96485 C mol-1
At 25C one mole of an ideal gas occupies 24.465L.
If O2 and H2 are considered ideal gasses, their volumes amount to 91 and 183 L
If those gasses would form bubbles at the electrode, there should be 174 O2 bubbles
and 349 H2 bubbles formed over 30 minutes assuming 1 mm as bubble diameter
That would be one bubble every 10 and 5 seconds, respectively.
Why don't we see them?

Schlieren Visualisation
Cuvettes & floating bridge

Visualisation:
Panasonic Digital
HD Camcorder,
real time.

Hypothesis:
Gas formation without bubbles

e-

H2

Lemniscate flow

Temperature gradient

e-

O2

Gas is dissolving

In search of Hydrogen:
Gas formation without bubbles
160000
140000

intensity / V

120000
100000
80000

Airtight dome flushed with N2

GC analysis after 100 min of
bridge operation

N2

Hydrogen presence confirmed

Measured: 0.88mL
Calculated: 0.84mL
H2 concentrates on top of the
dome where the sample is
extracted

8 cm

60000
40000
+ 14 kV

20000
H2

0
2000

2500

O2
3000

3500

4000

time / ms

Electrical conduction
Electrical conduction in water normally involves electrolysis.
Electrolysis entails:
Gas production
pH change

How large should the pH shift be?

Electrode reactions:
Anode: 2 H2O
Cathode: 2 H2O

O2 + 4 H+ + 4 e2e- + H2 + 2 OH-

Farady's law: n = (It)/(zF)

I = 400 A, t = 30 min, z = 2 (number of electrons per mole gas) and F = 96485 C mol-1
Theoretical pH: Anolyte: pH 2, Catholyte: pH 10
Measured pH: Anolyte: pH 5.5, Catholyte: pH 5
Where do the produced protons and hydroxyl ions go?

Thermography

Visualisation:
Equus 110L (IRCAM)
338 frames / s
bright: ~40C

High Speed
Thermography

Visualisation: Equus 110L (IRCAM); bright: ~40C

The protons travel.

water bridge emission
water emission 47C
water emission 37C

5m

3m = 3333 cm -1

thermographic camera 1

norm. emission [arb. units]

thermographic camera 2

Visualisation: Equus 110L (IRCAM);

bright: ~40C
8m

H2O vapor
absorption

CO2 absorption
2400

2200

12m

2000

1800

1600
1400
wavenumber [cm]-1

1200

1000

800

There is an additional, non-thermic infrared emission from travelling protons

These are the protons produced at the anode, and neutralized at the cathode.
E.C. Fuchs, A. Cherukupally, A.H. Paulitsch-Fuchs, L.L.F. Agostinho, A.D. Wexler, J. Woisetschlger and F.T. Freund, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 45 (2012) 475401

Proton neutralization in catholyte

Electrical conduction in water normally involves electrolysis.
Electrolysis entails:
Gas production
pH change

Electrode reactions:
Anode: 2 H2O
O2 + 4 H+ + 4 eCathode: 2 H2O
2e- + H2 + 2 OH-

e-

e-

e-

e-

O2

H2

OH +
H

H2O
Lemniscate flow

Gas is dissolving

Protons are neutralized

Proton neutralization
+ 13 kV

Proton neutralization
+ 13 kV

With and without dye

+ 13 kV

+ 13 kV

OH-

H+

OH-

H+

H+

Other ions
ICP analysis of anloyte and catholyte
Deionized water stored in a glass bottle dissolves ions from the glass
The amount of dissolved CO2 is an order of magnitude larger than the trace element concentration
The amount of dissolved Pt is an order of magnitude smaller than the trace element concentration

Carbon

10

160

g / L

80
40
0

g / L

g / L

120

Platinum

0.6

0.4
0.2
0.0

4
Reference
Anode
Cathode
LOQ

2
0

Na

Mg

Ca

Zn

Pt

Other ions
ICP analysis of anloyte and catholyte
Contribution to the overall conductivity

Na+ K+ Mg2+ Ca2+ Zn2+ Pt2+ H+ OH- HCO3Anode

Reference
HCO3-

Cathode

HCO3-

H+

HCO3-

H+

H+

calculated conductivity
S cm-1

Metal ions: ~ 2%
HCO3-: ~ 10%
Protons: ~ 88%

Reference
Anolyte
Catholyte

0.93 0.05
1.18 0.05
0.98 0.05

measured conductivity
S cm-1
0.93 0.08
1.08 0.08
0.87 0.08

Summary

The electrical conduction in a floating water bridge is protonic

Protons are produced by electrolysis at the anode, travel
through the bridge and are neutralized at the cathode
Because the current is very low (typically <1mA), the amounts
of gasses produced is very small and difficult to detect
Other ions are present, but their role in the conduction is
negligible

Friedemann Freund
Jakob Woisetschlger
...
Martina Sammer
Lukasz Piatkovski
Adam D. Wexler
Huib Bakker
Astrid H. Paulitsch-Fuchs
Philipp Kuntke

combining scientific excellence with commercial relevance

Protons and the electrical conduction in a floating water bridge

1

Elmar C. Fuchs

With cordial gratitude to those who made this research possible and contributed to it:
M. Sammer1, J. Woisetschlger2, A.D. Wexler1, H. Bakker10, L. Rothschild3, F. Freund3, B. Bitschnau4, J. Teixeira5, A. Soper7, E. Del Giudice8, G.
Vitiello9, B. Beuneu5, K. Gatterer4, H. Eisenklbl4, G. Holler6, J. Tuinstra1, C. Buisman1, the companies in the AWP theme, and many more.

1. Wetsus, Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Agora 1, 8900 CC Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
2. Graz University of Technology, Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics, Austria
3. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA, USA
4. Graz University of Technology, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Austria
5. Laboratoire Lon Brillouin, Centre d'tudes Nuclaires de Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
6. Graz University of Technology, Institute of Electrical Measurement and Measurement Signal Processing, Austria
7. ISIS Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0QX, United Kingdon
8. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, Milano - 20133 Italy
9. Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica and INFN, Universit di Salerno, Fisciano (SA) - 84084 Italy
10. FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Thank you for your attention.

combining scientific excellence with commercial relevance