2 ms·

What is structured water?

oersted 6mo ago
Yeah okay... Surprised to see this as the top comment. > Hexagonal water, also known as gel water, structured water, cluster water,[1] H3O2 or H3O2 is a term used in a marketing scam[2][3] that claims the ability to create a certain configuration of water that is better for the body.[4] > The concept of hexagonal water clashes with several established scientific ideas. Although water clusters have been observed experimentally, they have a very short lifetime: the hydrogen bonds are continually breaking and reforming at timescales shorter than 200 femtoseconds.[7] This contradicts the hexagonal water model's claim that the particular structure of water consumed is the same structure used by the body. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_water https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_water
- eru 6mo ago
  Though funnily enough, you can make real 'structured water' at home in your freezer. Making your ice crystals hexagonal is theoretically possible, but it's really, really hard to grow monocrystaline water ice. That might be a really interesting niche hobby, though. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA710QYxEu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA710QYxEu0 for the latter.
  - oersted 6mo ago
    Well yes, that’s in a solid state. Lots of crystals have hexagonal structures since it’s the optimal packing distribution. If “structured water” just means that there are tiny ice crystals in water, sure that’s very plausible, but I doubt it would have much of an effect. PS: Trying to grow crystals of different challenging structures does sound like an awesome hobby.
    - eru 6mo ago
      Oh, the pseudo-science 'structured water' is absolutely bonkers. I just went off on a mildly interesting tangent.
pkghost 6mo ago
A so-called fourth phase of water (liquid, but with some crystalline organization) that grows on hydrophilic surfaces by absorbing ultraviolet and infrared light, and organizes into a honeycomb-like lattice similar to ice, but lacking the H+ binding layers to make it rigid. It has higher viscosity than bulk water, and a net-negative charge. Yes, it's a relatively recent concept (decades) pursued mostly by Gerald Pollack at University of Washington and not widely replicated, though there is some replication that has prompted critical review (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7404113/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7404113/). It's also downstream of work by Albert Szent-Györgyi (Nobel prize for vitamin C) and Gilbert Ling. And, of course, there are a bunch of folks Pollack distances himself from commercializing the concept. From the horse's mouth: https://www.pollacklab.org/research https://www.pollacklab.org/research If I had a coloring book for every person who cited wikipedia as a reliable source on cutting-edge science... I'd have Christmas presents for a bunch of people I don't know!

Yeah okay... Surprised to see this as the top comment. > Hexagonal water, also known as gel water, structured water, cluster water,[1] H3O2 or H3O2 is a term used in a marketing scam[2][3] that claims the ability to create a certain configuration of water that is better for the body.[4] > The concept of hexagonal water clashes with several established scientific ideas. Although water clusters have been observed experimentally, they have a very short lifetime: the hydrogen bonds are continually breaking and reforming at timescales shorter than 200 femtoseconds.[7] This contradicts the hexagonal water model's claim that the particular structure of water consumed is the same structure used by the body. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_water https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_water

eru 6mo ago
Though funnily enough, you can make real 'structured water' at home in your freezer. Making your ice crystals hexagonal is theoretically possible, but it's really, really hard to grow monocrystaline water ice. That might be a really interesting niche hobby, though. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA710QYxEu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA710QYxEu0 for the latter.
- oersted 6mo ago
  Well yes, that’s in a solid state. Lots of crystals have hexagonal structures since it’s the optimal packing distribution. If “structured water” just means that there are tiny ice crystals in water, sure that’s very plausible, but I doubt it would have much of an effect. PS: Trying to grow crystals of different challenging structures does sound like an awesome hobby.
  - eru 6mo ago
    Oh, the pseudo-science 'structured water' is absolutely bonkers. I just went off on a mildly interesting tangent.

pkghost 6mo ago

A so-called fourth phase of water (liquid, but with some crystalline organization) that grows on hydrophilic surfaces by absorbing ultraviolet and infrared light, and organizes into a honeycomb-like lattice similar to ice, but lacking the H+ binding layers to make it rigid. It has higher viscosity than bulk water, and a net-negative charge. Yes, it's a relatively recent concept (decades) pursued mostly by Gerald Pollack at University of Washington and not widely replicated, though there is some replication that has prompted critical review (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7404113/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7404113/). It's also downstream of work by Albert Szent-Györgyi (Nobel prize for vitamin C) and Gilbert Ling. And, of course, there are a bunch of folks Pollack distances himself from commercializing the concept. From the horse's mouth: https://www.pollacklab.org/research https://www.pollacklab.org/research If I had a coloring book for every person who cited wikipedia as a reliable source on cutting-edge science... I'd have Christmas presents for a bunch of people I don't know!