are carbonate solutions alive

8/22/2019 Are Carbonate Solutions Alive

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8 Fall 2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

Carbonates (bicarbonate, carbonicacid, and CO2) are the necessaryconstituents o cell cytoplasm and o

all biological liquids. The bicarbonate con-tent is strictly maintained in the organism.Its deciency results in impaired cell and tis-sue respiration, ollowed by the develop-ment o a variety o pathological states. Both

normal and healing drinking waters are usu-ally bicarbonate solutions, and supplemen-tation with bicarbonate is a universal heal-ing method in complementary medicine.However, the true mechanism o action ocarbonates is still a matter o debate.

We discovered that the addition o ironoxide Fe(II) salts to bicarbonate solutionsinduces a wave o photon emission. The in-tensity o the wave is boosted in the pres-

ence o luminol, the probe or the reactoxygen species (ROS), indicating that spotaneous chain reactions with the particiption o reactive oxygen species take placontinuously in aqueous bicarbonate sotions. The addition o hydrogen peroxi(H2O2) in sub-millimolar (mM) concenttions to 1-5 mM bicarbonate solutions in

ates a process accompanied by spontanous low-level photon emission, whichamplied with luminol.

Hermetically sealed test-tubes containg activated bicarbonate solutions contue to emit photons or many months whkept in complete darkness. Drastic chanes in photon emission rom both plain aactivated bicarbonate solutions were oserved during and ater solar and lun

Are Carbonate SolutionsAlive?

Bicarbonate aqueous systems, the necessaryconstituents of all biological liquids, exhibit a sustainednon-equilibrium state and sensitivity to cosmic events.

byV.L.Voeikov,DoMinhHa,N.D.Vilenskaya,S.I.Malishenko,andE.V.Bouravleva

The authors are rom the Lo-monosovMoscowStateUniversi-ty,FacultyoBiology,inMoscowandcanbereachedviaemailatv109028v1@yandex.ru.Aversionothisarticleappeared

intheItalianpublication La Medic-ina Biologica,Oct.-Dec.2010,pp.45-53. Additional fgures havebeensuppliedbyV.L.Voeikov.

Ian Britton

Solutions o bicarbonates,suchasordinarybakingsoda,showlie-likeproperties.


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21stCenturyScience&Technology Fall 2011 9

eclipses, indicating a very high sensitivity o these highly non-equilibrium, and yet stable, systems to extremely low-inten-sity natural actors.

Such properties o bicarbonate aqueous systems imply thatthey have a complex dynamic structure, that they acquire a con-tinuous supply o energy rom the environment, and that theymay be sensitive to extremely low-intensity resonant actors. Thebehavior o these systems agrees with the theory o coherent do-mains developed by G. Preparata and E. Del Giudice.

The mechanism to explain the long-lasting eects o solar andlunar eclipses on photon emission rom aqueous systems can beconsidered only hypothetically at this point. Both events repre-sent special cases o gravitational infuence upon the Earth. It isclear that the direct eect o variations in the gravitational attrac-tion upon water samples is practically negligible. However, thetotal eect on such a massive body as the Earth may result inchanges in the parameters o maniold physical elds associatedwith it, which, in turn, may trigger changes in the behavior onon-equilibrium aqueous systems. It should be noted that cos-mic events may infuence the behavior o practically all non-equilibrium aqueous systems on the Earth, including water inliving organisms, and may produce long-lasting eects in them.

IntroductionAccording to Ervin Bauers major principle o theoretical bi-

ology, the Principle o Stable Non-equilibrium:

Living systems are unique in that they are never atequilibrium. They perorm work against equilibrium,ceaselessly, and in a manner demanded by the physicaland chemical laws appropriate to the actual externalconditions.1

In other words, in order to maintain the stability o its non-equilibrium state, a living system transorms allo its ree energyinto work aimed at sustaining or changing its parameters in re-

sponse to changing conditions. The non-equilibrium state o mat-ter, in the sense o Bauers principle, is an excited state, in whichthe structure o matter and its properties dier signicantly romthose characteristic o the equilibrium (ground) state o the samematter. Stable non-equilibrium is displayed at all levels o organi-zation o a living system, including the molecular one.

Water is, by ar, the dominant molecular constituent o all liv-ing systems. On a molar basis, water constitutes more than 99percent o the molecules o any living cell and o the extracel-lular matrix. Biological molecules can exert their unctions onlyin aqueous milieu; no biological processes can occur in a sys-tem whose water content is below a certain threshold.2,3 Thus,water should participate directly both in keeping living matter

. E.S. Bauer, 935. Theoretical Biology. (Moscow-Leningrad: VIEM PublishingHouse). (see also V.L. Voeikov, E. Del Giudice, 009. Water RespirationTheBasis o the Living State,WATER; A Multidisciplinary Research Journal, Vol. ,No. (July), pp. 5-75.)

. J.S. Clegg, A.C. Zettlemoyer, H.H. Hsing, 978. On the residual water con-tent o dried but viable cells. Experientia, Vol. 34, No. 6, p. 734.

3. N. Marchettini , E. Del Giudice, V. Voeikov, E. Tiezzi, 00. Water : A mediumwhere dissipative structures are produced by a coherent dynamicsJ. Theoret.Biology, doi:0.06/j.jtbi.00.05.0

in the excited state, and in the perormance o its work against

equilibrium.Living systems belong to the class oconfnedopensystems

(the term coined by Pro. E. Tiezzi4). The term openmeans thatthey are able to exchange energy and matter with their environ-ment, and to receive inormation about changes in their envi-ronment and react to this inormation by adaptation o theirinternal processes. Basically, all vital processes may be seen asprocesses o energy gain and transormation: The conversion odierent orms o potential energy into ree energy and o thelatter into the work against equilibrium which is demanded bythe physical and chemical laws appropriate to the actual exter-nal conditions.

The term confnedmeans that a system has boundaries and is

segregated rom its environment. Vital processes take place inthe conned space o living systems. The internal space o livingsystems represents a gel-like aqueous phase5 (more preciselymultiple aqueous phases) ormed by the indissoluble union oorganic molecules and the water in which they are imbedded.

4. E. Tiezzi, G. Cecconi, N. Marchettini, 00. Conned ontic open systems.Int. J. of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics, Vol. 5, No. , pp. 3-9.

5. G.H. Pollack, 00. Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life: A New Unifying Ap-proach to Cell Function. (Seattle: Ebner and Sons).

DrawingsbyErnstHaeckeloourmedusa-likeorganisms,Dis-comedusae,asubclassojellyfsh.Theremaybeasmanyas2,000moleculesowateroreverymoleculeolivingcarboninorganismslikethese.
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The major organic molecules responsible or structuring theinternal space o living systems are the acidic polysaccha-rides and collagen-like proteins. In some cases (or exam-ple, in medusa-like animals, such as jellysh) these sub-stances may bind up to 2,000 parts o water per 1 part oorganic carbon,6 and this living water exhibits the samevitality as in any other organism. Thus, living systems maybe provisionally dened as organic(carbonaceous)aque-oussystems in a persistent state o energy transormation.

Although we encounter an enormous diversity o livingsystems expressing an overwhelming complexity o dynam-ic structure and vital activities, the undamental principleso their structure and mechanisms o activity should be com-mon to all. We believe that these principles can be traced toconned aqueous systems containing carbonaceous com-pounds, in the simplest case, inorganic carbonates. Here wepresent evidence that aqueous bicarbonate solutions repre-sent stable non-equilibrium systems. Further, one o the in-trinsic properties o living systems is their ability to react toextremely low-intensity external actorsinormationalstimuli. Indeed, we have observed changes in the behav-ior o non-equilibrium bicarbonate solutions in response to

cosmic events, in particular to lunar and solar eclipses.

TheNon-equilibriumStateofWaterAny real water sample is never a homogenous collection o

water molecules interacting exclusively with each other. Rather

6. M.R. Reeve, M.A. Syms, P. and Kremer, 989. Growth dynamics o a cteno-phore (Mnemiopsis) in relation to variable ood supply, I.Carbon biomass, eed-ing, egg production, growth and assimilation eciency, J. Plankton Res., Vol., p. 535-55.

it represents an aqueoussystem that is intrinsically heterogneous or at least two reasons.

The rst reason is that liquid water always resides in a vessSome water is adjacent to the boundaries o the vessel, andthe water-air (gas) interace; other water molecules are locatat a certain distance rom the boundaries. Recently, G.H. Plack and his group have demonstrated convincingly that wanear the boundaries orms a peculiar phase with many propties dierent rom that o the bulk water at a distance ro

St.DavidSpring,nearMoscow,whichisenrichedwithbicarbonatesomag-nesiumandcalcium.

Figure1INTERFACIALWATER(EXCLUSIONZONEWATER)

InteracialorEZwaterisdierentrombulkwaterindensity,reezing temperature, relative permittivity, viscosity, and(lower)structuraltemperature.Itisdynamicallyorganized,liquidcrystalline,quasi-polymeric,coherentwater.

Interacial Bulk

these suraces.7 Depending upon the propertiesthe wetted surace, the thickness o this phase mreach hundreds o microns.

The second reason is that even ultra-pure wa

always contains impurities. These may include tgases dissolved in it, ionic and molecular species, athe products o water dissociation (H3O

+ and OHDuring a long history o water research, it has beshown that even the tiniest impurities can signicaly change the colligative properties o water. Recely, direct visualization has demonstrated the prence o stable-water-clusters o tens o nanometersmicron size in very dilute sodium chloride solution

The common eature o the interacial aqueophase (named Exclusion Zone water, or EZ-watby Pollack), and the stable water clusters visualizby Lo et al., is that both possess negative electric

potential, reaching ractions o volts, in respectbulk water. (See Figure 1.) That means that a

7. J.M. Zheng, W.C. Chin, E. Khijniak, E. Khijniak, Jr., and GPollack, 006. Suraces and interacial water: Evidence thydrophilic suraces have long-range impact, Adv. Colloidterface Sci., Vol. 3, pp. 9-7.

8. S.Y. Lo, X. Geng, and D. Gann, 009. Evidence or the extence o stable-water-clusters at room temperature and norpressure,Physics Letters A. Vol. 373, pp. 387-3876.


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real water is a non-equilibrium system in which highelectrical and other gradients always exist between di-erent aqueous phases. It is important to stress here thatsuch properties o aqueous systems have been predict-ed by G. Preparata and E. Del Giudice, in their Quan-tum Electrodynamics coherence theory o the con-densed state o matter.9 I the conditions or the fow oelectrons rom negatively charged water to electronacceptors are present, potential energy may be re-

leased as ree energy, and work may be perormedboth within the system and in its surrounding environ-ment.

A natural electron acceptor whose reduction givesthe highest yield o ree energy is oxygen. It is alwayspresent in water, even i in minute quantities, becauseunder relatively mild conditions water can split andproduce oxygen.10 Many impurities, such as nano-and micro-bubbles, nanoparticles, and ions acilitatethis process. Thus, EZ-water in contact with bulk wa-ter containing dissolved oxygen represents a donor-acceptor pair, and, under appropriate conditions, thecomplete oxygen-reduction reaction may proceed within it:

2H2O (EZ-water) + O2 O2 + 2H2O (Bulk water) + nhn(Energy)

Although the molecular species on the let and right sides othis equation are the same (water and oxygen), a high-grade,highly condensed energy o electron excitation (a total o up to8 eV per O2 molecule) may be donated by this reaction. Water

9. R. Arani, I. Bono, E. Del Giudice, G. Preparata, 995. QED Coherence andthe Thermodynamics o Water, Int. J. Modern Phys. Vol. B9, pp. 83-84.

0. V.L Voeikov, 006. Biological signicance o active oxygen-dependent pro-cesses in aqueous systems. In Water and the Cell, eds. G. Pollack, I. Camer-on, and D. Wheatley (The Netherlands, Springer Press, pp. 85-98).

on the let side o the equation (in bold) belongs to a stable

non-equilibrium (excited) structure, that is, EZ-water. Water onthe right side o the equation is ground-state (bulk) water. It isthe structural energy o EZ-water that is released when watermolecules belonging to this stable, non-equilibrium structurerevert to ground-state water molecules.

The process o EZ-water burning (meaning oxygen re-duction by electrons extracted rom the uel) outlined inthe equation in Figure 2 shows some ideal situation thatprobably cannot be realized in pure water. Certain cata-lysts are needed or the process o water burning to pro-ceed eciently. The most common impurities that mayserve as catalysts or the processes related to water splittingand burning are the members o the carbonate amily:

AuthorVoeikov(let)andhiscollaboratorDoMinhHaattheLomonosovMoscowStateUniverity.Voeikovispicturedwithamolecularmodelo``structuredhexagonalwater(ice).Thelargeballsareoxygen,thesmallonesarehydrogen.Theredsticksdepicthydrogenbonds.

Figure2THEPRINCIPLEOFWATERBURNING

Burningreerstotheoxygenreductionbyelectronsthatareab-stractedromtheuel.Itrequirescatalysts,suchasimpuritiesandcarbonates,toproceedefciently.

Negatively charged interacial water (IF water) Bulk water (B-water)


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CO2 + H2O H2CO3 HCO3 +H+

Carbonates are present in practically all aqueous systems,because o the very high solubility o CO2 in water and thewide distribution o carbonates in nature. More and more ex-perimental data are demonstrating a very important unctionalrole or carbonates, particularly bicarbonates, in a variety obiochemical reactions, including the undamental processes ophotosynthesis11 and respiration.

CarbonatesPromoteRespiration

According to textbook knowledge, cellular respiration is theprocess o energy gain caused by the oxidation (burning) o sug-ars and ats by oxygen. In this process, organic molecules serveas donors o hot electrons; oxygen accepts them, turning intowater; and the energy released is used to propel vital unctions.However, even when uel and oxygen are not limited, respira-tion may be halted i the living system is severely decient ocarbonates. Thus, carbonates present in water may participatein (bio)energetic processes based on respiration on a very un-damental level.

At the end o the 19th Century, the Swiss biologist FriedrichMiescher discovered that the intensity o physiological respira-tion (breathing) depended much more strongly on small chang-

es in the CO2 content in alveolar air, than on the oxygen con-tent in the inhaled air. He described this in a poetic phrase:Carbon dioxide spreads its protective wings over the bodysoxygen supplyespecially as it cares or the brain. . . .12

. P.A. Castelranco, Y.-K. Lu, A.J. Stemler, 007. Hypothesis: the per-oxydicarbonic acid cycle in photosynthetic oxygen evolution, Photosynth.Res., Vol. 94, pp. 35-46.

. F. Miescher, 885. Bemerkungen zur Lehre von den Athembewegungen,Arch. Anat. Physiol. Physiol Abth. 3555. 885.

Later, prominent physiologists Christian Bohr, John Haldanand Yandell Henderson conrmed that carbonates are no less tal to lie than oxygen. Bohr and Haldane discovered that carbdioxide regulates oxygen binding to hemoglobin, and viceverHenderson claimed that CO2 (and carbonates in general) is tmajor hormone o the body; that it is produced in every tissand exerts its eects on all the tissues; and that a decrease o cbonates below some critical level, especially in the brain, mresult in atigue and death due to cessation o respiration.13

Henderson supposed that the eect o carbonates is medied by their regulation o acid-base balance, but he also notthat carbonates may exert some more specic action upon mlecular targets.

In act, it was demonstrated that CO2 and bicarbonates suport respiration in isolated leucocytes,14 and are necessary DNA replication and cell division in primary cultures o ekaryotic cells.15,16 There are multiple mechanisms or the ation o carbonates on the cellular level. One o them may related to the reaction o CO2 with the amino groups in petides and proteins, orming unstable carbamino adducts:

Protein-(NH2) + CO2 Protein-NH-COOH ProteNH-COO + H+

Generally, the activity and stability o modied proteins aincreased.17

In light o what was said above about interacial water, itinteresting to speculate that the net increase in the negaticharge o carbamylated proteins may promote the building o additional layers o EZ-water around them, resulting in tenergizing o such an aqueous system.

Another important property o carbonates is less acknowedged. Carbonates modulate oxidation, peroxidation, and tration both invivo, and invitro.The carbonates possess suchproperty because they react with the active oxygen speciand turn into relatively long-living and more selectively actiree radicals18 and peroxycarbonates.19 In particular, they ex

striking eects on the activity o the enzymes involved in tmetabolism o the reactive oxygen species.

3. Y. Henderson, 938. Adventures in Respiration: Modes of Asphyxiation aMethods of Resuscitation(Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins).

4. W. Bicz, 960. The infuence o carbon dioxide tension on the respirationormal and leukemic human leukocytes. I. Infuence on endogenous resption, Cancer Res., Vol. 0, pp. 84-90.

5. T. Mitaka, G.L. Sattler, H.C. Pitot, 99. The bicarbonate ion is essentiaecient dna synthesis by primary cultured rat hepatocytes, In Vitro Cell. DBiol., Vol. 7A, pp. 549-556. 0

6. R.S. Chang, H. Liepius, M. Margolish, 96. Carbon dioxide requiremand nucleic acid metabolism o HeLa and conjunctival cells, Proc. Soc. E

Biol. Med., Vol. 06, pp. 49-5.

7. J.S. Morrow, P. Keim, F.R. Gurd,974. CO adducts o certain amino acpeptides, and sperm whale myoglobin studied by carbon 3 and proton nuclmagnetic resonance, J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 49, pp. 7484-94.

8. D.B. Medinas, G. Cerchiaro, D.F. Trindade, O. Augusto, 007. The carbate radical and related oxidants derived rom bicarbonate buer. Critical view, IUBMP Life, Vol. 59, pp. 55-6.

9. M.G. Bonini, S.A. Gabel, K. Ranguelova, K. Stadler, E. DeRose. Dirmagnetic resonance evidence or peroxymonocarbonate involvement in Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase peroxidase catalytic cycle. http://www.jbc.ocgi/doi/0.074/jbc.M80464400

Luminol(C8H7N3O2)exhibitschemiluminescence,givingoablueglowwhenitismixedwithanoxidizingagent.Presenceo

Luminolboostedtheintensityothephotonemission-waveinthebicarbonatesolutions.
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The least, but probably not the last, is the ability o carbon-ates to participate directly in the synthetic reactions which giverise to the organic compounds, and in the processes in which(bio)polymers originate.20

Thus, carbonates are needed or multiple vital processes, andespecially or the most basic onerespiration, both on the or-ganismal and cellular levels. Inasmuch as a signicant part oconsumed oxygen is reduced by one electron, and spent or

combustion, and since water in principle may be used as a uel,it can not be excluded that carbonate solutions may themselvesrespire.

IntrinsicActivityofAqueousBicarbonateSolutionsPlainBicarbonateSolutions. Using sensitive single photon

counters we ound that a wave o photon emission in the visi-ble range o the electromagnetic spectrum may be initiated inbicarbonate artesian waters and in aqueous bicarbonate solu-tions, ollowing the addition o Fe(II) salts (FeSO4 or FeCl2) inconcentrations as low as 5 M (micromoles). The intensity othe photon emission-wave was increased in the presence oluminol, the probe or the reactive oxygen species (Figure 3).

The development o a luminol-amplied photon emission-wave rom bicarbonate solutions o Fe(II) salts, indicated thatspontaneous chain reactions with the participation o reactiveoxygen species continuously take place in aqueous bicarbon-ate solutions. The amplitude o the wave and its duration wasdependent upon bicarbonate concentration. The addition oFe(II) to a bicarbonate solution, ater the decay o the rst pho-

0. M.F. Guly, D.A. Melnichuk, 978. The role o carbon dioxide in the regula-tion o metabolism in heterotrophic organisms, Naukova Dumka, Kiev.

ton emission-wave, could in-duce the appearance o a newphoton emission-wave, withthe same or even higher inten-sity as the previous one; this e-ect could be reproduced manytimes.

Just ater the bottle with bi-carbonate artesian water was

opened, the amplitude o pho-ton emission-waves was low.But provided that the water wasin contact with the surroundingair, the wave amplitude in-creased and reached a quasi-stationary level, displaying cir-cadian variations (Figure 4).However, in the experiment il-lustrated in Figure 4, when theactivity o the water was moni-tored several times a day or 11days, a strong decline in the

amplitude o the induced pho-ton-emission-wave was ob-served ater 6 days.

The minimal amplitude o thephoton emission-wave coincid-ed with the time o the New

Moon (16:00-18:00 hours on Aug. 8, 2002), but two days laterthe amplitude returned to the same level as beore.Bicarbonate Solutions Activated with Hydrogen Peroxide.

When hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was added to 1-5 mM bicar-bonate solutions in nal concentrations as small as 0.001-

Figure3PHOTONEMISSIONINBICARBONATEWATERS

Shownhereschematicallyistheadditionoironoxide,FeII,saltsincatalyticquantitiestobicarbonatewater,whichresultsinthedevelopmentoawaveoLuminol-amplifedphotoemissionromthewater.Thisindicatesthatprocessesinwhichreactiveoxygenspeciesparticipategooncontinuouslyinbicarbonatewaters.

Reagentadded to water

Reagent added to water:(FeSO4 ( to 0 M) Luminol (5 to 5 M))

Photo

multipliertube

Data processing

Time series

Counts/sec

Time (sec)

Emissionintensity

Figure4CHANGESOFSPRINGWATERPROPERTIES

COINCIDEWITHNEWMOONLong-termmonitoringospringwaterwiththeadditiono Fe(II) and Luminol reveals circadian rhythms andstrongchangesowaterpropertiescoincidingwiththeNewMoon.Abottlewithnaturalspringmineralwaterwasopenedaweekbeorezerotime,Aug.8,2002at00.00.

0 4 48 7 96 0 44 68 9 6 40 64

75000

65000

55000

45000

35000

5000

5000

Waveamplitude(CPS)

A bottle with natural spring mineral water was openeda week beore zero time (0/08000 00:00)

New MoonAug. 8, 00

6:00-8:00 hrs


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0.0005 percent, stable luminol-amplied phton emission could be observed even in tabsence o a metal. Depending on the initconcentration o the H2O2, the photon emissicould increase or decrease or 1-2 days, beostabilizing around some mean level. Figure 5lustrates that a test-tube with 1 ml o 5-mM NaCO in distilled, deionized water can serve assource o photon emission or more than o

year.It should be mentioned that the reaction s

tems were kept in tightly closed test tubes sealed ampoules, to prevent any exchangegases with the environment. Although photemission intensity obviously declined ater months o observations, it was still 25- to 5old higher than the dark current o the phomultiplier.

In the experimental setup illustrated in Figu5, occasional measurements o photon emsion were perormed during the period o oservations. To exclude the eects o handli

the samples and their exposure to ambient ligbetween measurements, a test-tube containithe active solution was placed into a singphoton counter chamber, and continuous mesurement o the photon emission was pormed or several weeks. Under conditionscomplete deprivation o ambient light, the a

erage intensity o photon emsion rom the active solution wrather stable, although some ccadian variations around tmean value could be observ(Figure 6a).

However, during the ne

week, drastic changes in tphoton emission patterns rothe same sample were observ(Figure 6b). These changes corelated with specic time poicharacteristic o the lunar eclipthat started in Moscow on Fe9, 2009, at 17:34 P.M. The phton emission intensity began increase exactly at this momeo time. At 19:38, at the momeo totality, a spike on the kinecurve was observed (see rst

sert in Figure 6b). Ater the eo the lunar eclipse, the photemission intensity did not dcrease to its initial values, boscillated in a pronounced ccadian pattern with the intensexceeding the previous one two- to three-old. Two days ter the start o the Mooeclipse, the photon emissi

Figure6(a)AVERAGEINTENSITYOFPHOTONEMISSION

InanexperimentalsetuplikeFigure5,abicarbonatesolutionactivatedonNov.11,2008wasmonitoredcontinuouslyromJan.26,2009.Toexcludeanyhandlingorlighteects,atest-tubewiththesolutionwasplacedintoasinglephotocounterchamber,incompletedeprivationoambientlight.Theemissionswereratherstable,butthereweresomecircadianvariationsaroundthemeanvalue.

Figure5HYDROGENPEROXIDE-ACTIVATEDBICARBONATESOLUTION

BURNSFORMORETHANAYEARInthisexperiment,hydrogenperoxidewasaddedtoabicarbonatesolu-

tion(NaHCO3)o5mM,onOct.14,2008,andcontinuedemittingpho-tonsormorethanayear.Photonemissioncouldincreaseordecrease(dependingontheinitialconcentrationoH2O2)oronetotwodays,andthenstabilizearoundsomemeanlevel.Thereactionsystemwaskeptinatightlyclosedtesttubeorsealedampoule,topreventanyex-changeogaseswiththeenvironment.

008 009 00

C

ounts/sec

Date


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dropped to the level preceding theeclipse.

It is notable that exactly 48 hours atertotality, at 19:38 on February 11, a spikesimilar to the one observed at the mo-ment o total eclipse again appeared onthe curve (see second insert in Figure 6b,and Figure 6c). Three days ater theMoons eclipse, the photon emission in-tensity again rose more than two-old,and two hours later it ell back to the ini-tial level. During the next three days, oc-

casional spikes were observed on the ki-netic curve.

A reaction o activated bicarbonatesolution to the solar eclipse was alsoregistered (Figure 7). This time, theH2O2-activated bicarbonate solutionwas prepared in a 10-mm 10-mm 40-mm glass cuvette. The cuvette wasinstalled in a thermostatic jacket thatwas xed in the chamber o a singlephoton detector. The jacket was kept atconstant temperature (20C 0.1C),with the help o fow-through water.

For continuous temperature measure-ments, a thermosensor (a germaniumdiode) was placed in the solution. Pho-ton emission rom the active bicarbon-ate solution and the signal rom theGe-diode were recorded simultane-ously.

It can be seen in plots presented inFigure 7 that the average temperature inthe solution, ater its equilibration with

Figure6(b)CHANGESINPHOTONEMISSIONINTENSITYATTIMEOFLUNARECLIPSE

Photon emissions rom thesampleinFigure6(a)changeddrastically on Feb. 9, 2009,

with the beginning oa lunareclipseinMoscow.AsplashontheemissioncurveoccurredatthemomentwhentheMoonseclipsewastotal.Atertheendo the eclipse, photon emis-sionsoscillatedinacircadianpattern, dropping to the pre-eclipse level ater two days,withperiodicsplashes.

Figure6(c)PHOTONEMISSIONBEFOREANDAFTERTHELUNARECLIPSE

Comparedhereisphotonemissionromthesamesampleortheweekpreced-ing(top)andtheweekollowingthelunareclipse.

Beginning o lunareclipse, Feb. 9, 009,

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the jacket temperature (Figure 7a), was raer stable (20C) during the whole periodobservation (January 13-17, 2010). Tempature fuctuations around the set value werather small during the rst 40 hours and tlast 10-13 hours o monitoring, althouoccasional temperature splashes coincing with the splashes in photon emissiwere observed.

The pattern o temperature variatiochanged suddenly at 08:30 on January (Figure 7b). It is notable that on Jan. 12010, there was an annular eclipse o tSun in the equatorial region o the Earth.

though it was not observed in Moscowull eclipse at Moscows longitude (37.5took place at 05:30 universal time (08:Moscow time). Exactly at this moment, tamplitude o fuctuations o the signal rothe Ge-probe began to elevate. The swingthe signal rom the Ge-diode increased ding the next two days, and by the eveningJanuary 16 and night o January 17, the aplitude o oscillations reached values equalent to consecutive heating and coolingthe solution in the range o 4.2C! (Figu7d)

Close to two days ater their emergenthe fuctuations in the signal disappeareIt is interesting to note here that the crease in photon emission intensity rothe active bicarbonate solution also lastor about two days ater the lunar eclip(Figure 6b).

Since the periods o typical fuctuationsthe Ge-probe signal were in the range o1.5 minutes (see, or example, Figure

Figure7(a-d)BEHAVIOROFBICARBONATESOLUTIONBEFORE,DURING,

ANDAFTERTHEANNULARSOLARECLIPSEONJAN.15,2010

InthisexperimentanH2O2-activatedcar-bonatesolutionwaspreparedinaglasscu-

vette,whichwastheninstalledinathermo-staticjacketfxedinthechamberoasinglephoton detector. The temperature o thejacketwaskeptconstant, andtemperatureuctuationsweremeasuredwithathermo-sensor. Bothphoton emissions (blue) andtemperature(red) increased at thestart otheannularsolareclipse.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)


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with the astest fuctuations lasting or only 20 seconds, they arevery unlikely to refect the cycles o heating and cooling o thesolution in the thermostatted cuvette, because a water thermo-stat is unable to produce such ast temperature variations. Onthe other hand, one should take into account that the Ge-diodecommonly used as a temperature sensor is in act a photodiode,sensitive to the near-inrared part o the electromagnetic spec-trum. In this part o the electromagnetic spectrum, water is thenearly exclusive absorber (and, obviously, emitter) o photons.

Having this in mind, it is interesting to speculate that the pro-

ound fuctuations o the Ge-diode signal observed in Figure 7are marking variations in near-inrared radiation in the vicinityo this probe. Such variations may originate rom collective ex-citations and de-excitations o water domains, i they have di-mensions comparable to the dimensions o the germaniumprobe (at least, ractions o a millimeter).79

That the oscillations o the signal are artiacts rom the Ge-diode is unlikely, because in some cases these temperatureoscillations coincided with photon emission oscillations,

while in others there was no such correlation. Indeed, as may

Figure7(e)ANNULARECLIPSEOFTHESUNJAN.15,2010

TheullsolareclipsetookplaceatMoscowslongitude(37.5Eat8:30Moscowtime(5:30universaltime).

Figure8RELATIONSHIPBETWEENTHETWOSIGNALSATTIME

OFSOLARECLIPSEOne-hour ragmento simulta-neousrecordingophotonemis-sion, and the signal rom theGe-diodethermosensorduringthe period opronouncedos-cillations o photon emission.

Note the signifcant elevationothesignalromtheGe-diodeat08:3017/01,2010,exactly48hours aterthemomentothetotalsolareclipseeventatthelongitudeoMoscow.Notealsotheperiodsocorrelationsand anticorrelations betweenthetwosignals.


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be observed in Figure 7(a-d), splashes o signalsrom the Ge-diode coincided with the splasheso photon emission during the calm periods (Jan-uary 13, 14, and 17). However, the most pro-nounced correlations (and anti-correlations) be-tween the two signals were observed duringthe period o decay o fuctuations o the Ge-di-ode signal (Figure 8).

Here one can see both the proound, more orless regular fuctuations o photon emission in-tensity and synchronous fuctuations o the sig-nal rom the Ge-diode. It should be stressed thatsuch fuctuations in photon emission intensitymay be registered only i the processes resultingin photon emission go on collectively in thewhole volume o the solution, because the pho-ton emission is registered not at a local site, butrom the whole surace o the cuvette acing thephotomultiplier.

Coincidences in the oscillations o both signalsprobably indicate that energy in the orm o pho-

tons is released both in the visible and near-inra-red ranges o the spectrum, more or less coher-ently.

Non-EquilibriumandWaterBurningOur data indicate that even common bicar-

bonate solutions display stable, non-equilibriumproperties, which can be revealed by the appearance o awave o photon emission occurring ater the addition o asmall quantity o an electron donor, Fe(II). Bicarbonate aque-ous solutions activated with small quantities o hydsrogenperoxide (H2O2) demonstrate stable non-equilibrium muchmore impressively.

There are many known chemiluminescent systems in which

ree radical reactions proceed. However, in the vast majority ocases luminescence ades out as the reagents are exhausted.The activated bicarbonate solutions described here preservethe capability or spontaneous photon emission or manymonths, in complete darkness, and under conditions when ex-change o matter (oxygen, water vapor, volatile reaction prod-ucts) with the environment does not occur. That means that theprocesses accompanied by the generation o energy o electronexcitation proceed continuously, and in a cyclic-like manner inthese systems, without irreversible consumption o any re-agents.

Further, the system can accumulate the high-density energythat it generates, because it can react to subtle irritations by

strong and prolonged rises in photon emission intensity.It is premature to suggest a more detailed model o the

processes responsible or this permanently excited state oactivated bicarbonate solutions, and or its continuouspumping. However, some preconditions that should be tak-en into account in developing such a model should be men-tioned.

Aqueous systems can be regarded in rst approximation asconsisting o two-phases. One o the phases is represented asan organized quasi-liquid crystalline aqueous phase having the

properties o a reducer. The other phase is a more gas-like wter, containing the terminal oxidizer, oxygen.

Carbonates present in such water may perorm several untions simultaneously. CO2 may support water structuring,

21 astructured water splits more easily under the action o multipphysical actors. Water splitting results in the appearance o rradicals (H atoms and hydroxyl radicals), and HCO3

is easoxidized by a hydroxyl radical (HO), turning into a carbona

radical CO3.The latter may participate in multiple reactions. In partic

lar, the carbonate radical may support organized water odation, by oxidizing hydrogen peroxide that is always preent in water, even in trace quantities,22 and recombiningater the emergence o organic compounds, such as oxocbons.23

As a result, a network o coupled and mutually supportiredox reactions emerges; the energy yield or most o themin the range o the energy o electronic excitation. Thus, cabonates may act as intermediates between reagents and proucts o the ideal reaction o water burning outlined above. Othe one hand, they diminish the energy o activation or t

reaction; and on the other, they introduce new cycling p

. L. Pauling, 96. A molecular theory o general anesthesia, Science, V34, pp. 5-.

. G.G. Komissarov, 003. Photosynthesis: Physical-chemical approa(Moscow: URSS, pp. 54-70).

3. P. Mazellier, E. Leroy, J. De Laat, B. Legube, 00. Transormation o cbendazim induced by the HO/UV system in the presence o hydrogenocbonate ions: Involvement o the carbonate radical,New J. Chem., Vol. 6, 784-790.

Figure9BURNINGREQUIRESTHEPRESENCEOFCATALYSTS

Shownistheoverallreactionointeracial(IF)andbulkwaterwiththeintroductionocarbonatecatalysts,whichprovideacapabilityorproto-respiration.Theauthorsstate,Ithesystemhasaccesstonitrogenandothernon-organiccompounds,itmaygrowandde-velop(evolve),turningatacertainstageoitsdevelopmentintoa

proto-organism.Althoughsuchsystemsevolveinasel-organizedashionduetotheirintrinsicactivity,theirbehaviorismodifedbythe external inormational inuences to which they are alwaysopen.


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cesses into the system. They enrich the network o redox reac-tions in the system and make it more stable. Thus, (bi)carbonatesmay be regarded as peculiar catalysts o (reversible) waterburning.

Regarding the role o H2O2, it is important to stress that thereactions o combustion generally proceed as branching (ava-lanche-like) chain reactions, and obey particular laws pertain-ing to such processes.24 Combustion may start only when the

oxygen concentration exceeds a threshold, and a certain trig-gering stimulus (a spark) with high enough potential is need-ed or its initiation. H2O2 probably carries out this dual roleintroduced into a bicarbonate solution. Part o it is decom-posed with an energy release which acts as the spark, or trig-ger. At the same time, the initial level o oxygen in the solutionincreases over the threshold needed or the kindling o thechain reaction.

When burning is initiated, the energy released promotesexcitation o both the uel and oxygen, resulting in reinorce-ment or invigoration o the burning process. (See Figure 9.)When the availability o either oxygen or electrons alls be-low threshold levels, burning is dampened. During this pe-

riod, oxygena product o the reaction outlined aboveagain accumulates, and a new wave o water burning mayarise. Thus the process could become oscillatory.25 In turn,energy will be released in an oscillatory manner and mayserve as a pacemaker or coupled reactions. On the otherhand, the oscillatory character o the processes occurringin such systems permit their responsiveness to resonant e-ectors.

SourceofEnergyWhatever mechanism is producing the stable non-equilib-

rium state o bicarbonate aqueous systems, its capability toinduce permanent photon emission demands a permanentsupply o energy. The natural source or this energy, that is al-

ways available, is the thermal bath in which the system re-sides. Pollack and associates have shown that the structuraltemperature o exclusion-zone (EZ) water is lower than that othe less organized water with which it is in contact.7 Hence, atemperature gradient exists between these two water phases,and EZ-water can continuously draw heat energy (inrared-ra-diation) rom the environment and transorm it into energy oa much higher potentialthe energy o electron excitationwhich appears as radiation in the visible and ultraviolet-rangeo the spectrum. From this, it ollows that bicarbonate solu-tions represent step-upenergytransormers, rather than ener-gy generators.

Exact temporal coincidences o the changes in pattern o

photon emission (Figures 4 and 6b) and the amplitude o oscil-lations o (presumably) the excitations in the near-inrared

4. V.L. Voeikov, V.I. Naletov, 998. Weak Photon Emission o Non-LinearChemical Reactions o Amino Acids and Sugars in Aqueous Solutions. Evi-dence or Sel-Organizing Chain Processes with Delayed Branching, In Bio-photons, eds. Jiin-Ju Chang, Joachim Fisch, Fritz-Albert Popp. (Dortrecht, TheNetherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers) pp. 93-08.

5. V.L. Voeikov, V.V. Koldunov, D.S. Kononov, 00. Long-Duration Oscilla-tions o Chemiluminescence During the AminoCarbonyl Reaction in AqueousSolutions,Russ. J. Phys. Chem., Vol. 75, pp. 443-448.

range (Figure 7) with cosmic events can hardly be explained aschance or coincidence. In act, the dependence o processes inaqueous systems upon cosmic events was rst conclusivelydemonstrated by Proessor Giorgio Piccardi, who discoveredthe eect o Solar activity on the behavior o colloidal solu-tions.26 Regarding this experimentally demonstrated eect, henoted:

. . .[I]t must be taken into account rom an ecological-climatic point o view, because everything that is madeup o water or which contains watersolutions, colloidalsolutions, suspensionsis subject to the same activityrom space (inparticular,theactionotheSun ) as areliving organisms, and is modied as a result. Thus, thewater o rivers, lakes, seas, marshes, and ponds, theirinorganic, organic, and biological colloids, clay sedi-ment, mud, in short what is ound in a dispersed state andwhich has not yet attained a state o thermodynamic equi-librium.25 (p. 127)

The mechanism to explain the long-lasting eects o solar

and lunar eclipses on photon emission rom aqueous sys-tems, can be considered only hypothetically at this point.Both events represent special cases o gravitational infuenceupon the Earth. It is clear that the direct eect o variations ogravitation upon water samples is practically negligible.However, the eect on such a massive body as the Earth mayresult in changes in the parameters o maniold physicalelds associated with this body, and these variations maytrigger changes in the behavior o non-equilibrium aqueoussystems.

It should be noted that cosmic events may infuence the be-havior o practically all non-equilibrium aqueous systems onthe Earth, including the water in living organisms, and producelong-lasting eects in them.

To conclude: Aqueous systems in which a stable non-equilibrium phase o organized water and a much less orga-nized phase o bulk water coexist, and in which oxygen (itsactive species), and protons (hydroxonium ions) are present,are capable o a sort oproto-respiration catalyzed by car-bonates. I the system has access to nitrogen and other non-organic compounds, it may grow and develop (evolve),changing at a certain stage o its development into a proto-organism.

It should be stressed that such systems evolve because otheir intrinsic activity, provided by the inherent properties owater and carbonates, rather than rom the action o externalorces upon them. However, their behavior is modied by ex-

ternal inormational infuences to which they are always open.This behavior represents the phenomenon o true sel-organiza-tion that gives rise to the emergence o more and more complexsystems, which are basically similar to each other, but possessindividuality, providing or the emergence o diversity, biodi-versity, in particular.

6. G. Piccardi, 96. The Chemical Basis of Medical Climatology(Springeld,Ill.: Charles C. Thomas Publisher).

are carbonate solutions alive

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