Hi Everyone. My name is Terry Dixon. I am new to this Forum and been emailing Jeff Nading back and forth. I gave him some information about Air and Water Ionization that he ask that I post for everyone to see.
First let me explain my background. For the past 35 years, I have worked as a Service Engineer for several large companies working on GC, LC, Infrared detectors, Dual monochrometer UV Vis light detectors, and lastly Mass Specs.
My last job was with Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Senior Mass Spec Engineer.
Jeff had sent me a link to some of Stan's more complete explanation of his work on Video and I found them very interesting. The process of Electro statically pulling apart the Water molecule is very similar to what happens in a Mass Spec.
In a Mass Spec, In order to analyze any molecule, you have to be able to guide the molecule to a detector. The process is done by bombarding the molecules with a beam of electrons in a vacuum. The electron source is a filament similar to a light bulb filament, only not enclosed in glass. It it just in the open in a vacuum. The vacuum is lower than what is inside a light bulb. It usually runs at 6.0E-06 mbar. Two vacuum pumps are required to get this low. A regular Edwards RV12 pump plus a Pfeiffer Turbo pump just before the Edwards. The Turbo pump looks like a small jet engine and turns at 90,000 revs so is very effective.
When any molecule is bombarded by electrons that have been accelerated by high voltage, the electrons have the ability to knock off one or more electrons in the outer valence shell of any molecule they hit. When one or more electrons are removed from molecule , the molecule is now called an ion. It has a positive charge because of the removal of the electrons.
The molecule now has a charge and it can be manipulated by an electrostatic voltage or a magnetic force. This gives us the ability to guide the molecule to a detector or guide to a place where it can be used as energy. When two electrons are removed from a molecule it is said to have a double charge.
Since what is measured in a mass spec is Mass to charge ratio, a double charged molecule would appear as 1/2 the normal mass. Example - Nitrogen weighs Mass 28 and the largest peak in a Mass chromatogram of Normal Air. However there is also a Mass 14 that shows up. This peak is a Double charged N2 Molecule or a single N molecule. We cant determine the ratio of N to N2 double charge because they appear as only Mass 14. See the scans below.
Here is the explanation of the scans below.
Air is composed of Nitrogen, O2, Argon and CO2. You also have Water and the double charged Ions of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, CO2 along with the CO crack off the CO2 with a Mass of 28 just like N2. In an Ion Source, the molecules are cracked apart and ionized. That is what the HHO generator does with the high voltage spikes.
Mass 1 is a single free Hydrogen and it has an affinity to go back together as H2, so we also have H2. or Mass 2.
Mass 14 is a double charged Mass 28 N2 molecule. and a single Mass 14 N molecule. Even though N2 weighs Mass 28, 2 electrons have been removed, and since what we are measuring is Mass to charge Ratio, Mass 28 divided by a charge of 2 missing electrons appears as a Mass 14 to the detector.
Mass 16, 17, and 18 is the water group that has been cracked apart.
Mass 16 is an single Oxygen crack, Mass 17 is an OH crack, and Mass 18 is a water still in tack only missing an electron so is a Water Ion.
Next is Mass 20 - That is a Double charged Argon, again missing 2 electrons.
Then the big Mass 28, 29 and 30 peaks. These are the Nitrogen group. We have the main Nitrogen, Mass 28 and the Nitrogen isotopes - NH and NH2.
Next Mass 32, 33 and 34 are the Oxygen group. 32 is Oxygen, 33 has an extra H as OH, and 34 has 2 hydrogen as OH2.
Next is Mass 40. It is the Argon Ion.
Next is Mass 44 or the CO2 crack.
When we calibrate on air we have to use 4 Cal bottles. We have to calibrate for zero air with Helium then correct for the CO crack off the CO2 in a 5% CO2 , 99% Argon bottle so we can see what the Mass 28 interference from CO is and subtract that from the main Mass 28 N2 Ion.
We then Cal on an Air bottle and a blend bottle to adjust the linearity's off O2 and N2.
See the attached Scans of Air and Water. These came from scans I did at a customer doing a fermentation process to manufacture pharmaceuticals. There is a scan of normal compressed air called sparger air and a separate scan of just the water group in the normal air.
[attachment=1422]
[attachment=1424]
First let me explain my background. For the past 35 years, I have worked as a Service Engineer for several large companies working on GC, LC, Infrared detectors, Dual monochrometer UV Vis light detectors, and lastly Mass Specs.
My last job was with Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Senior Mass Spec Engineer.
Jeff had sent me a link to some of Stan's more complete explanation of his work on Video and I found them very interesting. The process of Electro statically pulling apart the Water molecule is very similar to what happens in a Mass Spec.
In a Mass Spec, In order to analyze any molecule, you have to be able to guide the molecule to a detector. The process is done by bombarding the molecules with a beam of electrons in a vacuum. The electron source is a filament similar to a light bulb filament, only not enclosed in glass. It it just in the open in a vacuum. The vacuum is lower than what is inside a light bulb. It usually runs at 6.0E-06 mbar. Two vacuum pumps are required to get this low. A regular Edwards RV12 pump plus a Pfeiffer Turbo pump just before the Edwards. The Turbo pump looks like a small jet engine and turns at 90,000 revs so is very effective.
When any molecule is bombarded by electrons that have been accelerated by high voltage, the electrons have the ability to knock off one or more electrons in the outer valence shell of any molecule they hit. When one or more electrons are removed from molecule , the molecule is now called an ion. It has a positive charge because of the removal of the electrons.
The molecule now has a charge and it can be manipulated by an electrostatic voltage or a magnetic force. This gives us the ability to guide the molecule to a detector or guide to a place where it can be used as energy. When two electrons are removed from a molecule it is said to have a double charge.
Since what is measured in a mass spec is Mass to charge ratio, a double charged molecule would appear as 1/2 the normal mass. Example - Nitrogen weighs Mass 28 and the largest peak in a Mass chromatogram of Normal Air. However there is also a Mass 14 that shows up. This peak is a Double charged N2 Molecule or a single N molecule. We cant determine the ratio of N to N2 double charge because they appear as only Mass 14. See the scans below.
Here is the explanation of the scans below.
Air is composed of Nitrogen, O2, Argon and CO2. You also have Water and the double charged Ions of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, CO2 along with the CO crack off the CO2 with a Mass of 28 just like N2. In an Ion Source, the molecules are cracked apart and ionized. That is what the HHO generator does with the high voltage spikes.
Mass 1 is a single free Hydrogen and it has an affinity to go back together as H2, so we also have H2. or Mass 2.
Mass 14 is a double charged Mass 28 N2 molecule. and a single Mass 14 N molecule. Even though N2 weighs Mass 28, 2 electrons have been removed, and since what we are measuring is Mass to charge Ratio, Mass 28 divided by a charge of 2 missing electrons appears as a Mass 14 to the detector.
Mass 16, 17, and 18 is the water group that has been cracked apart.
Mass 16 is an single Oxygen crack, Mass 17 is an OH crack, and Mass 18 is a water still in tack only missing an electron so is a Water Ion.
Next is Mass 20 - That is a Double charged Argon, again missing 2 electrons.
Then the big Mass 28, 29 and 30 peaks. These are the Nitrogen group. We have the main Nitrogen, Mass 28 and the Nitrogen isotopes - NH and NH2.
Next Mass 32, 33 and 34 are the Oxygen group. 32 is Oxygen, 33 has an extra H as OH, and 34 has 2 hydrogen as OH2.
Next is Mass 40. It is the Argon Ion.
Next is Mass 44 or the CO2 crack.
When we calibrate on air we have to use 4 Cal bottles. We have to calibrate for zero air with Helium then correct for the CO crack off the CO2 in a 5% CO2 , 99% Argon bottle so we can see what the Mass 28 interference from CO is and subtract that from the main Mass 28 N2 Ion.
We then Cal on an Air bottle and a blend bottle to adjust the linearity's off O2 and N2.
See the attached Scans of Air and Water. These came from scans I did at a customer doing a fermentation process to manufacture pharmaceuticals. There is a scan of normal compressed air called sparger air and a separate scan of just the water group in the normal air.
[attachment=1422]
[attachment=1424]