February 10, 2012

What is the cause of big particles in colloidal silver?

The particle size of colloidal silver is important for two main reasons: Firstly, smaller particles are more likely to be absorbed by the body in a useable form. To be effective, colloidal silver particles should be small enough to be absorbed under the tongue and through lung tissue. Secondly, the size of the particle has a direct effect on its surface area.

The particle surface area of a colloid is the key factor in determining its effectiveness. The greater the surface area of colloids exposed to the areas of interest; the more effectively the particle will interact with its environment. The surface area of colloidal particles actually increases as the particle size decreases.

For example, if the amount of silver in a silver dollar was rendered into 1nm particles, the surface area would be equal to 4.115 million times the surface area of the original dollar. So it becomes clear the smaller the particle size and the larger the quantity of the silver colloids, the greater the surface area will be and the more effective the treatment will become.

To ensure that particle size is controlled, a great deal of care must be taken when using a colloidal silver generator. The electric current passing through the liquid must be kept at low voltage in order to adequately sinter the silver from the electrified source. As the voltage becomes too high, greater amounts of silver are stripped from the source too quickly. The process speeds up, and as the process speeds up, the particle size increases.

Distilled water helps keep the electrical current low as it acts as a fairly good insulator, and has a fairly strong resistance to electron flow. However, as the silver particles and ions start to accumulate, the resistance of the water decreases. The reason for this is as follows. As the silver is stripped away during the process, it becomes ionized and dissolves into the water.

To become ionized simply means to take on an electrical charge. As the ions dissolve into the water, the water becomes more and more conductive, the current then increases, and the whole process speeds up.

Some of the ions are able to attach themselves to each other, and by doing so, cease to be ionized. As the current increases and the process speeds up, the silver particles are stripped from the electrodes in greater numbers.

The particles become larger and are able to attract more and more ions. Once clumped together, as they no longer carry an electrical charge, they are effectively just pieces of silver floating in the liquid. The process will continue accelerating until the particles become too large to remain in suspension and fall from the liquid as sediment.

If your colloidal silver generator has a fixed voltage, this can be a problem and the timing of the process becomes crucial to both the size of the silver particles and their concentration within the batch.

There are a number of techniques that can be used to prevent large silver particles from forming. If the mixture is stirred, it will disperse the ions, preventing them from coming together. Some new colloidal silver generators come with a mechanical or magnetic stirrer which will keep the problem under control. Alternatively, the use of a wooden spoon to agitate the mixture at regular intervals can be employed.

Thermal heating or bubbling carbon dioxide through the mixture have also been used to keep the ions apart. These methods both come with drawbacks however. Heating the water too much can in itself lead to increased particle size. While any apparatus used to introduce the carbon dioxide could inadvertently introduce dust particles or gasses from the tubing or pump.

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