Dubious Claim: Radio-wave treated water improves crop output

[Pete Tar]

This is interesting but it's hard to tell if it's legitimate, and there's no back-up articles or references, sounds a little dubious.
http://www.independent.ie/business/...lobal-warming-gm-and-pesticides-29525621.html

A GROUNDBREAKING new Irish technology which could be the greatest breakthrough in agriculture since the plough is set to change the face of modern farming forever.


The technology – radio wave energised water – massively increases the output of vegetables and fruits by up to 30 per cent.

Not only are the plants much bigger but they are largely disease-resistant, meaning huge savings in expensive fertilisers and harmful pesticides.

Extensively tested in Ireland and several other countries, the inexpensive water treatment technology is now being rolled out across the world. The technology makes GM obsolete and also addresses the whole global warming fear that there is too much carbon dioxide in the air, by simply converting excess CO2 into edible plant mass.

Developed by Professor Austin Darragh and Dr JJ Leahy of Limerick University's Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, the hardy eco-friendly technology uses nothing but the natural elements of sunlight, water, carbon dioxide in the air and the minerals in the soil.

The compact biscuit-tin-sized technology, which is called Vi-Aqua – meaning 'life water' – converts 24 volts of electricity into a radio signal, which charges up the water via an antennae. Once the device is attached to a hose, thousands of gallons of water can be charged up in less than 10 minutes at a cost of pennies.
The compact biscuit-tin-sized technology, which is called Vi-Aqua – meaning 'life water' – converts 24 volts of electricity into a radio signal, which charges up the water via an antennae. Once the device is attached to a hose, thousands of gallons of water can be charged up in less than 10 minutes at a cost of pennies.

Speaking about the new technology, Professor Austin Darragh says:

"Vi-Aqua makes water wetter and introduces atmospheric nitrogen into the water in the form of nitrates – so it is free fertiliser. It also produces the miracle of rejuvenating the soil by invigorating soil-based micro-organisms.

"We can also make water savings of at least 30 per cent. When the water is treated it becomes a better solvent, which means it can carry more nutrients to the leaves and stem and percolate better down into the soil to nourish the roots, which in turn produces a better root system. Hence the reason you need less water and why you end up with larger and hardier crops," explains Professor Austin Darragh.

Extensively tested in Warrenstown Agricultural College, the technology is being hailed as a modern day miracle.

Harold Lawler is Ireland's foremost Agricultural Specialist. As Director of the National Botanical Gardens and former Master of Agricultural Science at Warrenstown Agricultural College, he has carried out more research on Vi-Aqua growth-enhancing technology than perhaps anyone else in the world:

"In the bedding plants we really saw a difference in the results; they were much hardier and tougher. You could drop a tray of these plants on the ground and they would not shatter, like ordinary plants.

"We also noticed that the treated plants needed far less fertiliser than the untreated ones. The roots took the nutrients in better whereas with other normal plants leaching of minerals occurs," explains Harold Lawler.

Impressed, Harold Lawler's research team carried out further extensive tests on a wide variety of vegetable plants:

"The iceberg lettuces were far superior with faster germination, and with carrots for example, the crops were on average 46 per cent heavier," explains Harold Lawler.

During recent successful tomato crop field trials in Italy, three of the country's largest Agricultural Co-op's were so impressed with the results that they have now decided to recommend the technology to the country's farming community.

Elsewhere, the Indian government have now concluded their own tests, which confirm that they are able to boost tea (plant) production by over a third while using far less water.

In recognition of the groundbreaking technology, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, London, recently took the hitherto unheard-of step of granting Professor Austin Darragh and his team the right to use their official centuries-old coat of arms on the new technology – the first time ever that Kew Gardens has afforded anyone such an honour.

The Kew Gardens botanists were not just impressed with the research; they used the technology to restore to life a very rare orchid which had been lying dormant and practically dead in a greenhouse bell jar since 1942. Amazingly, the orchid is now flourishing once again.

Intriguingly, chickens and sheep fed the energised water turned into giants. . . but that's another story!

Limerick University off- campus company ZPM Europe Ltd, who are based in the National Technology Park, Limerick, is now manufacturing the Vi-Aqua technology.

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And how does this sit with people who claim that wi-fi radiation is cancerous and harmful?

 

[Dan Wilson]

The claims are laughably fantastic for something as simple as applying radio waves to water. Without explaining the mechanism or presenting the data you can't really make much more of an assessment. The claims are reminiscent of unsupported new age ideas about charged water.

http://www.chargedwater.com/products/
http://www.chargedforlife.com

I wouldn't take articles like this seriously if there is no data to back it up.

 

[MikeC]

It features along with several other products in the "Agricultural products" section of this page - which doesn't actually debunk them, but does provide a handy reference guide

 

[Pete Tar]

What does making 'water wetter' mean? Would that mean alkalising, if alkaline water is more 'slippery'? Does 'charging' water have anything to do with ionising? Are radio waves normally reflected and not absorbed by water?

 

[Pete Tar]

It features along with several other products in the "Agricultural products" section of this page - which doesn't actually debunk them, but does provide a handy reference guide

Yikes, I see it comes from a long and established pedigree of bunk.

 

[Mick West]

It's pretty obviously just pseudoscientific nonsense, entirely lacking in any real evidence. On their commercial site that they have "proof" consisting of an unpublished paper they did themselves in 1998
http://tredispace.com/viaqua/index.php/en/documentation

 

[Pete Tar]

Making water 'wetter' is tied to claims associated with ionising and alkalising water.

However, it is not clear from the article if it is the same supposed process achieving this, as it only talks about 'charging' the water through radio waves, not ionizing or alkalising.

The hype

..ionized alkaline water is grouped together in smaller clusters of 5-6 water molecules instead of the 10-13 found in tap water. This makes it "micro-clustered", meaning it will be more quickly and easily absorbed, and will hydrate the tissues more effectively.



The hexagonal molecular structure resulting from electrolysis is what makes ionized water wetter than tap or bottled water. These smaller "hexagons" of water molecules are half as large as the molecular chains that come out of the faucet, and permeate cellular membranes quicker so that Alkaline Water is more hydrating and quicker to refresh after strenuous exercise.
...

There is no scientific evidence to support the assertions about the existence of water clusters or its beneficial effects on tissue hydration. See the Water Cluster Quackery page for more information on this bunk.

The diagram on the right is incorrect and misleading. There is no way that H2O molecules in liquid water can be stabilized or retained in the hexagonal configuration shown.

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http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html

 

[Pete Tar]

A spirited evisceration of the article...

http://unshavedmouse.wordpress.com/...ands-biggest-newspaper-lost-its-goddamn-mind/

Soooo…

This is a joke right?

No, I’m actually leaning more in the direction of “con”. See, the ZPM Europe Limited site leads to a Vi-Aqua site where you can actually pay for a water radio energizer. With money. That you presumably earned. Oddly enough, on the Vi-Aqua site it simply markets the biscuit sized technology as a way to improve your garden, which seems kinda small potatoes for something that’s GOING TO SAVE EVERY ONE OF US FROM GLOBAL WARMING.

Okay, I’m cracking jokes here but I am actually, no lie, really freaked out. As I said before, the Irish Independent is not the Daily Mail. It’s not World Net Daily. It is a real, serious newspaper that people trust. This article has been shared over 20,000 times. Somehow, an obvious con artist has managed to get a clearly ridiculous scam and cloak it in the reputation and respectability of Ireland’s largest selling daily newspaper. That is fucking terrifying. In the modern era, with the internet drowning us non-stop in a sea of never ending half truth, cons and sheer bullshit we need, more than ever, legitimate, trustworthy news sources. If I see “Asteroid Headed For Earth” on Mayanprophecy.net I won’t give it a second glance. If I see “Asteroid Headed for Earth” on the front page of the The Times I’m running for my wife and daughter to hug them goodbye. We need the grownups. We need to know who we can trust, and who we cannot.

The Irish Independent has incredibly, spectacularly failed that test.

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[Sausalito]

Maybe I can use some "energized water" to recharge the batteries in my Woo Detector.

 

[Mercedes Schrödinger]

What does making 'water wetter' mean? Would that mean alkalising, if alkaline water is more 'slippery'? Does 'charging' water have anything to do with ionising? Are radio waves normally reflected and not absorbed by water?

Bill Nye talked about making "water wetter" once! That's what soap does. Basically, it makes it so that the liquid can adhere to surfaces better, e.g. dirt and oil. Bleach is an alkali (i.e. base i.e. opposite of acid). Put a drop of bleach in a cup of water and feel it. That's "wetter water." "Slippery" is a good way to describe it.

In most parts of the word, the soil is slightly acidic. Applying alkali can bring up the pH, making them closer to neutral. One of the reasons my home province of Saskatchewan has such great agriculture is that our soil is naturally alkaline.

As for charging water, it's bogus. You might be able to charge it temporarily by pumping it full of electrons, but as soon as you remove the source, the water will tend to balance its charge with its surroundings. More likely, you'll break the H2O's apart and end up with hydrogen and oxygen gases. It's called electrolysis and it's been known for over a century. That's where almost all of the world's molecular hydrogen (H2) comes from.

Virtually all tap water is naturally ionized. That is, it contains dissolved ions such as Na+, Ca++, Mg++ (and enough Cl-, F-, and other anions to keep the mix neutral). As for ionizing the water molecules themselves, they do that all by their selves. When water molecules are tired of being H2O, they get together with other H2O's and make an OH- and an H3O+. Meanwhile, elsewhere in your Waterworld, the ionized H3O+ and OH- are tired of being different so they combine back into a couple waters. This happens spontaneously and continually in any body of water.

 

[sstorch]

if you were to enlighten yourself by actually growing crops with potentized or vortexed water you would see the results and begin to understand what it is you are attempting to talk about. i have been doing tis for twenty five years. if we understand the anomalous properties of water; like how it contracts to the temperature of 38ºf and then begins to expand and how the dipole nature of the hydrogen bond can change from 62º to 120º when the water passes through a vortex, you would begin to understand the deeper nature of water and its capabilities. I suggest looking into the work of viktor schauberger, rudolf steiner's suggestion to 'stir' the biodynamic field sprays and the work of Masuru Emoto. Water running through a straight pipe is deadened; like your tap water. Water running in rivers and mountain streams is structured and clustered. if you cannot drink it and tell the difference you have had too much dead water and you will be next.
sstorch

 

[Sausalito]

if you were to enlighten yourself by actually growing crops with potentized or vortexed water you would see the results and begin to understand what it is you are attempting to talk about. i have been doing tis for twenty five years. if we understand the anomalous properties of water; like how it contracts to the temperature of 38ºf and then begins to expand and how the dipole nature of the hydrogen bond can change from 62º to 120º when the water passes through a vortex, you would begin to understand the deeper nature of water and its capabilities. I suggest looking into the work of viktor schauberger, rudolf steiner's suggestion to 'stir' the biodynamic field sprays and the work of Masuru Emoto. Water running through a straight pipe is deadened; like your tap water. Water running in rivers and mountain streams is structured and clustered. if you cannot drink it and tell the difference you have had too much dead water and you will be next.
sstorch

Oh my. Ominous end note there.
On Masuru Emoto:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1144934/masaru_emotos_wonderful_world_of_water/

Excerpt:

"Emoto’s popularity is a sad commentary on the scientific illiteracy of our society. His work is a morass of factual errors, misconceptions, misinterpretations, metaphors, and meaningless assertions. He writes in the language of magical thinking and superstition, not of science." -Harriet Hall

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What do you mean by "potentized"? As by the process used in homeopathy? I was unaware that the placebo effect worked on corn...

Edit: Oh snap. Here's this:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/em...alleged-effect-of-human-intent-on-matter.498/

 

[solrey]

if we understand the anomalous properties of water; like how it contracts to the temperature of 38ºf and then begins to expand

Water expanding when frozen is not "anomalous". When water freezes, the water molecules form hexagonal crystals.

The expansion upon freezing comes from the fact that water crystallizes into an open hexagonal form. This hexagonal lattice contains more space than the liquid state.

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http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/waterdens.html

My apologies, but when someone gets such basic science wrong, I have a hard time believing anything they say.

 

[Gazmik]

The claims are laughably fantastic for something as simple as applying radio waves to water. Without explaining the mechanism or presenting the data you can't really make much more of an assessment. The claims are reminiscent of unsupported new age ideas about charged water.

At 27 megahertz, the RF is non-ionizing. How do you "charge" water without ionizing it? To ionize water molecules, you need photon energies of 33 electronvolts or higher. That would mean a wavelength of 37.6 nanometers or shorter, which would be in the extreme ultraviolet spectrum. The wavelength of the RF that they use would be around 11 meters, in the CB radio spectrum in the US.

The effects of the RF would be thermal, and it doesn't appear that the equipment would generate enough power to even do a significant amount of that.

 

[Jazzy]

They should get together with that "free energy" Irish company and do it for free, then. Er, where did that go? Oops, sorry...

 

[Jazzy]

That would mean a wavelength of 37.6 nanometers or shorter, which would be in the extreme ultraviolet spectrum.

UV water sterilizers spring to mind. Aren't they a normal industrial product?

 

[David Fraser]

What happens if we play Radio 3 to the water?

 

[Gazmik]

UV water sterilizers spring to mind. Aren't they a normal industrial product?

I know that you can buy consumer UV water filters.

From the Vi-Aqua web page:

The Vi-Aqua system works by altering the natural surface charge of suspended particles and acts to modify the Zeta potential. The negative charge, induced by the applied signal, enhances the stability of the suspension by means of increased electrostatic repulsion between particles. This is due to the resultant double layer of ions that surround particles and vessel/pipe surfaces which are in contact with the water.

The modified "zeta-potential" facilitates improved hydration of solids and reduced surface tension of the water, thus creating the Benefits that will be see in your grass or crop.

 

[Jazzy]

I know that you can buy consumer UV water filters.

The question was rhetorical.

I know you can buy industrial and consumer UV water sterilizers.

 

[Dan Wilson]

At 27 megahertz, the RF is non-ionizing. How do you "charge" water without ionizing it? To ionize water molecules, you need photon energies of 33 electronvolts or higher. That would mean a wavelength of 37.6 nanometers or shorter, which would be in the extreme ultraviolet spectrum. The wavelength of the RF that they use would be around 11 meters, in the CB radio spectrum in the US.

The effects of the RF would be thermal, and it doesn't appear that the equipment would generate enough power to even do a significant amount of that.

And how would UV energy yield better quality water? Other than the fact that it would effectively be sterile.

 

[Jazzy]

And how would UV energy yield better quality water? Other than the fact that it would effectively be sterile.

There you have it. Rhetorical. What's a UV filter, Gazmik?

 

[Dan Wilson]

There you have it. Rhetorical.

Just clarifying that there is nothing along the lines of what is claimed in the article in question going on when water is exposed to UV light.

 

[Jazzy]

What happens if we play Radio 3 to the water?

You get a better class of bug.

 

[Gazmik]

And how would UV energy yield better quality water? Other than the fact that it would effectively be sterile.

I'm not claiming that it does yield better quality water. I doubt it would. I was just pointing out that the 11 meter wavelength 27 MHz RF that they claim alters the charge would be incapable of ionizing water molecules because of the fact that it doesn't have the photon energy that is required.

 

[CCPchemprof]

I just looked up Professor Austin Darragh of Limerick University at the Limerick U website. He has published over 100 papers, but none more recently that the early 1990's. Also none on any topic related to the recent claim regarding radio-frequency treated water. So I too am very skeptical of this new claim touting the agricultural benefits of this so-called treatment.

 

[Knight of Oregon]

A 2019 update on Austin Darragh's Vi-Aqua

Austin Darragh passed away on 4th October 2015, aged 88. His websites shut down (viaqua.ie and viaqua.com), and the invention does not seem to have gone anywhere since. They seem to be having some family and money troubles. The Irish Times in may 2018 reported “Mrs Darragh frustrated efforts by David to finalise agreements relating to patents held jointly by him and his father and used by their company Darragh Equestrian Solutions, they said“. The article doesn't mention Vi-Aqua.

His website is archived on archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20140621024648/http://www.viaqua.com/

In the documents section, some documents are not archived:
GENERAL INFORMATION DOSSIER (General-Information-Dossier.pdf)
FULL SCIENTIFIC REPORT (Full-Scientific-Doc-Proof.pdf)
An Interim Observation Report on Vi-Aqua (NZ) + Barley trial (Askin-full-report.pdf)

The other documents are accessible (which is odd because first time I tried I only got the poultry one)

https://web.archive.org/web/2014082...om/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/PhotoThesis.pdf
Gives examples with pictures of plants growing better with treated water.

https://web.archive.org/web/2014082...om/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Pig_Report1.pdf
Says pigs put on more weight with treated water.

https://web.archive.org/web/2014082...ent/uploads/2014/04/Poultry-Overview-2012.pdf
"Treated groups showed better Food Conversion Rates, reduced Mortality resulting inimproved profit per 1000.
Over 100 studies treating almost 10 million birds into the effect on Food Conversion Rates (FCR) utilising the technology have been conducted spanning a time frame of 32 months in and with almost every major producer in Ireland, North and South and in the UK .
[..]
The commercial value of the crop being paramount presented some difficulties on one hand because the crop has to be produced for profit and actions outside of protocol may have been taken to ensure the viability of the crop
[…]
Never the less the preliminary figures show the studies conducted to date further demonstrated an average increase profit per 1000 of between €20.00 and €35.00.”

https://web.archive.org/web/2014082...wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Full_UL_Report.pdf
"The results indicate a 42% reduction in scale formation on the test heat exchanger. […] In addition the texture of the scale was very amorphous compared with the hard encrusted scale, which developed with the untreated water.”

Inducing the fourth state of plasma in water
https://web.archive.org/web/2014082...s/2014/04/Inducing-the-fourth-state-52-53.pdf
Also available online on his blog https://austindarragh.wordpress.com/

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10767162
They did something with radio waves.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es980172k
They made some changes to water by rushing it past magnets of alternating polarities.

There is a testimonials page. The videos linked to on the multimedia page have been removed from youtube. One of them had its web-page archived. The account that uploaded the videos has other industry-related videos.

I have just bought the late Austin Darragh's book “The Facts of Light”, where he explains how it works. It is hardback and from Ireland, pages a little yellow with the date 2009 printed in it. It is a collection of essays. He was a Christian, and the book has some on theology. “Inducing the fourth state of plasma in water” mentioned above is also a chapter in the book.

In the Water chapter he explains water, the H-O-H molecule is bent at an angle of 104.5°, making it polar, because the hydrogens have their electrons pulled towards the oxygen (electronegativity) making the oxygen negatively charged and the hydrogen positively charged. Ice takes up more space than liquid water. The water molecules do “hydrogen bonding”, where the positive hydrogens of one molecule are attracted to the negative oxygens of other molecules.

“Water molecules will tend to aggregate below 100°C. They associate and adhere to each other dynamically through hydrogen bonding, giving water all of its marvellous properties. These distributed networks of clusters with orientation, dipoles, forming layers, sheets, cages and free water molecules, all interact dynamically.

• These clusters can be broken and formed. They thereby liberate or sequester hydrogen bonds that were previously involved in some water-water interactions for the solvation of ions, gases or other substances.

• This requires or may release non-terminal energy in order to overcome the resistance to organisational changes, as well as the energy stored in the availability of hydrogen bonds.

• Or alternatively, water structures can absorb non-thermal energy which they will release or re-emit when they return to their original ground states.

[…]
These outside electro-dynamic fields will also orient, reshape, perturb, break or form the clusters as they absorb the energy or begin to oscillate in coherence.”

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So this says the electromagnetic energy is stored by moving the structure of the water into a stable high-energy state, and it seems this energy can be utilised by organisms.

The book also has APPENDIX 4 which explains the working of his Vi-Aqua. It uses the frequency 27.225 megahertz.

“Water in its natural state is a complex liquid composed of molecules of H2O arranged in clusters enclosing nano-bubbles of various species of oxygen, CO2 and some noble gases as well as nitrogen. In most samples of water small traces of other elements are present in a dissolved state.
For the acceptance of the energy presented to a body of water from the VA to occur, the presence of nano-bubbles and especially the gas liquid inter-face is essential.”

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There is more explanation in his "Inducing the fourth state of plasma in water" essay linked to above.

For instructions on how to make one, you can download their 2015 patent here http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8992848.html. Patent US8992848B2, “Apparatus for delivering electromagnetic energy into a solution”.

It doesn't look like anyone's made one to find out if it does what it's claimed it does. I think someone ought to. I might have a go myself, but I wouldn't want people to decide not to make one themselves because they think I'm going to, when I may or may not make one.

I have been reading a lot about what people have been doing with water online. Another one is pyramids, which reportedly improve the growth of plants and do other things when aligned with the earth's magnetic field, and from one account when aligned with strong magnets placed next to it. Some think the pyramid interacts with subtle energy, also called Chi/Qi and Prana and other names. My pyramid experimentation is taking a long time.

Another one is the “MEOW kettle” which reportedly makes water taste better, and makes you feel energised, and can darken grey hair. They've called it “magnetic water” for a name. I've not made one for lack of magnetite here in the UK.

Another one is “ORMUS” water. ORMUS stands for Orbitally Re-arranged Mono-atomic something something. They think an atom can have its outer shell electrons configured such that it does not form chemical bonds, is made normal again by electromagnetic waves, and is a room-temperature superconductor, and they say it's really good for you. They have ways of making what they call ORMUS out of salt. They say they are extracting the ORMUS from the salt. Some say it's gold.
There are “ORMUS water traps” that vortex the water next to a doughnut magnet, the idea being that the room temperature superconductor in the water will go one way, which they drink and say is sweet and cloudy, while the rest of the water without room-temperature superconductor goes the other way. Some people go through a lot of water to get their ORMUS water. It seems odd to me that they don't say what happens when they try putting the water through a second time, to see if they can turn it all into ORMUS water. One person said he did, and you're not getting the ORMUS from the water, you're just changing the water.
Another design is spinning a - it was either dielectric or diamagnetic - material in water. Another is a cup or bottle with strong magnets around the outside, and leaving it. I've not made one of these because of my indecisiveness in choosing magnets.
One person has said that ORMUS in your body in your meridians works with subtle energy. Some say ORMUS helps with psychic powers. One alchemy forum said that you can distil the alchemical sulphur and mercury from ORMUS water.

And we have this example of changing water with radio waves.

I think this MEOW kettle water and “ORMUS water” and pyramid water and magnet water and radio wave water may be the same thing, although I am open to the possibility of ORMUS until it is disproven. I would be interested in knowing if there are other ways people have claimed to be able to change water, like to make it sweet or to make plants grow better.

My opinion is that Austin Darragh seems to have had a good reputation, and he was working on this as far back as 2001 https://www.independent.ie/business/darragh-firm-sees-losses-almost-double-26079730.html, so I think it would have been hard for him to keep a lie involving his university for that long. He also made big claims about how many farmers had used the device successfully, but also Adolph Hitler said that if you make a big enough lie then people won't think you could be lying. It does seem odd to me though that his family gave up on it after Austin Darragh died. I think making one and testing the water on plants would be the best way to verify this.