Alphalab Inc

Description

Almost all positive ("+") natural ions come from radioactivity. About 40% of these natural air ions come from radioactive minerals in the ground. Each time a radioactive atom decays near the air, it produces 50,000 - 500,000 air ion pairs. Another 40% comes from radon in the air (which produces about 250,000 ion pairs for each radon atom), and 20% comes from cosmic rays (high-energy protons from distant supernovas). Indoors, ions "live" an average of 30 seconds before touching a surface and shorting to ground. Outdoor ions usually "live" several minutes more. Negative ions usually come from radioactivity and evaporating water. Lightning, thunderstorms, and forest fires can contribute "+" and "-" ions, but these ions are not produced under everyday conditions. Normal fair-weather ion concentrations are 200 to 800 negative and 250 to 1500 positive ions per cubic centimeter. Indoor levels are usually lower. Several hours before a storm, + ion concentration will increase dramatically, sometimes exceeding 5000 ions per cubic centimeter (cmBecause a large concentration of + ions can attract - ions, high concentrations of + and - ions are often found together. Typically, a high concentration (1000 or more) of both may be found in one area outdoors while low concentration (300 or less) is found typically one city block away. A cloud of pure + ions (no -) with a concentration of 1000 ions/cmwould be very unstable and would fall apart if its diameter were more than about 30m (100'). For this reason, high concentrations of exclusively + (or exclusively - ) ions tend to be compact, and don't extend more than about 30m. The only exception is during storms, when strong atmospheric electric fields can maintain a high concentration of exclusively one ion polarity. While testing indoors, you may find high - in one area of a room and high + in another, because rooms are relatively small.

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