Does the Ionizing Himalayan Salt Lamp work?

[PsychonautQQ]

Hey PF. I received a Himalayan salt lamp for xmas, and it's suppose to add more negative ions to the air which is good because apparently pollution mess's up the balance. Does anyone know if these things actually work?

 

[HallsofIvy]

Where do the positive ions go?

 

[jedishrfu]

This may help understand how they work and whether they work:

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/himalayan-salt-lamps-do-they-work/

 

[Astronuc]

. . . add more negative ions to the air which is good because apparently pollution mess's up the balance.

The statement about adding negative ions to the air/environment is simply nonsense. Negative ions are produced by stripping electrons from some atoms and adding them to neutral atoms/molecules. However, those electrons will try to find their way back to the positive ions from which they came.

Using names of 'exotic' places, e.g., 'Himalayan' or 'Tibetan', or wherever, is probably a good indication that such products are all hype.

Nature is, by and large, charge neutral, i.e. there tends to be a balance between + and - charges, which are protons (in a nucleus) and electrons. Like charges would repel, and opposite charges tend to attract. A separation of charge in the case described is a transient phenomenon. Eventually a negative ion will attract a positive ion, and both will become neutral.

Pollution does not produce an abundant surplus of positive ions.

 

[AlephZero]

I think these products work on the principle of Conservation of Stupidity. The quantum theory of stupidity implies that stupidity is carried by the same virtual particles that are used in electronic money transfers.

In this particular case, when you use your credit card to pay money to the Himalayan salt miners, their stupidity decreases, and yours does the opposite...

 

[lisab]

I was with my daughter in a big store the first time we saw these salt lamps. I must admit, they are beautiful, giving off a soft orange light. She looked at the salt rock and said, "That's fake, it's just plastic!" And so she licked it, to test her hypothesis.

She immediately gagged and nearly threw up. Guess what, it was actual salt . Was it from the Himalayas? That's debatable . Does it do anything claimed here:

From a more scientific standpoint, three natural action principles are at work with crystal salt lamps:

1 Ionization -- The emission of ions is primarily caused by the alternating actions of the heated salt's ability to first attract and absorb water, and then evaporate it. The salt goes into a solution as it mixes with the water molecules.

Sodium, as positively charged ions, and chloride, as negatively charged ions, become neutral and are released into your environment -- which helps reduce pollutants such as allergens and irritants from your air.

2 Electromagnetic oscillation -- Every form of life on the planet depends on the electromagnetic field of vibration (known as the Schuman resonance frequency). Due to electronics and industrialization, your body receives artificial electromagnetic wavelengths with many diverse frequency values.

Because of the neutral atomic structure of crystal salt, a heated salt lamp helps you harmonize and balance these artificial frequencies, and neutralize "electro-smog".

3 Transparent-crystalline structure developing the light waves -- It's well-known that you need the light waves of the rainbow spectrum (300-700 nanometers) for your health and preservation of your body. Your cells are supplied by light with new energy in the form of electromagnetic wavelengths.

The wavelengths of salt crystal colors fall within the upper nanometer zone (600-700 nanometers) -- producing positive and soothing effects.

http://products.mercola.com/himalayan-salt/himalayan-salt-lamps.htm

No, it doesn't do any of these things. (What the heck is "electro-smog", anyway?)

 

[Evo]

Mercola is a crackpot site.

The salt blocks make cool looking lamps though, well, more like a night light, they just kind of glow.

 

[Borek]

If it makes room brighter, it works as a lamp.

 

[Talisa]

It works as a lamp, but not as a reading lamp because the light is not bright enough. Interestingly enough I've kept a few salt lamps and all I can say is they are soothing lamps that look damn nice. Not sure about the negative ion part, sounds like fluff to me.

 

[DarthMatter]

You could over-exaggerate on how great and awesome you find it exhaustingly. Read up a little on the background to get extra credit for being super-convincing. Then, it a few years, you may have gotten enough antique himalayan salt lamps for Xmas to start a business yourself. You could even use the 'war on positive ions' as your campaign and print stickers and posters. I feel many positive dollar energies floating your way.

 

[jack476]

If you're ionizing the air, you're making ozone and nitrous oxides, both of which are very, very bad for your lungs and eyes.

Thankfully, unless you're seeing an electrical discharge, you're not ionizing anything.

I have a Himalayan salt lamp only because I think it looks cool- it makes a great warm light for studying and reading. But my cat keeps licking it no matter where I try to put it :/

 

[christopher.s]

Not saying that any of the purported health claims are legitimate, but;

Can we qualitatively measure the charge of the air around us, say in a room? For instance, we have a clean room at work that uses an ionizing blower to hopefully mitigate dust. I can tell you that there is a definite difference in the "charge" of that room. You can feel it in your nose and on your skin. What are we feeling here?

To LisaB;

I would call electro-smog noxious EMR that is detrimental to health and well-being. It has been demonstrated in rats that exposure to RF fields used in wireless communications causes quantitative changes in the blood brain barrier.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1019150510840

 

[Evo]

The room "ionizing air cleaners' do not emit enough ionization to really affect you, but some models do produce harmful ozone emmisions.

Months of testing and investigation yielded these findings:
CR Quick Take
• Many ionizing air cleaners like the
kind we tested do a poor job of
removing particles from the air.
• Two separate tests—in a sealed room
and in an open lab—show that some
can create significant levels of ozone.
• Ozone is a growing concern. People
with asthma and respiratory allergies
are especially sensitive to it.

But this has gotten off topic and has nothing to do with the Himalayan salt blocks.