The Mechanisms of Activation of Substances by Minimal Catalyst Water and Application in Keeping Foods Fresh
Sugihara S1*, Suzuki C2, Hatanaka K3
1 Kanagawa University, Yokohama, 221-8686Japan,
1 Sugihara Institute of Technology, Yokohama, 236-0046, Japan
2 Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan, Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki-ken, 319-1195, Japan
3 MCM Co. Ltd, Uehonmachi, Tennoji Ku, Osaka 543-0001, Japan
* Correspondence: E-mail: natsuyama41@gmail.com
Key Words: minimal catalyst water, activated nitrogen, terahertz, fresh foods, respiration
Received August 1st, 2010; Revised January, 12th 2011; Accepted March 15th, 2011; Published October 7th, 2011; Available online October 10th, 2011
Summary
When hydrogen bonds between water molecules are broken, the molecules can emit electromagnetic waves in the region from the near infrared to the terahertz-wave region (1–12 THz) that can activate other substances. By using the total energy spin DV-Xα program, we calculated the total energies of dinitrogen in its activated and nonactivated states by considering the spin of the molecule as a function of the length of the N–N bond. These calculations showed that, for certain bond lengths, excited nitrogen can exist in meta-stable forms that reduce energy slowly. Excited nitrogen should emit radiation below the frequency of infrared rays, and is stabilized on lowering of the energy, as the energy can changes from 3 eV to 1.5 eV, which corresponds to that of infrared rays. We discuss the mechanism whereby polyethylene films that have been activated by minimal catalyst water excite nitrogen in the air; this, in turn, keeps foodstuffs fresh by protecting them from attack by oxygen.