Hexagonal water, also known as gel water, structured water, cluster water, H3O2 or H
3O
2 is a term used in a
marketing scam that claims the ability to create a certain configuration of water that is better for the body.
The term "hexagonal water" refers to a
cluster of water molecules forming a hexagonal shape that supposedly enhances nutrient absorption, removes metabolic wastes, and enhances
cellular communication, among other things.
The scam takes advantage of the consumer's limited knowledge of chemistry, physics, and physiology. Gel water is referenced in the version of the hoax in which animal
fascia
A fascia (; : fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; ) is a generic term for macroscopic membranous bodily structures. Fasciae are classified as superficial, visceral or deep, and further designated according to their anatomical location.
...
or plants are said to create or contain a "fourth phase" of water with an extra hydrogen and an extra oxygen, despite the reality that this compound is neither water, nor stable.
Incompatibilities with science
The concept of hexagonal water clashes with several established scientific ideas. Although
water cluster
In chemistry, a water cluster is a discrete hydrogen bonded assembly or cluster chemistry, cluster of molecules of water (molecule), water. Many such clusters have been predicted by theoretical models (in silico), and some have been detected expe ...
s have been observed experimentally, they have a very short lifetime: the hydrogen bonds are continually breaking and reforming at timescales shorter than 200
femtosecond
A femtosecond is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to 10 or of a second; that is, one quadrillionth, or one millionth of one billionth, of a second.
A femtosecond is to a second, as a second is to approximately 31.6 ...
s.
This contradicts the hexagonal water model's claim that the particular structure of water consumed is the same structure used by the body. Similarly, the hexagonal water model claims that this particular structure of water "resonates with energetic vibrations of the body to amplify life force".
Although water molecules strongly absorb energy in the
infrared
Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...
range of the
electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...
, there is no scientific evidence that supports the claim that hexagon-shaped water polymers would be created through bombardment of energy of these frequencies.
Proponents of the hexagonal water model claim that the measurable differences
between commercially available "hexagonal water" products and tap water under
17O nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a Spectroscopy, spectroscopic technique based on re-orientation of Atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei with non-zero nuclear sp ...
indicate hexagonal water's special properties. However, this technique shows no significant differences between the supposed "hexagonal water", ultrapure water, and human urine.
The experimental observation
of water clusters requires
spectroscopic
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Spectrosc ...
tools such as ''
Far-infrared
Far infrared (FIR) or long wave refers to a specific range within the infrared spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. It encompasses radiation with wavelengths ranging from 15 μm ( micrometers) to 1 mm, which corresponds to a freque ...
(FIR) vibration-rotation-tunneling (VRT) spectroscopy'' (an
infrared spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or functio ...
technique).
See also
*
Polywater
Polywater was a hypothesized polymerized form of water that was the subject of much scientific controversy during the late 1960s, first described by Soviet scientist Nikolai Fedyakin. By 1969 the popular press had taken notice of Western attempt ...
*
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
This is a list of topics that have been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers, either currently or in the past. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in the c ...
*
Penta Water, another variation of "structured water"
* The
dihydrogen monoxide parody
The dihydrogen monoxide parody is a parody that involves referring to water by its unfamiliar chemical systematic name "dihydrogen monoxide" (DHMO, or the chemical formula H2O) and describing some properties of water in a particularly concer ...
, which takes advantage of scientific illiteracy in describing some alarming properties of water
External links
*
References
{{Reflist, 2
Pseudoscience
Consumer fraud
Drinking water