Fig. 7. An SEM photograph of water containing 700 ppm of minerals.
2.4. Water-mineral interaction
We investigated what happens to water structure when minerals are added at various concentrations to high-purity water. Figures 7a, b, and c show the fractures that occurred when minerals were added at a concentration of 700 ppm and then rapidly quenched in liquid nitrogen. Figure 7a shows the resulting ice cells, in which small particles are visible. Figure 7b is an enlargement of Fig. 7a and shows that two types of particles formed the interior of the ice cells, and that aggregates of these small particles and the particles of similar size formed the cell boundaries. Figure 7c is another image of a cell interior. The photo shows that the large particles were about 1000 A in diameter, whereas the smaller particles were about 200 A. Careful observation of the 1000 A particles reveals that they were actually aggregates of the 200 A particles.
Figures 8a, b, and c are photos of ice cells for a mineral concentration of 3.5 ppm of minerals. The cell structure in Fig. 8a was slightly different from that in Fig. 7a. A further comparison of these three figures with those in Fig. 4 shows that, due to the difference in the mineral concentration, there were considerable differences in the cell walls and make-up of the particles within in the cells. Figure 8b and c show the cell walls and interior particles of two more cells. Figure 8b clarifies the distribution of water particles.
Figure 8c clearly shows the structure of alignment formation of water particles, i.e. a linear pattern, which is not only along the surface, but also in the interior of the particles.
Figures 9a and b are photos of ice cells for a mineral concentration of 7 ppb. Both figures show cell interiors in which slight, though unclear, remnants of linear patterns are visible.
