I think you've hit the the KEY to making QUALITY silver--a CONSISTENTLY LOW voltage. I came across a site that made silver .005-.010 microns colloids using LOW VOLTAGE.
The GOLDEN color you observed is often associated with colloidal silver of this size, and is mentioned in literature to have good germicidal qualities. Perhaps you could devise an instrument that keeps the voltage at a low level, yet makes colloidal silver fairly fast, like the commercial silver makers. Regards, :) Joyce On Mon, 13 Jul 1998, George Martin wrote: > Recently I had occasion to produce numerous batches > of CS in a short period of time. Since I had several going at > once I had to pay a bit more attention to the process then normal. > What I noticed and would like to share with the list follows. > > My procedure is pretty much what I term 'list standard'. > I start with 28 oz of distilled water (I use mason jars that I just > happened to have sitting around). This is heated using a coffee > cup warmer to approx 120 F. or so. The electrodes are two 5" > lengths of .999 16 ga wire. Since I can't get Hanna Instruments to > respond to my inquiries I usually process the CS until it turns a > gentle amber color...about an hour after the first indications of CS > production appear. I guess that this is probably in the range of > 10-15 ppm based on list discussions. > > I am an electronics tech by trade and am curious about the > goings on in my little circuit. So I have two digital multi-meters > connected to analyze the process. One is in series with the voltage > source to measure current and the other is connected across the > electrodes to measure voltage. I have run this set up two ways; > with three 9-volt batteries in series to give 27 VDC and with an old > linear power supply I had on my work bench that supplies a fixed > 36 VDC. The process didn't vary considerably when I used the > higher voltage so that is what I usually do. Seems my wife always > has a need for 9 volt batteries... > > At the beginning of the process the readings were on > average 36 VDC at a current of .15 - .40 ma depending on the > quality of the distilled water. Over the space of 20 to 30 minutes > the voltage would drop a volt or so and the current would slowly > increase. When the current reached approx. 3.0 ma the wispy > discharge would become apparent. From this point on the current > would increase at a quicker rate due of course to the increased > conductivity of the CS solution. When the current read 8.0 - 10.0 ma > I noticed something different occur. In addition to the CS 'floating' > around in the vicinity of the electrodes there was also a rather thick > 'stream' of CS that was sinking to the bottom of the container. > This was in spite of the convection currents caused by the heating > device. The 'stream' was eventually dispersed by the convection > as it sank lower but this made me curious. > > I then ran a batch using the same setup as above with > preheated water but no active heating device. This was to hopefully > minimize the convection currents. I also let the process continue > for about 2 hours. What I noticed was that the 'stream' of CS that > sank seemed to pool in the bottom of the jar. There was a distinctly > darker appearance to this and it was about 1/4" or so thick. After > I terminated the process I let it set overnight in a dark cabinet and > observed it the next day and noticed no change. I then gave it a stir > and mixed everything up. I let it sit for an additional three days and > didn't notice any settling with the exception of some of the sludge > that had dropped off of the electrode during the proccessing. It > looked like a regular (darker than usual due to the extra time > cooking) jar of CS. > > This got me to thinking... I know that CS is produced at all > times during the process. That is why the conductivity of the > water slowly changes. I also had observed that at certain current > levels different effects were seen. > > Next I modified my little circuit by adding some variable resistance. > > I then started another batch using essentially the same setup as > before only this time the voltage was lowered to 9 VDC. No > particular reason why I chose that value but it seemed appropriate > since the standard is three 9-volt batteries... > > The initial current read .14 ma. (I think that this may be due > to the failure of my particular meter to accurately indicate very low > current values). and very slowly began to climb. I won't try to make > a table of readings or anything but suffice to say that nothing really > note worthy was happening for several hours with the exception > of the currently slowly increasing and the negative electrode > darkening. > > After five hours I observed a very faint tint to the water and > a distinct Tyndal (sp) effect. The current had reached 2.45 ma > and the negative electrode was also becoming fouled. I stopped > the process and cleaned both electrodes. When I began again, > the current had decreased to 2.16 ma. From this point on I cleaned > the electrodes approximately every 45 minutes. I was trying to > minimize the amount of "foreign" matter in the solution. I also began > to adjust the voltage after every cleaning to keep the current in the > vicinity of 2.0 - 2.5ma. I continued in this manner until 8 hours had > passed and the CS was a very nice clear golden color. The voltage > was 5.46 VDC. > > At no time during the entire eight hour process did I let the > current rise above 2.79 ma. and also at no time did I ever notice > any sort of 'discharge' from the electrode. > > Now! What does this all mean? I have come up with two > possibilities and you may be able to come up with more. As I > see it either: > > 1. the particle size is so small that the process wasn't visible at > the lower (2 - 3 ma) current. > > or > > 2. the particle size isn't really smaller, but the same size particles > are being produced at such a slow rate that the effect wasn't visible. > > I tend to think that (1.) is the case. This is due to the apparent > (to me, anyway) effect of the particles seeming to float around the > area of the electrodes at lower currents and sink to the bottom > of the container when the current rose above 10 ma or so. > > Hopefully someone else will give it a try and see if the > effects can be reproduced or if it is the remnants of El Nino! I > won't be in any real position to have my CS tested until I return > to the US around October but will gladly help someone else defray > the cost. > > Regards, > George Martin > > > > > > > -- > The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. > > To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: > [email protected] -or- [email protected] > with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the subject: line. > > To post, address your message to: [email protected] > > List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]> > > -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the subject: line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
