A spectrophotometer-based study of magnetic water treatment: assessment of ionic vs. surface mechanisms.

Abstract A technique previously used to study the effects of magnetic fields on calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) precipitate is revisited in order to investigate the two most widely reported mechanisms. The laboratory-based study tested the effect of treating solutions and particulates of CaCO 3 and showed that a repeatable magnetic effect on precipitation is observed, but only when CaCO 3 particulates are exposed to magnetic fields, and not when a solution of sodium carbonate (Na 2 CO 3 ) is exposed to magnetic fields. Issues regarding the reproducibility of the test are also discussed.