Wetling CITE By Niels Jonassen, D.Sc.

Physical background
In order to understand the functioning of WETLING CITE (Controlled Ionically Transferred Effect) it is necessary to look at some atmospheric electric phenomena, especially the nature and properties of atmospheric ions, or air ions.

Atmospheric ions
In the lower atmosphere you’ll always find a certain concentration of small molecular clusters known as air ions or atmospheric ions.

The core of these clusters is a nitrogen or oxygen molecule, which has lost an electron and consequently is positive, or gained an extra electron (in this case always an oxygen molecule) and thus is negative.

These so-called primary ions can exist only for some microseconds but gather around them a cover of mostly water molecules held together by polarization forces. In the case of positive ions the number of water molecules may be 12-15, with negative ions maybe 8-12.

Hence the negative air ions are lighter and more mobile than the positive ones.

The natural air ions are formed by radioactive decay in the air of radon and radon daughters and (to a lesser extent) by cosmic radiation. At sea level the average concentration is about 300-400 ions per cm3 for positive ions and a little less for negative ions (because of the higher mobility). However, these figures vary considerably from place to place. In the case of high particulate air pollution the concentrations of both polarities are reduced considerably.

The word ion originates from Greek, ion, meaning wanderer, and indicates that such a species when exposed to an electric field will move. In the direction of the field in the case of a positive ions and in the opposite direction when we’re dealing with negative ions.

In the lower atmosphere an electric field in the order of 150 V.m-1 (volts per meter) exist (in the absence of thunderstorms). This field will drive a current of positive ions to the ground and an equally large current of negative ions in the opposite direction. These currents have a magnitude of about 2.10-12 A.m-2 ( 2 picoamps per square meter). When integrated over the whole thunderstorm-free area of the earth the current adds up to some 1500 A.

If a thunderstorm is just overhead the situation changes. First of all the base of thunderclouds is generally negative, so the field from the ground is now directed upward. If we further have a lightning protection system with a pointed lightning rod on top, the field will no longer be homogeneous, but strongly distorted.

The result is that the current (density) to the lightning rod is increased dramatically, and is now maybe a million times (or more higher).
This means that a lot of negative ions are brought down to the lightning rod, where they are being neutralized, they give off their charge, and turn into an oxygen and a few water molecules.

Now let’s look at an apparently different scenario. An acupuncture needle inserted in a finger. The person will normally be at ground potential. And if we now assume that an electric field exists in the surroundings, extra ions will flow to the needle and deliver their charge to the body.

We don’t always surround ourselves with electric fields in our living rooms, but maybe more often than we imagine.

In order to investigate if an acupuncture needle actually interacts with the atmospheric surroundings I did a series of investigations in the fall of 2002, the results of which are published in Compliance Engineering, Jan/Feb 2003, Niels Jonassen: Acupuncture and Atmospheric Ions - Click to see the web page.

The experiments were performed in the following way:
Two metal plates (0.35x0.35 cm2) were placed parallel to each other about 0.5 m above the floor. The distance between the plates was varied during the experiments from 0.1 to 1 m. One plate was connected to a high voltage supply and the other one to ground through an electrometer to measure very weak currents. If a negative voltage is applied from the high voltage supply negative air ions will be driven towards the plate connected to the electrometer and the corresponding ion current will be recorded. No artificial ionization of the air was applied during the experiments and consequently the currents measured were extremely low.

After these base measurements were performed an ordinary sewing needle was mounted in a small hole in the plate connected to the electrometer, and the measurements were repeated.

The main results are shown in the figure. It appears that the plate with needle attracts about 20 % more ions than do the plate without the needle.
It is now a thought that this extra charge supply to a body may be (part of) the explanation of the beneficial effects, which for centuries have been ascribed to traditional acupuncture.
And maybe the effect can be improved by supplying extra ions and spreading them evenly over the surface to be treated.

This is essentially the idea in the Wetling CITE, which will be described in the following:

Wetling CITE

The CITE unit used for the therapy is built around a high voltage supply, the one terminal of which is virtually grounded and the other terminal (the negative one) connected through a high-ohmic resistor to a so-called emitter.

The emitter is a sharp electrode, made of tungsten. When the high voltage is applied to the emitter a strong electric field is created in the air in front of the emitter.

In a small part of this field the field strength is so high that free electrons are accelerated to such high velocities that they can knock off an electron from neutral oxygen and nitrogen molecules, and in this way create air ion-pairs as explained in the introduction.
The positive ions are attracted to the negative emitter, where they are being neutralized and the negative ions are repelled and move away in the field, making it look like the negative emitter is "emitting" negative ions. - It is NOT.

The whole ionization process takes place in the air in front of the emitter, and the ions created in this way are no different from naturally occurring atmospheric ions. The WETLING CITE just makes many more of them.

The ions will move away from the emitter propelled by the electric field with gradually decreasing velocity until they land on a solid object where they are being neutralized at the surface and turn into an oxygen molecule and a few water molecules.

If necessary the movement of the ions may be enhanced by the use of a fan.

If a conductive target is exposed to the ion stream away from the ionizing unit some of the ions will plate out on the target and give off their charge. If the target is grounded the released charge will move through the target to ground, and if a suitable exposure meter is inserted in the ground connection the exposure may be measured and the total dose found by integrating the exposure over the exposure time.

However, if the target is not grounded, the ions will still give off their charge to the target, but the charge will not flow through the target to ground but stay on the surface and charge the target to a voltage, which depends on the dose received and the capacitance of the target

Let's assume the capacitance of the target is C = 250 pF (typical capacitance of a standing person). If the exposure is 1.5 Wt (corresponding to a current of 1.5 mµA = 1.5.10-6 A) then the target will in the beginning receive a charge of 1.5 mC/sec, and this will make the voltage V of the ungrounded target to increase with the rate of:

However, the voltage of the target can never get higher than the voltage of the emitter, but still an ungrounded target may reach rather high voltages in a very short time, and consequently it is therefore very important to secure a proper grounding of the target or as shown on the next page to secure a suitable return connection.

A typical exposure situation of a person is shown in the figure.
The person is placed on an insulative sheet the ground connection is replaced by a return connection to the treatment unit.

EXPOSING PEOPLE Wetling CITE - 220/110 Vac

This connection is important, as explained above to prevent the person from being charged to uncomfortable high voltages.

By placing the person on an insulative sheet it is possible to measure exactly that amount of the output from the Wetling CITE, which the person receives.

The ions, which land on the skin, will be neutralized and their charge will pass through the body to the ankle- or wrist strap.

If the person is not placed on an insulative sheet, he will still receive a dose, but an unknown one.

If the person is placed on an insulative sheet, but is not grounded, the ions will still plate out and be neutralized on his skin where their charge will stay. This may give rise to some charge movement through the body, and thus some dose delivered, but in a very uncontrollable and unmeasurable way.

Hence the return connection as well as the insulative sheet are important.

The Wetling CITE method is presently being investigated in a clinical test at Chulalongkorn University Hospital in Bangkok. Further information concerning atmospheric ions and people may be found in a paper in Compliance Engineering, Nov/Dec 2002; Niels Jonassen: Are Ions Good for You ?
- Click to see the web page.

Comparison between traditional Acupuncture and Wetling CITE.
With traditional acupuncture metal needles are inserted in selected points of the skin of the patient, usually at points in connection with a meridian line. If the needles happen to be in an electric field the field will be distorted resulting in a greater current to the needle than would be the case if the needle (and the field) had not been there. The current will predominantly flow along the paths of least electrical resistance, which is supposed to be the meridian line into which the needle is inserted.

It should be stressed that although the current along the meridians is caused by the atmospheric ions plating out on the needles (because of the electric field) these same atmospheric ions never enter the body. The ions are being neutralized (in the case discussed) at the surface of the needles resulting in an induction current carried by electrolytic ions always present to various degrees in any type of body fluid.

It is now the assumption that any effect of an acupuncture treatment is caused by such induction currents (in the body fluid) through the body being treated.

However, these currents are extremely small, and the current paths usually uncontrollable, since no well-defined return or grounding point is being used. And it is our belief that these facts are the main reason for the often-experienced unpredictability of traditional acupuncture treatments.

By the use of the Wetling CITE, however, several shortcomings of traditional acupuncture treatment have been overcome.

Let us mention four important features:

1. The ions are sprayed over the area to be treated leaving it to the ion flow to find the paths of least resistance.

2. By carefully selection of the return electrode placement the current paths through the body is being optimized.

3. The total current to the body, the exposure rate, is being continuously monitored and

4. The total exposure, the charge transferred, is easily being determined simply by the selection of an ionization voltage and a treatment distance.
   

Copenhagen, December 2003 Niels Jonassen, D.Sc.

For further information, e-mail Alastair Purple.