Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields for ions in solutions?a cyclotron resonance and its threshold

Abstract

It is known experimentally that biological cell membrane transport of ions such as Ca2+ and K+ is affected by the electromagnetic field when it combines the uniform static magnetic field and the extremely low-frequency (ELF) ac electromagnetic field. This is thought to be caused by a contribution of some type of resonance phenomena that is based on the interaction of the ions and the electromagnetic field. Cyclotron resonance has received attention since it has a window effect in the ELF region. Resonance generation, however, is questionable due to solution viscosity or the collision of the ions with other molecules in solute. In order to understand quantitatively the cyclotron resonance phenomena, the ion behaviors in solutions placed in an electromagnetic field are analyzed using a mathematical model so that the threshold value of the static magnetic field causing resonance is derived. From the computer simulation and analysis results, it is found that the threshold value is determined by the ratio of the magnetic flux density of the static magnetic field and the viscosity coefficient of the solution. The threshold of the magnetic field in regard to the conductivity of the ions was 6.9 × 106 T and 8.8 × 106 T, respectively, for K+ and Ca2+. The magnetic flux density of such a magnitude is not commonly taken. These values are almost identical to the threshold for ion diffusion. The threshold value of the magnetic field for the ion mobility was 5 to 8 larger than the above. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 1, 80 (1): 70–77, 1997