liboff at oakland.edu (A.R. Liboff) wrote:
>>Our group has investigated the response of simple plants to ion cyclotron
>>resonance combinations of AC and DC magnetic fields. References to this
>>work include: Smith, McLeod and Liboff, Bioelectricity and Bioenergetics
>>32:67, 1993; Bioelectricity and Bioenergetics 38: 161, 1995. Regling et al
>>successfully replicated this work (on radishes), presenting an abstract at
>>the 1995 FASEB meeting in Atlanta. Their work either has or will appear in
>>print shortly, but I do not know the journal. Another successful
>>replication of our work was carried out by Davies (Bioelectromagnetics
>>17:154, 1996).I have been informed that still another group has been unable
>>to replicate our findings.
>>>In unpublished studies we have also observed large changes in growth in
>>orchid mericlones. However it is clear that some care must be taken in
>>carefully maintaining the specific cyclotron resonance field combination.
>>>The ion cyclotron resonance approach uses an AC/DC parallel field
>>combination where the ratio of the radial frequency of the AC field to the
>>DC intensity is equal to the charge-to-mass ratio of unhydrated ions such
>>as Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+. This approach has been used in dozens of experiments
>>involving animal behavior and cell culture, often with significant changes.
>>As with the plant experiments there have been more positive experiments
>>than negatives. It is likely that the cell signaling apparatus is
>>stimulated under exposure to these ion cyclotron resonance magnetic
>>exposures. (There are similar aspects to cell signaling in both plants and
>>in animals).
>>>It is usual to set the resonant field combination to the charge-to-mass
>>ratio of the calcium ion, although there are interesting effects for other
>>ionic charge-to-mass ratios.
>>>This type of experiment may be a bit more than can be handled in a science
>>fair project, since there are some constraints on the quality of equipment.
>>Another, perhaps simpler approach might be to try using larger (say 1mT or
>>greater) magnetic fields in an attempt to induct electric currents into the
>>plant. The person whose references you should look for is W. Gensler, for
>>example in Ann NY Acad Sci 238:280, 1974. Although Gensler and others
>>attached electrodes directly to the plants, it is reasonable to assume that
>>the same thing could be accomplished by means of noninvasive magnetic
>>induction.
>>>One such experiment that I always wanted to do was to grow plants in a
>>large, not-too-uniform, DC magnetic field and make the leaves move using a
>>rotating fan m few meters away. This was suggested to me many years ago by
>>Mother Nature, when I first observed the action of leaf movement in quaking
>>aspens in Colorado, Other trees and shrubs also respond to the wind, moving
>>their leaves in neat ways, although less than aspen. The geomagnetic field
>>seems too weak to make a case for induced currents, and I am sure that
>>there are other good biological reasons why leaves were designed to
>>oscillate as they do, reasons not involving Faraday induction, but the
>>observation is still an interesting one. If you cannot find a big
>>electromagnet and its power supply, then maybe you could be creative in
>>using a bunch of the small, high-coercive force neodymium/iron/boron
>>magnets. They are readily avilable in physics teaching environments, and
>>are relatively inexpensive.
>>>Most important, I do not know of anyone else who has ever attempted this
>>experiment. Good luck!
>>>A.R. Liboff
>>Department of Physics
>>Oakland university
>>(810) 370-3412
>>liboff at oakland.edu
Hopefully more people than our young science fair project planner can
get behind a study like this!
