Nygren, J (2026). Aquaporin transport by dielectrophoresis from interfacial water. Phanerography Certification. BTC/BSV/ETH/ETC/LTC/DOGE/XTZ/EOS. hashkey:7a90a18abf6291736ab4b7658fe50038de1e43bae8d8b41f54bdcfe82801090f (sha256)
Auto-ionization in adsorbed water
The oxygen in water has partially stolen the electrons from the hydrogens (giving it a negative charge while the hydrogens become positively charged), and the oxygen and hydrogen in water can bond to atoms on other molecules with opposite charge. Water can also exchange the positively charged hydrogen atom with another molecule, while retaining the electron (which was partially acquired by the oxygen). In liquid water, water molecules are bonding to other water molecules via the positive and negative charge of the oxygen and hydrogen atoms, and they are occasionally exchanging hydrogen atoms (minus electrons, thus hydrogen ions) as well, forming an hydroxide ion (that released the hydrogen ion) and a hydronium ion (that acquired the hydrogen ion). The hydrogen ion on the hydronium ion can jump to another water molecule as it collides with them, and if it collides with an hydroxide ion it can return to it so that the two ions become normal water molecules again. This mechanism of auto-ionization, as a building-block, is all you need to understand the role of water in life. You can use this building-block of auto-ionization in different ways to build an electrical circuit as well as a form of engine that does physical work.
When water has adhered to or adsorbed to (ad-, to, toward + absorb) a surface it can bond to, it will form first a single layer against the surface, then adhere to that new layer of water, and so on, to form a phase similar to ice but where each sheet is shifted one oxygen atom relative to the one above and below. When you apply the mechanism of auto-ionization within this adsorbed phase (which is similar to a solid but partially liquid, the molecules still move around a bit) you end up with a hydroxide and hydronium ion but only the hydrogen ion on the hydronium ion is free to move, the hydroxide ion is not mobile and is stuck within the adsorbate. Here, the building-block of auto-ionization leads to a spontaneous separation of charge between the adsorbate and the surrounding liquid water. The hydrogen ions, being free to move, will spread out in all directions by diffusion, while the hydroxide ions do not. The charge separation that forms balances out the diffusion (as they hydrogen ions are attracted backwards to the hydroxide ions) and an equilibrium forms where the hydrogen ions have spread out but with a limit on how far away they are from the adsorbate. The building-block of auto-ionization, when only one of the charge carriers is mobile and the other immobile, will spontaneously form a separation of electrical charge.
The electrical field from the charge separation between adsorbed water and the surrounding liquid water will, somewhat counter-intuitively, stabilize the adsorbate. It aligns the physical movement of the water molecules in the adsorbate in a direction perpendicular to the surface the water has adhered to, and reduces any sideways movement of the water molecules. Therefore, there is an increase in how thick the adsorbate can grow, the adsorbate can grow thicker as you increase the auto-ionization (by for example applying infrared radiation). The building-block of auto-ionization can stabilize a partially solid phase of water so that it grows thicker than what might be otherwise expected.
The hydroxide ion in adsorbed water which is immobile, can also release its charge carrier, the electron, by chemically combining to produce water, dioxygen and electrons. This frees the electrons to recombine with the hydrogen ions if there is also dioxygen in the liquid water that they can combine with, and this produces water in the liquid water while it consumes it in the adsorbate. The mechanism of auto-ionization as a building block can thus move water from one location to another by producing it in the new location and breaking it down within the old location (i.e., within the adsorbate). This process if it happens over a membrane will reduce the water in the compartment water moved from, and increase the water in the compartment water moved to. Thus, the building-block of auto-ionization can physically move water over a membrane (by breaking it down on one side and producing it on the other).
When the hydroxide ions within the adsorbate release electricity and the electrons travel to the liquid water and the hydrogen ions, the building-block of auto-ionization has been able to build an electrical circuit, with a negative pole in the adsorbate and a positive pole in the liquid water. This building-block can be advanced on by physically preventing the release of electricity until it is desirable (similar to how a light switch works). There is different ways of achieving this, the hydrogen ions can be stored away into a base (such as phosphate) and only be made available when the electricity should be released (by in some way reducing the pKb of the base, such as by hydrolysis of ATP which then detaches the ADP from the ATP-binding site where the ATP was hydrogen bonded with the stored protons as hydrogen bond donors, or, by inserting an electrical insulator between the adsorbate and hydrogen ions, such as a lipid bilayer with phosphates that store the hydrogen ions), and the access to dioxygen can also be increased by moving it in loops from where it was produced to where it was consumed.
<h1>The gel-phase selectively adsorbs potassium</h1>
<p>Cells have been shown to selectively adsorb potassium ions over sodium ions (Ling, 1962). The explanation for this might be that potassium (and sodium to a lesser extent) is able to replace the excluded proton. The repelling force between the lattice sheets can be overcome by a stronger attractive force, from an atom with a higher number of protons in the nucleus. Normally, the attractive force falls off rapidly down the rows of the periodic table because of increased distance to the nucleus. But in the ice crystal, the distance of attraction is not limited by the atomic radius, it is limited by the repelling force between the sheets. As long as the atomic radius is less than the repelling force between the sheets, the strength of attraction will continue to increase down the rows as well, explaining the selective adsorption of potassium ions in the cell.</p>
<h1>The gel-phase selectively adsorbs potassium</h1>
<p>Cells have been shown to selectively adsorb potassium ions over sodium ions (Ling, 1962). The explanation for this might be that potassium (and sodium to a lesser extent) is able to replace the excluded proton. The repelling force between the lattice sheets can be overcome by a stronger attractive force, from an atom with a higher number of protons in the nucleus. Normally, the attractive force falls off rapidly down the rows of the periodic table because of increased distance to the nucleus. But in the ice crystal, the distance of attraction is not limited by the atomic radius, it is limited by the repelling force between the sheets. As long as the atomic radius is less than the repelling force between the sheets, the strength of attraction will continue to increase down the rows as well, explaining the selective adsorption of potassium ions in the cell.</p>
<h1>The role of K+ and Na+ in the H3O2- battery</h1><p>Johan Nygren</p><p><a href="mailto:johanngrn@gmail.com">johanngrn@gmail.com</a></p><p>ABSTRACT: The role of K+ and Na+ in the cell is to displace H+, favouring water-splitting. Gels inherently separate water into its conjugate ions H+ and OH-, water in a gel is organized into H3O2- that excludes H+. The act of a gel forming to begin with involves physical separation of H+ and OH-. K+ is selectively accumulated in the cell by adsorption, contributing to further separation of the ionic components of the cell-water. Na+ has a similar role extracellularly, it substitutes H+ in the cation “cloud” that is electrostatically bound to the cell. This machinery for separating OH- from H+ favours water catalysis, 4 OH- → 2 H2O + O2 + 4 e-, the “engine” of life.</p><h2>The cell is a water battery, an introduction</h2><p>Gels selectively exclude hydrogen ions relative to hydroxide ions, and do so because filaments act as a scaffold around which water can organize into a "gel-phase", chemically H3O2-, OH- + H2O. The filament scaffold “charges” water into an anode, H3O2- (Pollack, 2014). Potassium ions favour the gel-phase of the cell, by allosterically promoting the resting conformation of cell proteins along with ATP (Moore, 1908; Scheffer, 1928; Ling, 1952, 1965; Nasanov, 1962; Matveev, 2006). K+ supports the ability of the cell to “charge” water into an anode. The role of sodium ions is at the other end of the electrical potential of the cell, the cathode. Na+ substitutes the hydrogen ions in the cation “cloud” surrounding the cell that would neutralize the electric discharge of the cell. The role of Na+ is to further separate the ionic components of the cell-water that have been “torn apart” by the K+-protein matrix.</p><h2>Cell depolarization splits water to release electrons</h2><p>The reason a gel forms is because a filament matrix, architecturally, pulls water apart. Gels are a result of an inherent water-splitting ability in the physical architecture of the filament scaffold it organizes around. <em>The act of the gel forming to begin with, is the first half of water catalysis.</em> If the gel collapses, because of an architectural change in the scaffold, the second half of the reaction can take place. The hydroxide ions, that have been physically isolated from their hydrogen ion counterparts, will react with one another, forming H2O2 + 2 electrons. Electricity. The H2O2 then decays into H2O and O2, the full chemical reaction, 4 OH- → 2 H2O + O2 + 4 e-.</p><h2>The relationship between H+ and K+</h2><p>Within the cell, OH- is pairing, electrostatically, with K+ instead of H+. The H+ that is displaced to the extracellular space, is further substituted by Na+. The role of K+ and Na+ is to physically separate the ionic components of the cell-water, favouring water catalysis, 4 OH- → 2 H2O + O2 + 4 e-. This is achieved by displacing H+ both intracellularly, with K+, and extracellularly with Na+.</p><p>This explains why extracellular acidosis leads to a release of K+ from cells, and conversely, why hyperkalemia leads to exit of H+ from cells, resulting in intracellular alkalosis. The K+ and H+ are competing, electrostatically, to be the conjugate cation of the gel-phase water, H3O2-. It is the substitution of H+ for K+ that allows the cell to use hydroxide ions as fuel.</p><h2>The role of Na+ ions as a substitute to H+</h2><p>Na+ is an abundant cation in the natural environment, and electrostatically an ideal substitute for H+. The cell selectively adsorbs K+ over Na+, so the role of Na+ is to displace H+ extracellularly.</p><p>The H+ that is excluded from the gel-phase of water wants to remain locked to the gel. If it is not removed, it will tend to neutralize the water catalysis, 4 H+ + 4 e- + O2=2 H2O. If Na+ ions step in and substitute H+ as the conjugate cation of the gel-phase cell, the electric discharge from depolarization will reorient its electron current to other cathodes. The depolarization will then burn hydroxide ions (in the reaction 4 OH-=2 H2O + O2 + 4 e-) without burning the conjugate hydrogen ions, freeing the electric current to do other types of work. The H+ that is left over is then free to leave the body via the urine, explaining the acidity of urine.</p><h2>Conclusion</h2><p>The cell needs to be able to exclude H+ in order to split water and release electric current. It also needs to be able to selectively polarize and depolarize water from gel-phase to liquid phase, to trigger the water catalysis, and achieves this with allosteric regulator K+, under the control of ATP. Having very low extracellular K+ lets K+ leave and withdraw its allosteric effects during depolarization. It also needs to displace H+ extracellularly from the cation “cloud” that surrounds the cell, and does this using Na+. This prevents H+ from neutralizing the reaction 4 OH-=2 H2O + O2 + 4 e-, the “engine” of life. The cell uses K+ and Na+ to separate H+ from OH-, favouring water catalysis.</p><h2>Synopsis, the cell uses Na+ and K+ to turn water into fuel</h2><p>To burn hydroxide ions, the cell needs to be able to exclude hydrogen ions both from the intracellular and near-extracellular medium. This is achieved by a protein scaffold to favour the gel-phase of water, H3O2-, and, cations that substitute H+. The cell also needs to be able to switch between a charged state, hydroxide ions waiting to be used, and the discharging state, ongoing burning of hydroxide ions. Since the cell relies on the same cation to promote the charged state and to exclude hydrogen ions intracellularly, K+, it also needs to be able to withdraw K+ from the intracellular space, and for that it needs a second cation to exclude hydrogen ions from the near-extracellular space, Na+.</p><h2>References</h2><ul><li>Pollack, G. H. (2014). Cell electrical properties: reconsidering the origin of the electrical potential.Cell Biology International, 39(3), 237–242. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbin.10382</li><li>Moore, B., Roaf, H. E., & Knowles, R. E. (1908). The effects of Variations in the Inorganic Salts and theReactivity of the External Medium upon the Nutrition, Growth, and Cell-division in Plants and Animals.The Biochemical journal, 3(6–8), 279–312.7. https://doi.org/10.1042/bj0030279Ernst.</li><li>E. und Scheffer, L.: Untersuchungen über Muskelkontraktion Mitt. VIII. Die Rolle des Kaliums in der Kontraktion. 1928 Pflügers Arch. Ges. Physiol.</li><li>Ling, G.N. (1952) The role of phosphate in the maintenance of the resting potential and selective ionic accumulation in living cells. In Phosphorus Metabolism Vol 2 (W.D. McElroy and B. Glass, eds). Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, p. 748–795.</li><li>Ling, G.N. (1965), THE PHYSICAL STATE OF WATER IN LIVING CELL AND MODEL SYSTEMS*.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 125: 401-417.doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1965.tb45406.x</li><li>Nasonov, D.N., Local Reaction of Protoplasm and Gradual Excitation (English Transl. by Halpern,Y.S.), National Science Foundation, available at Office of Technical Services, US Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1962.</li><li>Matveev, Vladimir. (2006). Protoreaction of protoplasm. Cellular and molecular biology (Noisy-le-Grand, France). 51. 715-23. 10.1170/T680.</li></ul>