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Special Research Seminar by Gerald H.Pollack - The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor

(Original announcement and details at the web of the Department)

Invited Research Seminar

 

The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor

By Gerald H.Pollack

 

May, 2nd 15:30 h

Auditorium Campus Poblenou 

 

Abstract

Everyone knows that water has three phases: solid, liquid and vapor. But we have recently uncovered a fourth phase. This phase occurs next to water-loving (hydrophilic) surfaces. It is surprisingly extensive, projecting out from the surface by up to millions of molecular layers. And, its properties differ markedly from those of bulk water. Of particular significance is the observation that this fourth phase is charged; and, the water just beyond is oppositely charged, creating a battery that can produce electrical current. We found that light charges this battery. Thus, water can receive and process electromagnetic energy drawn from the environment in much the same way as plants. Absorbed electromagnetic (light) energy can then be exploited for performing work, including electrical and mechanical work. Recent experiments confirm the reality of such energy conversion. This energy-conversion framework seems rich with implication. Not only does it provide an understanding of how water processes solar and other energies, but also it may provide a foundation for simpler understanding natural phenomena ranging from weather and green energy all the way to issues such as the origin of life, transport, and osmosis. The talk will present evidence for the existence of this novel phase of water — how come nobody’s seen it before? — and will consider the potentially broad implications of this phase for health. The book dealing with this subject is now available http://www.amazon.com/The-Fourth-Phase-Water-Beyond/product-reviews/0962689548

 

Biography

Gerald Pollack received his PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He then joined the University of Washington faculty and is now professor of Bioengineering. He is also Founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal, WATER, convener of the Annual Conference on the Physics, Chemistry and Biology of Water, and Executive Director of the Institute for Venture Science. His interests have ranged broadly, from biological motion and cell biology to the interaction of biological surfaces with aqueous solutions. His 1990 book, Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion, won an “Excellence Award” from the Society for Technical Communication. His 2001 book, Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life, and his newest book, The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor won that Society’s “Distinguished Award,” their highest distinction. The latter book went on to receive the World Summit Excellence Award. Pollack received an honorary doctorate in 2002 from Ural State University in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and was more recently named an Honorary Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and foreign member and Academician of the Srpska Academy. He received the Biomedical Engineering Society’s Distinguished Lecturer Award in 2002. In 2008, his colleagues chose him as the recipient of his university’s highest annual distinction: the UW Faculty Lecturer Award. Pollack is a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He received an NIH Director’s Transformative R01 Award. He was the 2012 recipient of the Prigogine Medal for thermodynamics of dissipative systems, and in 2014 he received the Scientific Excellence Award from the World Academy of Neural Therapy, as well as the Dinsdale Prize from the Society for Scientific Exploration. He has presented two TEDx talks on water. In 2015, he won the Brandlaureate Award, previously bestowed on notables such as Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton and Steve Jobs. In 2016 he was awarded the 1st Emoto Peace Prize. And, he appears briefly in the 2016 Travis Rice sports-action film, The Fourth Phase, named after his recent book.

Host: Jérôme Noailly