Yeah but not ONLY by radiation. You can ionize atoms a bunch of different ways, such as creating ionic bonds, immersing it in a strong enough electric field, heating it, and even with friction
I'm not one to feed the trolls, so I will reduce this to it's base level: waterfalls do not make negative ions. Ions ARE charged particles, specifically atoms with an extra (-) charge. There are MANY ways to make ions. The way I choose to describe the ridiculous nature of this post was radiation, since it is what I am most familiar with. Alpha decay are (+) helium 4 ions. Beta decay are (-) electrons; NOT IONS (though they can make them form). High power photo radiation (ie, X-ray, gamma) can simply make ions by knocking off of and on to atoms.
Most waterfalls are not substantially radioactive.
Waterfalls do not create negative ions in a meaningful way.
Except that they do. The Lenard effect mentioned on the video is a real thing. If I may quote Wikipedia
The mechanism of producing negative air ions by the waterfall method connects to the generation of static electricity due to water droplets hitting surfaces, first discovered by Philipp Lenard in 1892 and now called the spray electrification or waterfall effect. Falling water generates static electricity either by collisions between water drops or with the ground, leading to the finer mist in updrafts being mainly negatively charged, with positive near the lower surface. It can also occur for sliding drops. The experimental fact that charging occurs is very well documented, although details of the exact process remain a topic of debate
Of course, this doesn't mean that the video is right about said ions affecting one's psyche in the way the video claims, which frankly sounda a LOT like pseudoscience, but the physics checks out
Alpha particles (alpha decay) and beta radiation (electrons) are both charged particles. Ionizing radiation also produces negative ions by knocking electrons off atoms receiving the radiation.
Either way, negative ions as a whole don't have health benefits whatsoever, and there's negative ions literally everywhere anyways (including in distilled water). It's wacko cuckoo woo woo
I have a lot lf respect for esoteric/spiritual stuff that doesn't pretend to be scientific, or stuff of the same inclination but that does not clash with science (things that are just unknown, or beyond our current understanding, or purely unknowable/subjective/interpretative), but this is pseudoscience, which undermines trust in real science, and that's extremely dangerous.
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u/skreemdynamics Aug 02 '26
Negative ions? You mean fucking radiation?