Part Three: Principles of Colloidal Silver Production

This third part of our basic colloidal silver generator tutorial provides the three critically important principles behind colloidal silver production, and provides the theory and basic knowledge needed to create a quality colloidal silver product-- especially when one later decides to improve the quality of the generator.

Three Principles to Mastering Colloidal Silver Production

1. Purity: The quality of any colloidal silver is foremost determined by 1) the purity of the silver used, 2) the purity of the initial water supply, and 3) the cleanliness of both the silver rods and the glass container used for production. Even variables such as air quality and light concentration can influence colloidal silver production.

2. Current Control: The entire colloidal silver generation process is geared toward strict regulation of the flow of silver ( both ions and particles ) into the distilled water base. The more command one successfully wields toward this end, the higher the end quality will be. Variable conditions include everything covered in the purity principle, plus: a) The voltage applied, b) the amount of current, c) the size and the shape of the silver electrodes, d) the amount of water used, e) the water temperature, f) the size and shape of the container, g) the spacing between the silver rods, h) the motion ( if any ) of the water in the container, and even i) the Earth's electromagnetic field and j) the shape of the silver electrodes.

3. Timing: Understanding and properly measuring the duration of each batch of colloidal silver is of paramount importance both to the particle size of the silver ions and the concentration of the batch itself, and thus critical to the end quality of the product. All variables of the timing are dependent upon the variables of the first two principles. Timing influences particle sizing and particle dispersion ( otherwise known as proper hydration of the silver ).

Each of these three principles relies upon the other. Mastery of these simple principles equates to the mastery of colloidal silver production. Every advanced colloidal silver generator IS advanced due to the fact that it addresses one or more of these principles more successfully than the basic generator is able to. Some "advanced generators" defy the above principles, and the end result is always a lower quality product. These production flaws can only be detected by expensive analysis of the end colloidal silver, including both Atomic Adsorption Spectronomy ( AAS ) and Transmission Electron Microscopy ( TEM ).

The Basics: Demystifying Colloidal Silver

What is Colloidal Silver?

Simply stated, colloidal silver is water containing both microscopic particles of elemental silver and silver ions. The most common electrolysis processes used to create colloidal silver sinter metallic silver from a silver rod or wire, and deposit ions ( Ag+ ) and particles ( particles with no charge and clusteres of charged particles, Ag- ) into the water.

What separates electrically isolated colloidal silver from other types of silver products is the fact that the state of silver is either in isolated ionic form or pure particle form ( not bonded with other elements ), and the size of any silver particles is incredibly small compared to other methods of silver production. In other words, the silver ions and particles are isolated by water molecules only. Whether the benefit of colloidal silver is due solely to the silver, the size of the silver particles, the ionic charge or particle charge, or a combination of all three, is a matter of debate. Please keep in mind that the term "colloidal silver" should be considered a generic term and not a scientific one, as colloidal technically means particles in suspension, not dissolved solids.

How is quality gauged?

The therapeutic quality of colloidal silver is determined by 1) the product purity 2) the size of the silver particles, 3) the concentration and/or ratio of ionic silver to particle silver, 4) and both the dispersion of silver in the water and the surface area that active silver area covers ( which is related to the size of the silver particles ).

One of the greatest motivating factors for manufacturing one's own colloidal silver is to ensure product purity. By using inferior silver or thoughtless bonding agents ( even accidentally ), it is just as easy to toxify the body as it is to heal it. For instance, Silver Nitrate is a known toxic substance, and silver chloride has questionable benefit in the body. While it is true that even the poorest quality colloidal silver available for purchase is unlikely to contain enough contaminants to do the body serious harm, it is equally true that ANY contaminants cause the formation of larger silver particles and silver compounds. This may significantly decrease the benefit possible compared to a properly made colloidal silver.

Using the production methods on these pages will ensure both a safe and effective colloidal silver. However, it should be noted that home brewing colloidal silver can only be taken so far without a sterile lab environment and incredibly sophisticated controls. That said, just because a colloidal silver is "lab made" does not mean that the producers are making it properly!

The size of silver particles is important for three reasons:

The smaller the particle size, the more likely the colloidal silver will be adsorbed in a useable form by the body. A high quality colloidal silver should have particles small enough to be adsorbed sublingually and through lung tissues.

Small particles of silver cover a greater surface area, increasing the potential contact with microbes.

Ionic silver is a whole field unto itself. A high quality colloidal silver has ionic silver that does not readily agglomerate.

By properly making colloidal silver with the basic generator, particle sizes between .001 - .04 microns may be uniformly achieved ( with concentration strength between 3 - 5 parts per million ) - a decent colloidal silver.

The concentration strength is the amount of actual silver contained within the water by volume, and is measured in ppm ( parts per million ). Five parts per million is generally accepted as a safe and effective general purpose strength. However, a 5ppm solution is not universally regarded as effective. Generally speaking, one may achieve a suitable quality 50 ppm solution using a more advanced generator. The basic generator, with practice and extreme care, can safely generate a batch ( estimated ) of about 10 - 12 ppm, although there will be a quality difference as compared to a batch of 3-5 PPM.

With all of these variables, and without lab equipment, can one be certain to achieve a quality colloidal silver with a basic generator?

Yes. The primary purpose of this tutorial is to introduce colloidal silver to the interested novice. The following instructions will provide both the method of achieving a safe and effective colloidal silver solution and a method of testing it. After experimentation, and with continued interest, one should explore a more advanced generator.

Next: How to Use the Colloidal Silver Generator

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