text:
Talk:Air ioniser

Comments
Why is "# Seasonal affective disorder" linked?

"Garkbit (talk) 14:59, 10 August 2009 (UTC) Published research shows that high levels of negative ions are a useful treatment for Seasonal affective disorder if the negative ions are in sufficient density (quantity). Note that this is a separate issue from air cleaning claims or ozone generation that happens in some devices that also generate negative ions. One of the pioneers in this area is Michael Terman, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University Medical Center and director of the Clinical Chronobiology Program at New York State Psychiatric Institute. As described in Psychiatry Online, Terman and several coworkers obtained preliminary evidence that a simulated dawn could reduce the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. As a side effect of their research, they learned that that high-density negative air ionization could have the same effect. Clinical research has been published through Columbia University, American Journal of Psychiatry/APA, 2006 and Archives of General Psychiatry, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1998 and Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine, Columbia University 1995."

A negative ion generator (ioniser or ionizer) is not the same as an ozone (O3) generator although some ionisers do produce a small amount of ozone as a by-product. So to say that there are two types of ioniser and define that distinction by either ion production or ozone production is entirely incorrect.

The second paragraph is also incorrect. Whether a room is closed or open has nothing to do with an ionisers effacy. Ions live a very short life and the distance they travel is entirely down to the device emitting the ions. The more powerful the device the further they will travel. During their brief journey they will attract other positively charged molecules to them and form clusters, eventually falling from the air. Depending on the environment, they will also be stripped from the air by such things as metal ducting and monitors or TV sets. Those ions that remain in the "small" or "light" state are capable of being ingested by humans. These "small" ions will only exist at a very close proximity to the generator.
 * Do you know of some reliable references that we can use for this article? -Willmcw 11:51, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Man. It is impossible to find realistic descriptions of how these devices work:
 * http://www.heavenfresh.ca/catalog/images/xj2000-cutaway2.jpg
 * Particles are "magnetically attached" to electrostatically charged plates??
 * The device constantly outputs a stream of negative ions, but the device maintains a neutral charge?? Maybe it neutralizes itself by sucking negative charge out of the Earth?  This is confusing me.
 * http://www.buyamag.com/graphics/blueair3.jpg
 * http://www.wbdg.org/images/airdecon_3.jpg from http://www.wbdg.org/design/air_decon.php
 * Is this one? http://www.kometos.com/images/ion.gif I have no idea.  Same idea here http://www.izumikosan.co.jp/ionjet.jpg
 * This looks more realistic, as it is outputting both positive and negative ions http://www.iprocessmart.com/Exair/ion_air_cannon.htm
 * This looks like real science, but isn't really the same thing: http://www.haug.de/html/haupttext_ionizers.html
 * This may be real science, but also has "How Affiliate Programs Work – Simple Steps to HUGE Success - Have you heard? There’s a HUGE trend going on in the world of home-based business." on the same "howitworks" domain name http://www.howitworks.net/how-air-filters-work.html - Omegatron 15:40, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

 * That last one looks good. Both the scientific and the practical issues seem to be handled accurately. A couple of those links go to industrial products. While their use as home air cleaners is subject to controversy, their use in industry for special purposes is accepted. One link goes to a ionizer-based (electrostatic) air filter for a forced-air system, which we should also mention and which are less controversial. Sharper Image has sold many ionizer based "fans" which move air silently without any ffan blades. I think their machine neutralizes the ions before they are omitted. Due to its commercial success it might get a mention. Thanks for doing this research. Cheers, -Willmcw 21:13, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

It seems to me that to get this article into a useful and neutral state, it should be rewritten into three main sections. The first should explain what these devices are. There seems to be little dispute on this page that these devices (a) generate a negative electrical charge, (b) cause some dust and bacteria to be removed from the air of a room, and (c) lead to the creation of a certain amount of ozone. The second section should document the claimed health benefits, including the basis for the claims, substantiation and so forth. The third would list criticisms of the devices, including problems with the claimed benefits and also the possible negative effects (such as the creation of ozone). Since there is obviously no consensus on the ozone level issue, the page should say as much, with citations to various government ozone regs and the CU report.

Also, the article should be updated to include the fact that Sharper Image (the main purveyor of these devices in the U.S.) is now marketing an add-on to their devices which claims to convert the ozone back into oxygen. mpmason68 15:45, July 9, 2006 (UTC)

Types of ions
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/65/72756.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D This article espouses the claim made in this article that negative ions like those after thunderstorms and beneath waterfalls increases well-being according to research.

Are there really two different kinds? I think "creating air ions" is exactly the same thing as "creating ozone", since the ionic oxygen quickly recombines with oxygen molecules to produce ozone. Then again, I don't really remember my chemistry. - Omegatron July 2, 2005 20:39 (UTC)

 * Some of this is left over from what was clearly an advertisement for a particular ioniser that claimed it emitted a special kind of ions. This article could use a careful review by an editor knowledgeable in chemistry. -Willmcw July 2, 2005 21:42 (UTC)

There are indeed two types of ions: Cations, which have a positive charge, and anions, which have a negative charge. But there are more than two types of marketing nonsense... I used to work on negative ioniser designs years ago, with a bias towards the medical applications of same, and though a lot of people would show an improvement in wound healing rate or reduction in wound scarring, some users would see no benefit, and some users would report a worsening of symptoms. For the latter group a limited degree of success was sometimes to be had by the trusty sci-fi standby of "reversing the polarity" to produce positive ions. This is fairly simple to do with the standard ioniser design that utilises a Cockcroft-Walton ladder to produce the required high voltages. -Midgemagnet Dec 6, 2005, 17:22 (GMT)

To correct Midgemagnet, it is Cations, which have a negative charge, and anions that have the positive charge -Guest Jun 2, 2006, 18:58 (GMT)

Not true. Midgemagnet's statement was alright: cations are positively charged and anions are negatively charged. These two are sometimes confused by people due to the fact that anions are attracted by anode, which is positively charged and cations are attracted to cathode, which is negatively charged. Natrij 20:19, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Actually, anodes and cathodes can both be either positively charged or negatively charged. It only depends on the direction of the current. In a battery acting as a power supply the anode is the negative end of the battery, but in an LED (that is in forward conduction) the anode is the positive end. In either case, electrons are leaving the anode. So, an anion (negative charge) is only attracted to some kinds of anodes. -Minipie8 02:22, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Physics major here. The confusion above is due to different conventions for what is "positive" charge and what is "negative" charge. Although *standard electrical convention* says "current flows from positive to negative", in reality, what is flowing are electrons, from negative to positive. Anions are molecules which have gained electrons. They are negatively charged by the chemistry convention, and positively charged by the electricity convention. I'm working on getting this fixed in 60 years. 71.82.81.234 (talk) 07:46, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Patents
Kronos Advanced Technologies supposedly makes fan replacements that work on this principle:

July 19, 2005 Electrostatic fluid accelerator for and method of controlling a fluid flow

May 3, 2005 Electrostatic fluid accelerator

April 27, 2004 Electrostatic fluid accelerator for and a method of controlling fluid flow

January 7, 2003 Electrostatic fluid accelerator

Others:

Sharper Image Corporation

June 28, 2005 Electro-kinetic air transporter and conditioner device with enhanced housing configuration and enhanced anti-microorganism capability

June 21, 2005 Electrode self-cleaning mechanism for air conditioner devices

May 24, 2005 Personal electro-kinetic air transporter-conditioner

March 30, 2004 Electro-kinetic air transporter-conditioner

March 23, 2004 Electrode self-cleaning mechanism for electro-kinetic air transporter conditioner devices

Zenion Industries, Inc.

May 24, 2005 Method and apparatus to reduce ozone production in ion wind device

And the exact opposite device, a generator charged by wind:

June 3, 1980 Charged aerosol generator with uni-electrode source

 * Patents don’t prove that something works. They’re just a form of protection for designs for inventions. It is even possible to patent the impossible. — NRen2k5 20:51, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Dangers of Ionisers not mentioned.
Hakusa - Wiki addict: 08:31, September 10, 2005 (UTC) I was thinking of adding them, but thought I would check it in the discusion page first. I went to my school library and borrowed a Consumer's Report May 05. In it I read an artical about how ionizing air filters are hazzardous to your health. How while having one in a spacious house was better, but putting it close to a chair or social area like suggested could be very bad. Appereantly ions are toxic: somthing I remember from Bio I. Now I won't quote things from the entire magazine, and if you really care you can go and read the artical yourself. I did however notice that the article mentions the consumer's Report being unfavorable, but it doesn't mention what they said, or anything I just said. Why?

 * I believe they create ozone, which is poisonous and kills bacteria, but is also poisonous and kills people. :-)  It does say this in the article, but the article needs work.  If you could add some information from the CR artice that would be great. — Omegatron 14:49, September 10, 2005 (UTC)

 * Hakusa - Wiki addict: 20:17, 14 September 2005 (UTC) I was gonna do it, but I don't have the time right now. Sorry.

 * I actually read the paper copy of the report. The beef was "unacceptably" high levels of ozone from a vast majority of the ionizers.  They also only marked two as decent filtration units out of however many they tested; I can't remember which specific models. Really good units have a ion collector behind the particle collection grid to pick up any stray charged particles. -- Toastydeath 17:51, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Midgemagnet 17:24 (BST) 6 Dec 2005. Indeed; I have added references to the dangers of ozone in the main entry. Claiming health benefits for environmental ozone generators is just dangerous misinformation.

This article on the BBC website discusses inadvertant ozone production and the various bodies that are looking into it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3472383.stm --Wool Bridge (talk) 12:31, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Safe Ionizers
The Oreck XL claims to have an "oxygenator" that turns Ozone into oxygen while still purifying and ionizing the air. Is this a lie or are there safe ionizers? And if it's true shouldn't the article state that there may be safe ionizers rather than be bias towards the dangers? 71.113.106.248

ionic vs ozone
From chemistry lessons, it has been taught that ions are identified as those pesky 2-letter names with the 2+ and 3+ superscripted next to the metal name: Fe2+ with the 2+ superscripted to show iron ions, Cl- with the - superscripted to show chlorine ion.

Ozone on the other hand is a molecule, created by a combination of 3 oxygen atoms (O3 with the 3 subscripted). Ozone is likely to generate radicals which have tendencies to be oxidizing agents or in other words be corrosive in manner. A short read up on the ozone layer in school textboks will give you a general understanding of what ozone is, how it is formed naturally and why the ozone layer is thinning out at areas above the polar caps.

Whereas most air purifier companies use mechanical filtration, some air purifier companies believe that filtering the air inside the room is not enough. Instead, they manufacture air purifiers which generate negative ions to interact with the positive ions in the air. Someone must have figured out that pollutants in the air, including tobacco smoke and even dust, naturally has positive ion charges. Thus, the generation of negative ions to cancel out these hazardous pollutants, making them falling to the ground and out of the air we breathe in, is the right way ( at least to them ) to purify the air.

Regarding ozone generators, the idea is that ozone is produced from a TiO2 plate by ultraviolet light. These ozone molecules have the oxidising power to kill off airborne pathogens which is good news for us and bad news for the microorganisms. However, since ozone has that effect on bacteria and viruses which are living organisms, wouldn't they have the same effect on humans as well? Is it safe for us humans to be exposed to these ozone molecules every single day for long hours every single time? Some of these air purifier users stated that they smell the bleached smell which they themselves identify as ozone, whilst others testify that all they smell is fresh air.

Hope this information helps. Sylee 06:15, October 16, 2005 (UTC)

Hakusa - Wiki addict: 04:01, 17 October 2005 (UTC) That sounds about right, but Consermers Report sais that you will breath in ozone, and it is toxic.

Yes, ozone is toxic. I'm interested in whether these devices actually output ions. It's difficult to say, really. If they put out only negative ions, for instance, then the device would continue to become more and more positively charged. If they pumped the charge out of a ground wire, though, they would be making the Earth itself positively charged, and maybe that would be the way the ions stick to dust and then the dust is attracted to other objects. I wish I knew more about the properties of charged particles in air. — Omegatron 04:19, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

I'd like to help with this article but I can't say I know any more about the subject than any other editors here. I've changed the template because there doesn't appear to be any actual disputes. Hopefully we'll get an expert soon! --Eirinn 12:12, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, I'm a physicist, and this whole article looks like a lot of BS to me. Regards.

Midgemagnet 17:27 (GMT) 6 Dec 2005. I'm an electronic engineer, and I used to design ionisers (comissioned, I hasten to add). I agree there is an awful lot of BS attached to ioniser lore, and bad designs can produce nasty levels of ozone. However, many people experience real health benefits by having one running in their bedroom at night, and I've seen some rather neat research with hospital patients (operation wounds, large burns) where direct application of a high negative voltage and local exposure to negatively ionised air noticably speeds up the healing process in most cases.

I've taken the liberty of claiming expert status (in the absence of anyone better qualified), and have hacked the article into some sort of approximate shape. Needs more work to be a proper reference though.

This article has an entire section on why ozone is bad for you, but I don't see how that is actually relevant to the subject at hand. Yes ozone is dangerous in high doses, but nothing about the article suggests that the amount of ozone produced by an air ionizer is anywhere near a level considered to be toxic, in which case it seems like a weasel section. TheWhiteCrowsShadow 21:57, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Have a look at this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3472383.stm --Wool Bridge (talk) 12:35, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Problems with current version
Hey guys. I'm going to try and update this with answers to all these questions, and leave it to the experienced wikipedians to update the article as they see fit. I'm going to get positive/negative mixed up a lot because they mean different things depending on whose perspective you are looking at it from. Please forgive me if i flip them once in awhile. Also, in some of this, remember that voltage is a potential for flow - it does not necessarily mean that having a "charged plate" indicates a pile of extra electrons or a deficit. It's just describing what the system wants to do, not what it is doing. -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

I got my physics messed up on the exact interactions - there's no current flow, anywhere. The atoms pick up energy as they go through the EM feild around the corona wire, and eventually pick up enough eV's to emit an electron. I'm going to go back and modify all my responses to reflect this. Also, pardon the different IP. I'm at work. -- toastydeath 209.122.172.254 14:48, 29 June 2006 (UTC) Addendum: O hey, now I'm a real user. Toastydeath 17:41, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * 1) a device which ionises air.
 * This isn't a problem, that's really what they do. -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * But do the ions escape into the room or do they discharge inside the device, leaving only ozone and NOx to escape into the room?
 * Most of the ions hit the collection grid and become part of the device itself. Some of the stuff gets out, and then you smell ozone.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * 1) Despite dubious marketing claims to the contrary, ionic wind plays no part in the process, as may be evidenced by the tiny breeze near the ioniser emitter.
 * True. If NASA and ion thrusters are having a hard time getting signifigant ionic wind, then a dinky $100 air purifier isn't going to be knocking anything off your desk.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * If there's a breeze generated by the electronics alone, then how is that not an ionic wind?
 * 1) An air ioniser also generates negative ions by exposing air to a high negative voltage
 * I don't see what the problem with this is. The positive (voltage wise, indicating flow direction) electrode kicks a (negative electrically) electron off an atom, which makes the atom (electrically) positive.  The now positive atom is then repelled by the positive wire, which is sucked into the negative collection grid.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Can the device expel negative ions continuously into the air without becoming charged? Is it replenishing the missing charge by connecting to the ground?  Do the expelled ions then travel back to the earth to complete the circuit? — Omegatron 19:13, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
 * The air is becoming charged; that is the principle mechanism on which these devices operate. The electron that gets emmitted from the ion gained energy by passing through the high voltage EM field surrounding the corona wire.  Once the energy in the field has been transferred to the ion, the transformer draws more current to move the field back to it's origional strength.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Midgemagnet 21:03, 6 December 2005 (GMT)- in reply:

1) Ionisers create ions by either adding electrons to atoms/molecules (giving negatively charged anions) or stripping electrons from atoms/molecules (giving positively charged cations). It's the electric field strength that does the ionising. The emitters on ionisers are invariably pointed (like a needle) or bristly (like a carbon fibre or wire brush) as electric charge concentrates more on the sharp area of a surface, and so the electric field strength near a sharp emitter will be quite high, and any atoms that stray too close will be ionised.
 * They only strip electrons in this style of device. -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * In order to generate a strong potential gradient you would need a strong potential difference, right? So there is a positive electrode in there somewhere.  So the negative ions would go right to the positive electrode and discharge, wouldn't they? — Omegatron 21:54, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

2) The strength of the ion wind from a domestic ioniser is feeble, and would play a negligible part in shifting air about a room. It does, however, play a small part in keeping the air local to the emitter turning over, so in this respect it is useful in raising the ionisers efficiency, but the wind itself doesn't extend beyond a few centimetres. A draught through a keyhole would be many times stronger.

3) Yes, the ioniser case may become slightly charged. I've seen early (expensive) ioniser models in wooden cases with rubber feet giving people static shocks from touching the case. Wood is a poor insulator, BTW, as well as a poor conductor. But the case will never become as charged as the emitter, and as long as the emitter is clean the ioniser will function as intended.

There isn't necessarily a return circuit for the emitted electrons from a negative ioniser. They just attach themselves to atoms and float about.

 * But you can't just suck electrons out of an object forever. There has to be a return circuit of some type, or the ionizer would just become more and more positively charged until it no longer worked (because it would be too positively charged for any negative charge to escape from it).
 * The power supply creates a large voltage differential between the corona wire and the collection plate. Remember, a voltage just indicates what will happen if the electrons are given a path to flow (it's a stationary electromagnetic field if no current is flowing). This difference becomes so great that, like in your television or in a plasma torch, the corona wire deposits enough energy into the nearby molecules to kick an electron out of some poor atom's valence shell. Then, our adventureous electron goes flying at very high speed out into space.  The poor atom (hopefully part of a dust mote) is now an ion, and is at first repelled by the corona wire and then attracted to the collection plate.  The ion's life is determined by the actual electrical properties of the material that got charged.  Highly reactive, short lived ions are called radicals.  Additionally, when the ion contacts the collection plate, it assumes the same charge as the plate, effectively becoming part of the collection grid.  That's why they work when they're covered in crap.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Note that I'm not a physicist or chemist; just an electrical engineer, so my understanding of the behavior of ions in air is not very good. — Omegatron 21:54, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

 * There seem to be different types of air ionizers and different theories of how they work. Someone who knows should really update the article.  The only undisputed facts I can gather are:
 * The devices involve high voltages
 * They create ozone and nitrogen oxides, which kill bacteria, but are also toxic to people. Whether this is a side effect or the intended effect is disputed.

 * Unanswered questions:
 * Does the device "purify" the air in other ways, like removing dust and bacteria from it?
 * Only if the ion hits the bacteria and kills it (i.e., floats through the apparatus). Otherwise, it'll just hang out as part of the collection grid. Yes, dust is removed from the air, along with anything else that happens to float past.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Does the device involve two oppositely-charged electrodes or only one electrode that is at a high voltage relative to the Earth?
 * Two electrodes. The corona wire and the plates are on the positive and negative side of the power supply.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Are the dust particles attracted to the other electrode (how does it stay clean?) or are they charged and then attracted to other neutral objects in the room? (I've heard rumors of stains on the walls near these machines.)
 * Ionization only goes one way in this case - it kicks an electron off an atom. Anions (negative ions) require a different process to produce that I'm not familiar with.  -- toastydeath 69.138.207.55 07:38, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Actually, I have heard that the answer is that they don't stay clean, for what it's worthJeremy RBC 00:16, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

 * If the device is emitting ions into the room, which are then attracted to the Earth (or other objects in the room), are they positive or negative ions? Can it emit both at the same time?  (Do ions in a neutral fluid rapidly move towards oppositely charged objects and neutralize, or are they slowed down by the collisions with neutral particles and only slowly drift towards other objects?  Would a positive and negative ion neutralize on contact, or does it depend on other factors?)
 * See above. They're all down one electron.  The ions want to either react with things, or gain an electron in some other way.  Eventually, a spare electron will be found on something and it will no longer be an ion.  Ions themselves will float around until they find either a strong electromagnetic field to move them, until they react with something, or until they gain an electron back.

 * It's actually more complex than it seems, and only physicists or chemists who really understand ionization and electrohydrodynamics really know what's going on. (And I am not one of them, obviously.)  — Omegatron 17:13, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

I've been doing some research on air stuff over the last couple of months, and I think I understand a little bit here. On the other hand, I am a total newbie (but I 'did' read through the relevant wiki background). I'm going to try and clear some things up in the article about the ozone, but here's what I know about ionizers:
 * ASHRAE and the relevant U.S. medical societies have yet to embrace ionizers because they just aren't as effective as filters and ventilators are at removing junk from the air.
 * The fundamental problem is that the electrostatic plates lose efficiency whenever they get loaded, save for the really nice ones (which tend to be much more expensive than a filter or ventilator solution would be).
 * Many ionisers produce ozone, which absolutely is toxic.
 * I believe that just about every major HVAC system manufacturer makes some sort of ionizer for residential HVAC systems. It's typically a part of the filter box, and is considered an add-on. Jeremy RBC 00:16, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Strike that, I meant electrostatic filter for the major manufacturers. Anyway, I went through and made some major changes. I think this should be a little more reference-grounded now.
 * A bunch of those claims were dubious at best. I moved them to a "manufacturer claims" bullet point in the criticism. If anyone has a shred of credible evidence for any of those points, by all means move them to the main section (with references and better explaination of how they could possibly be true). Jeremy RBC 03:21, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

 * One other thing (I commented it in the article, but wanted to bring it up here). That second sentence seemed to say that ionizers make particles with both + and - charges concurrently. That doesn't seem possible to me, since it'd just be a neutral particle. Not that I don't think a ionizer salesman wouldn't use it as a selling point (dehydrated water, anyone?), but I want to be sure that I didn't change the original intent of the statement.
 * As rewritten, it says that ionizers can be either/or (i.e. -, +, or 50%/50%). Is this right? If so, I'd say leave it where it is. If not, I say revert it and move it to the criticisms section with an explanation of why. Jeremy RBC 18:08, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

 * No. It would be creating both negatively charged particles and positively charged particles, from each electrode.  This would create ozone and attract dust just like the other types, before the particles could "find" each other and neutralize.  I don't know what happens in real life systems, though.  No one here seems to know what's really going on. — Omegatron 19:12, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

name wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_ionizer <<see plz Ionizing Ionize http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=Ionizer http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Ionaser =RETURNS INVALID Main Entry: ion�ize Variant: or chiefly British ion�ise /'I-&-"nIz/ (probably brits editing?) Results 1 - 9 of about 10 for ionaser. Google Results 1 - 35 of about 293 for ionazer. Google 0 results for Iionasers Google Results 1 - 100 of about 434,000 for ionizers Google The name is Ionizer not "Ioniser", and the article whould either point out that benefits of ionizing is zero,or there is some effect(like the bacteria case,they just end up on surface near ionizer)and if its better then air filters which clear the dust and not make it precipiate on surface.

This need some category on Junk science devices/paranormal effect devices/deus ex machina or something.I'd better buy a air filter( a purifier,hopefully HEPA compliant)

 * "Ioniser" is the British spelling. We use both spellings here, depending on the subject of an article and who contributed to it first. — Omegatron 15:30, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Use "Ionizer", "Ioniser" isn't even in the American Heritage Dictionary. Spelling it "Ioniser" effects the integrity of the website you dumbshits.

 * The correct word is "affects" in this context. You might want to look at the usage note for "affect" in the American Heritage Dictionary. — Omegatron 15:51, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

 * I replied on your talk page. — Omegatron 18:24, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

For the record, I'm an American, I think the title looks weird, but I'll still revert any attempts to change it. Our policies exist to prevent stale, pointless arguments like this. — Omegatron 19:18, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

 * That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Use "Ionizer", "Ioniser" isn't even in the American Heritage Dictionary. Spelling it "Ioniser" effects the integrity of the website you dumbshits.

I just have to say this is the most ignorant comment I have ever heard or read. So because it isn't in your precious American dictionary, it doesn't exist? And the use of profanity hardly strengthens your argument either. No wonder Americans have the reputation overseas of being loud, ignorant and brash; with every stereotype there is always a grain of truth, and clearly the author of this comment is the grain.User:Jaganath 21:48, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

 * Since you're new, you should know that in general it's better to just ignore people like this. :-) — Omegatron 15:51, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Dubious
Despite dubious marketing claims to the contrary, ionic wind plays no part in the process, as may be evidenced by the tiny breeze near the ioniser emitter.

 * How is the presence of wind evidence against ionic wind?? — Omegatron 18:36, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Yeah, I don't get that either. However, we're talking about magnetic forces on the level of static on a CRT TV screen. It's not going to make wind. Jeremy RBC 03:21, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

 * But "ionic wind" just means a movement of air caused by electrostatic forces. Breeze or gust or whatever, if the air is moving, it is an ionic wind. — Omegatron 15:54, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

 * Speaking from experience with several of the products, most of these definitely do move air. That XJ2000 is a closed plastic shell, and moves so little air it could be considered negligible, however the Sharper Image one, and others that have an open design can kick out airflow in CFM comparable to a 200mA 12V computer fan. My only beef is the reports of NOx being produced. If that's even true, it is in such small amounts that it's not detectable through smell, which would lead me to believe it's below the cutoff level for a safe amount. Kel - Ex-web.god 10:07, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Advances in Technology - German ionisers
New ionisers from Germany uses the DBD corona system to produce negative ions, but they are now able to control Ozone emission. They carry the TUV and GS certification [German Safety] and the new tecnology is patented [dpma.de] in Germany. They are now fitted into airconditioners, fridges and even tumble dryers. EPA is lagging behind the EU and Japan again. toyo

Recent edit: "air molecule" to "particle"
I have a feeling this may come back later, so I want to go on the record here in Talk and clear up some terms regarding this recent wording change. Ions are not necessarily single, lonely atoms - there are monatomic ions and polyatomic ions (ionized molecules such as SO4). However, molecules ARE particles. They're just not fundamental particles, but they are particles nonetheless. Just as hadrons (protons, neutrons) are particles, even though they are themselves comprised of yet other fermions and bosons. Despite this, inserting "particle" was the accidental right thing to do, even if it was inserted for the wrong reasons. - Toastydeath 09:21, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

 * In this context, "particle" means "dust or smoke particle", though. Using particle again in that sentence is misleading. — Omegatron 18:50, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Home use application
I'm looking at my mother-in-law's Edenpure G-7 purifier manual and it has an O3 generator for purification and an additional "Anion" feature that turns off the "activated oxygen" generator and turns on the "negative" generator. It just doesn't say what the negative generator is good for or when to use it. The germicidal UV lamp is for sanitizing. If my Father-in-law has compromised lungs, looks like they need to keep the O3 (ozone) generator turned off?76.213.174.119 06:11, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't use any ionic air purifier for someone with compromised lungs. I would use a HEPA filter. -Toastydeath 15:01, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Don't quote me on it, but it sounds like something to neutralize stray O3 particles. You absolutely don't want to pump ozone into the room – it's toxic, and would only irritate your father-in-law's lungs further. Some companies will try to convince customers that ozone has benefits to your health...this is demonstrably false, and is rejected by all credible health organizations. Not that ozone is necessarily useless for the cleaning process (that's a separate debate), you just have to be 100% sure that none of it escapes the machine. Why risk it, though? HEPA works very well, is endorsed by ASHRAE and other governance boards, and is the best bet for cleaner air. Jeremy RBC 16:51, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Cleanup
I was going to tag this with one of the cleanup tags, but decided to let someone more exper. do so. The section titled Ionic Air Purifiers starts with criticism in the 2nd sentence. Then there is a section titled Criticism which is a bulleted list. Would it not be more encyclopedic to either place all the criticism under the appropriate heading and re-write as a paragraph? Alternatively, both sections are rather sparse and could be combined into a coherent discussion of the documented merits and criticisms. Additionally, the large(ish) section distinguishing air ionizers from ozone generators seems irrelevant. Is this a common error I'm totally unaware of? I've seen many an ionic air purifier, and I've yet to see or hear of an ozone generator. At most, I suggest a single sentence up top in the intro with a link to the ozone generator article. Superbeecat 19:35, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

The use of OZONE in ozone generators is not generally toxic unless the gas itself is inhaled. It also destroys airborne organisms when it contacts them. Since it is highly reactive it dissipates quickly itself (on contact with contaminates) turning the level of ozone back to normal.

Would I be wrong to add this into the article?

 * Yes, because that's like saying nerve gas is not generally toxic unless inhaled. The sanitizing power of ozone is very well known and documented, and that is not under debate.  Ozone does not dissipate quickly enough to be used in an occupied space, and that is the issue.  It's also why lawsuits have been successful against companies marketing ozone-generating products to the public. - Toastydeath (talk) 21:15, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh really? I thought lawsuits were decided by corrupt judges awarded to the highest bidder. Maybe I found my way back to the home of the brave, land of the free. Or maybe your comment is BS and really, oxidative medicine is being suppressed by the eSTABlishment. That last one sounds most likely. I breathe ozone streaming out of my 7000mcg/hr Ozonator every day. It sharpens my mind and gives me motivation to exercise. All this down talk of ozone is disinfo. The level of ozone that really damages a person is massive and extreme. Ozone will kill microorganisms that harsh your life far easier than it will kill you. It takes a LOT of ozone to injure the lungs. When you reach that level of exposure you will feel it and it's easy enough to open a window and step out of the room. I breathe ozone fog EVERYDAY. My cats go spastic after I run the ozonator for a little while. It's when they're the most active and playful. I have hundreds of hours of video of my cats spastic activity when they're able to breathe a bit of ozone. Danielvincentkelley (talk) 19:15, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

Ioniser
The ionizer vs. ioniser issue lowers the quality of both the article and wikipedia. You have a water ionizer article but an air ioniser article. "Ioniser" is used 5 times in the article versus 9 times for "ionizer".

If the policies are preventing us from improving the quality of wikipedia then they should be ignored.

Perhaps there should be a british wikipedia version and an american english version. One of them would be automatically derived. Like en.wikipedia.org sites would be american english pages, and br-en.wikipedia.org pages would substitute british spellings except where not appropriate.

I feel changing everything to "ionizer" would improve the quality of wikipedia, and I will act (strongly) on this assumption before 2010 ends if I remain unconvinced otherwise. Is there anything else I should be considering?

75.31.69.72 (talk) 00:47, 15 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I have standardised the spellings to British ones to match the article title. We shouldn't mix varieties of English in one article. JonC Talk 11:00, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

Ion Generators
Is it possible to say that Ion Generators like the Sharp Plasmacluster are not like ionisers, because they generate positive and negative ions. The product This is a different technology which does not claim a negative ion benefit, but which claims to kill harmful airborn bacteria etc. and was developed to fight against bird flu. Maybe this should have its own page. --Wool Bridge (talk) 13:00, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

Please look at this video relating to Ion generator removing virus at a University in London http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2X9n9Oay34 it tries to explain what the ions are but relies on pairs of ions to damage the virus. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wool Bridge (talk • contribs) 21:10, 6 July 2013

 * Better than a you-tube video would be a WP:reliable source discussing the concept. Vsmith (talk) 22:28, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

There is this press release with Professor John Oxford: http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/080827.html http://www.sharpindialimited.com/FINAL_H1N1_English.pdf --Wool Bridge (talk) 11:58, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

There is also the Samsung ion device which is also a plasmaclustre device: http://www.viruszero.com/

Plasmacluster Ion Technology is sometimes mistaken as the same technology found in an ioniser but the difference and advantages of the Plasmacluster is this: An air ionizer creates only Negative Ions, causing them to magnetically attract together. With negative ions, you do not inactivate any contaminants, but simply add weight to the particles so that they drop to the ground,but they are still alive and can harm you. When these airborne contaminants are made heavy, they can fall on any surface be it your food, table, furnishings etc. https://www.sharpproducts.in/pdf/how_is_the_sharp_air_purifier_superior_advanced.pdf --Wool Bridge (talk) 15:10, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Actual Ions Generated
What are the actual ions generated by these devices? "Air ion" does not really have a meaning. Is it hydride, oxide, nitride, ...? Without naming the actual ion(s) created leads me to be very skeptical, especially since all of the literature I could find seemed to be more marketing than science and I did not find anything to even allude to what is really created. I also started looking at the authors once I started getting skeptical and did not find any chemists. --Jbaylor (talk) 21:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Air ion (afaik) means that the air molecule has gained or lost an electron. For instance, N2+ or O2- would be considered air ions. ~Adjwilley (talk) 22:05, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
 * I understand that a negative ion is an element or molecule with one or more electrons than protons, but air is a mixture of gasses, not an element or molecule. It is 78.1% N2, 20.9% O2, 0.9 Ar, etc. (from Atmosphere_of_Earth).  That is why it is confusing for me to see "air ion".  Are you saying that the ions produced are the nitrogen and oxygen ions? I apologize if I am being dense, I am just trying to understand the concept beyond the marketing hype. Thanks --Jbaylor (talk) 07:00, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Needs to say if it is O2- and N+ or what. In Plasmacluster Ion Technology it is the water in the air that gets ionised producing H+ and O2- (as well as free radical HOO- I think, which then turns into water.). There is a Samsung Plasmacluster Plus technology animation that discusses this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qu2MaTQ9AY  --But this is not AIR Ionisation. --Wool Bridge (talk) 15:56, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

C A 'Coppy' Laws inventor of Ioniser
Is it possible to make a reference to C A 'Coppy' Laws inventor of Ioniser? I want to link it to this article: Cecil Alfred 'Coppy' Laws
 * — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wool Bridge (talk • contribs) 17:07, 4 July 2013

 * Quite possible. However, you should perhaps work on that article first as it currently has multiple problems. Vsmith (talk) 22:20, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

It is now linked to other articles and other articles do link to it. The robot that attaches notices like that has not noticed yet. What other problems does it have? I also wish to see added the study done in London University of the Sharp Plasmacluster technology (see above) which updated the Leeds Study that was done by Coppy Laws' sons (mentioned in this article) there are some good animations from Sharp showing how the O and H ions merge on the surface of a virus to form H2O. Also would like to investigate claims by the inventor of the Elanra ioniser that the small ions it claims to generate are breathable and enter the blood stream to universal benefit. These claims were ridiculed by Ben Goldacre in his Bad Science column for the Guardian a while ago. Someone who knows about electro medicine and electricity and elctro-chemical reactions in the body might tell us that the ions in blood stream idea is or is not scientific nonsense. The Elanra website has some nice graphics somewhere explaining the theory.--Wool Bridge (talk) 22:07, 7 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Don't know about all that, the major problem is the lack of WP:reliable sources. I've removed one ref to a commercial website as non-WP:RS and the google books ref is rather a problem - need a more specific ref to the book in question with page numbers. The Elanra website you mention above is a commercial website and we aren't here to promote their stuff. Laws seems like an interesting and quite likely notable guy, but better sources are required and we don't need a bio article used to promote a specific commercial product. Vsmith (talk) 01:41, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

The references are from the Pat Williams obituary on Coppy Laws in the Independent 2002. At the moment this is only searchable through pay sites. The author sent me her original article so I am quoting from that. I can get a scan of the printed article and upload it maybe? The Elanra claims which were ridiculed by Ben Goldacre in the Guardian can me mentioned in that context. They may or may not be true but it is a controversy and not promotion of a commercial device. The device in question is no longer made any way. The Medion ioniser in the picture is historic and no longer a commercial product. The Google books reference can be replaced by a PDF of the same thing which is uploaded somewhere I just have to find it. The Japanese electronics giant Sharp seems to have inherited this technology and changed it and is funding the research, so that needs to mentioned --Wool Bridge (talk) 10:15, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Section copied to Talk:Cecil Alfred 'Coppy' Laws, discussion continues there. Vsmith (talk) 12:28, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Alexander Chizhevsky
I read this in wisegeek and have seen it elsewhere. Not sure where the academic references will be. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ionized-air.htm

The idea behind using ionization to purify the air is generally credited to Alexander Chizhevsky, a 20th century Russian scientist who founded a field of study known as aero-ionization to research the effects of ionized air on living things. --Wool Bridge (talk) 15:33, 2 December 2014 (UTC)

Also in this article his name is spelt differently. This is a good reference for air ionisation. http://www.continuitycentral.com/HealthyBuildings.pdf --Wool Bridge (talk) 17:07, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

"air" molecules
it is an unlucky choice of words to speak about air molecules as opposed to molecules of air (air is not a chemical name, since it is not a homogenous substance that could be descibed as a bunch of similar "air molecules", instead it is a mixture of different materials, each with their different molecules - or atoms in the case of argon and the other noble gas elements in the same column of the periodic table), just as there is no "beer atom" or "beer molecule". it would be more correct to speak about the (different) molecules that can be found in the mixture commonly called air. since i had no better idea how to reword it, i did not change the sentence, but added the hyperlink to the word "air" leading to the wiki article atmosphere where the reader can find out, what is the composition of air. 176.63.176.112 (talk) 00:18, 29 December 2016 (UTC).

Ionizers in hospitals
Out of curiosity, and because of its relevance to coronavirus, I did a Google search for ionizers in hospitals. Found a 2015 article. First below is the citation they recommended. Followed by the reference generated by DOI Wikipedia reference generator.

 * Hagbom, M. et al. Ionizing air affects influenza virus infectivity and prevents airborne-transmission. Scientific Reports 5, 11431; doi: 10.1038/srep11431 (2015).

This interested me since I have allergies and sinus problems, and so I don't want ozone: "Moreover, this device does not produce detectable levels of ozone and can thus be safely used in all environments."

And of interest now with the COVID-19 pandemic: "Most importantly, we demonstrate that this technology can be used to prevent airborne-transmitted influenza virus infections."

This article is from 2015 and is more recent than any other reference currently used in the Wikipedia article. --Timeshifter (talk) 09:29, 2 April 2020 (UTC)

California Air Resources Board. Certified air cleaners meeting ozone limit
California Air Resources Board has this page listing air cleaners meeting their ozone limit of 0.050 parts per million: --Timeshifter (talk) 13:31, 2 October 2020 (UTC)--
 * California Certified Air Cleaning Devices. From the article:

Older earthed versus modern isolated Ionisers
Older style ionisers ran direct off the mains. A newer style ioniser, with an external power supply plug, or a low voltage power supply, is isolated, and may have a collection plate. The collection plate is positive and the emitter arrangement (needles) is negative, and neither side is earthed. These devices may have a slightly different naming style such as ionic air cleaner.

Older style ionisers often used a voltage multiplier system, built directly on the live side of the mains, connected to the ion emitter system. The return was connected to neutral (which is earthed by the mains wiring at the substation). This makes any earthed objects in the room the ion collectors - walls, floors, light fittings and so on. This I suppose caused the familiar shadowing effect on walls. In addition anyone standing in the room, earthed via his or her feet, was an ion collector, and experienced the negative ions in person. However this type of circuit seems to be no longer available in a newly purchased device. Finally the very oldest mechanical electrostatic ionisers were also earthed as well, via the body of the machine standing on the ground.

It seems to me that this apparently purely electrical difference is very material, for example to medical research.

By the way a newer device can be converted to work like an older one by earthing its collector plate. Conversely an older device can be converted to work like a newer device by running it off a 1:1 mains isolating transformer (as in an old style shaver socket for example). Also note that a USB powered ioniser is odd. If it is plugged into a laptop or mains USB power plug it will be isolated, but if it is plugged into a desktop PC or a car USB power socket it will be earthed!

I have no direct sources for this discussion. I had to take devices apart or make connectivity measurements to understand this, but it is a standard electrical analysis. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lewisw1 (talk • contribs) 16:44, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Air ioniser


text:
Uptown Girls

Uptown Girls is a 2003 American comedy drama film directed by Boaz Yakin and starring Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Heather Locklear, Marley Shelton, Donald Faison, and Jesse Spencer. Adapted by screenwriters Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik and Lisa Davidowitz from a story by Allison Jacobs, it focuses on the naive daughter of a famous rock musician who, after learning her inheritance has been embezzled, finds herself employed as a nanny for a precocious hypochondriac girl in Manhattan.

Plot
Molly Gunn is a generous, free-spirited young woman who lives off the ample trust fund of her late rock star father, Tommy Gunn, who died in a plane crash alongside Molly's mother when she was a child. Molly falls for singer Neal Fox when he plays at her birthday party, thrown by her best friends Huey and Ingrid. Molly and Neal spend several days and nights of passion sequestered in her apartment, until Neal leaves abruptly and says that he cannot be a part of her disordered life. Adding to her misfortune, she discovers that her father's accountant has embezzled her money, leaving her penniless and homeless. She moves in with Ingrid, on the condition that Molly finds a job.

She begins working as a nanny for eight-year-old Lorraine "Ray" Schleine, who exhibits obsessive hypochondriac behaviors. Ray's mother, Roma, a wealthy music executive, is completely uninvolved in her daughter's life. Ray's father is in a coma induced by a stroke, and is being treated at home by a private nurse, which causes Ray to repress her emotions and maintain a strict regimen of orderliness. Although she enjoys ballet, Ray refuses to freestyle and often quotes Mikhail Baryshnikov: "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun." Molly attempts to show her how to have fun, which at first causes conflict between them, but eventually Ray begins to bring her guard down.

Molly continues to pursue Neal and holds onto his lucky jacket in hopes of seeing him again. After a baking accident, Molly causes a fire that damages Neal's jacket. She redesigns it to fix the damage, but Neal breaks up with Molly when he sees it, insisting he has to focus on his music career and does not have time for her flightiness. Soon after, he lands a record deal with Roma and has a hit music video with a song that Molly inspired him to write, all while wearing the jacket Molly made. Disgusted, Molly agrees to Ingrid's suggestions to sell off her possessions so she can prove that she is growing up. However, after a fight, Ingrid kicks Molly out, and Molly goes to live with Huey. One night, after fighting with and feeling hurt by Neal again, Molly sleeps at Ray's place after feeling alone at Huey's apartment and finds Neal one morning, having slept with Roma.

The budding friendship between Molly and Ray continues to develop when Molly takes Ray to Coney Island and explains that when her parents died, she ran away to Coney Island and rode the tea cups. She encourages Ray to talk to her comatose father, and promises that it will help him improve. However, Ray's father dies the next day, and Ray orders Roma to fire Molly. In Roma's office, Molly chides her for emotionally neglecting Ray. As she leaves, Molly runs into Neal, who begs for a reconciliation, claiming Molly is his muse. Molly turns him down and admonishes him for only caring about her when it is convenient for him. Ray runs away from home and Roma begs Molly to find her. Molly finds Ray at Coney Island, riding in the tea cups. Despite being furious with Molly for raising her hopes, she collapses into Molly's arms, crying, finally coming to terms with her grief.

Molly, deciding to take charge of her own life, takes Ray's advice to auction off her late father's guitar collection to an unknown buyer; this enables her to afford her own apartment. At the wake for Ray's father, Molly meets other musicians who ask her to design their clothes after seeing Neal's jacket in his video. She and Ingrid also make amends and Molly finds Ray to apologize as well. She promises to stay friends with Ray and enrolls in design school after realizing her talent for fashion.

Molly arrives at Ray's recital late and is pleased to see Ray is wearing the tutu Molly designed for her. She is surprised when Ray dances freestyle to Neal singing "Molly Smiles", a song written for her by her father when she was a child. He plays using Tommy Gunn's acoustic guitar, while the remaining ballerinas dance with the other guitars from her father's collection, revealing that he was the anonymous buyer. In a voice-over, Ray says that the end was a new beginning for all of them.

Cast
Additionally, Brian Friedman, Lucy Saroyan, Nas, Carmen Electra, Mark McGrath, Dave Navarro, and Duncan Sheik also appear as celebrity guests during a funeral scene.

Box office
The film opened at number five at the US box office, grossing US$11,277,367 in its opening weekend across 2,495 screens. It remained in theatrical release for nineteen weeks, grossing a total of $37,182,494 in the United States, with an additional $7,434,848 internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $44,617,342.

Critical response
Uptown Girls was panned by critics upon release. On Rotten Tomatoes, 13% of 112 reviews are positive and the consensus states: "With two obnoxious lead characters and an uneven screenplay, Uptown Girls fails to charm."

Stephen Holden of The New York Times criticized the film's plot, writing: "In this standard variation of the princess myth, it takes a humbling fall from grace for Molly to gain a smidgen of soul and a glimpse of happily ever after. Once her obnoxiousness has been camouflaged by a thick glaze of saccharine, things magically work out, as they usually do for Hollywood princesses in distress."

David Noh of Film Journal International characterized the film as "fluff", but added: "Murphy creates a rather fascinating chemistry with Fanning, who resolutely absconds with the film as a controlling tot from hell, a fun-killing spinster trapped in a prepubescent body."

A positive review came from Roger Ebert, who awarded the film three stars out of four and likened Murphy to Lucille Ball.

Legacy
Following Murphy's death at the age of 32 on December 20, 2009, Fanning, at age 15, stated that she cherished the time they spent together while working on the film, and that she was "very grateful that [she] had the chance to work with [Murphy]."

Some writers on the film noted that the film has received more positive response in the years after its release and has been described as a 2000s classic.

Home media
Uptown Girls was released to VHS and DVD in Region 1 on January 6, 2004 by MGM Home Entertainment. Olive Films released the film on Blu-ray in 2016.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Uptown Girls


text:
Phi Gamma Delta

Phi Gamma Delta (ΦΓΔ), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Gamma Delta forms a half of the Jefferson Duo. Since its founding, the fraternity has initiated more than 211,000 brothers. The nickname FIJI is used commonly by the fraternity due to Phi Gamma Delta bylaws limiting the use of the Greek letters.

Founding
The organization was founded on April 22, 1848, at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Six college students gathered in a dormitory room (known by the students as "Fort Armstrong") to establish a secret society. The society they formed was initially called "The Delta Association". The founders, referred to by members as the "Immortal Six", were John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott Jr., Ellis Bailey Gregg, Daniel Webster Crofts, and Naaman Fletcher.

The first regular meeting of Phi Gamma Delta and the adoption of the Fraternity's Constitution took place on May 1, 1848. Consequently, May 1 was chosen to be "Founder's Day" at the 43rd Convention held in 1891 and has traditionally been celebrated as the founding date of the Fraternity.

Contrary to popular belief, the Immortal six were not Freemasons when they entered Jefferson College.

Beliefs
Phi Gamma Delta has chosen not to use the term alumni for members who have graduated; post-collegiate members are referred to as Graduate Brothers, to imply that membership extends past the undergraduate experience. Similarly, one of the mottoes used by the organization is, "Not for College Days Alone".

Phi Gamma Delta's mission statement lists five core values for its members: friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence. In addition, members are encouraged to live by three priorities in this respective order: scholarship, fraternity, and self. This ordering is because members attend university with the foremost goal of receiving an education, and that Phi Gamma Delta is a fraternity that promotes scholastic achievement amongst its members.

Use of Greek letters and etymology of "Fiji"
Phi Gamma Delta limits the written display of its Greek letters. In accordance with the fraternity's international bylaws, Fiji chapters and members only inscribe their letters in the following seven locations:

 * 1) On a uniform diamond-shaped member badge
 * 2) On memorials to deceased brothers
 * 3) On the Fraternity's official flag
 * 4) On the Fraternity's official seal
 * 5) On a chapter house marker
 * 6) On a brother's official college ring
 * 7) On a brother's certificate of membership

The fraternity instructs its members to consider the letters sacred and to never display them on an object that can be easily destroyed. Whereas other fraternities often display their letters on clothing or other items, this tradition prevents Fijis from doing so. In place of the actual Greek letters, "Fiji," "Phi Gam," or the English spelling "Phi Gamma Delta" is used in their place.

The Fiji nickname started at New York University as a suggested name for the Fraternity magazine (Fee Gee). It was officially adopted by the national fraternity at the 1894 convention in the belief that the term would be distinctive and appeal to the imagination. Prior to its formal appropriation by the organization at large, nicknames for members of the fraternity varied greatly; ranging from "Phi Gamm" and "Delta" by brothers across the nation, "Fee Gee" in New York, and "Gammas" in the South. Today, "Fiji" and "Phi Gam" are considered by the fraternity to be the only appropriate nicknames for Phi Gamma Delta members on the international scale, though local nicknames related to a chapter's Greek name or other colloquialisms do exist.

Organization
The fraternity is composed of two types of chapters. Most chapters serve primarily undergraduate students and are established at a single college or university. There are also chapters to serve members of the fraternity who have graduated and are established to serve a city or larger region. The chapters are governed by the fraternity's international headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky.

Honors and awards
Each year, the Phi Gamma Delta organization gives out a number of awards, both to chapters, and to individual members.

Pig Dinner
The Frank Norris Pig Dinner is an annual graduate dinner held by all Phi Gamma Delta chapters. The dinner is named for author Frank Norris, a member of the Fiji chapter at the University of California, Berkeley where the first Pig Dinner was held in 1893. Pig Dinner is sanctioned by the International Fraternity and it serves to welcome graduate brothers back to their undergraduate chapters.

It is the oldest active, chapter-based, annual graduate event in the world of fraternities and sororities.

The International Fraternity stores a list of annual Pig Dinners.

Fiji Islander
Affectionately built upon the "Fiji" nickname, many chapters hold an annual "Fiji Islander" party. These are typically large, tropical-themed festivities, often using banana and palm trees as decoration, although they can vary widely from chapter to chapter. Some are large parties where alcohol, sand, and tropical foliage are present. Others may be alcohol-free, and some are charity projects, rather than parties.

Fiji Man
The fraternity once used a mascot named "Fiji Man," a thick-lipped, dark-skinned man in a grass skirt, sometimes holding a spear or with a bone in his nose, in the style of a once-common Pacific Islander stereotype. Fraternity members built large sculptures of this racist caricature as a party decoration. The Phi Gamma Delta national organization has since banned Fiji Man, and now prohibits appearing in blackface at fraternity events.

Controversy
The appearance of "Fiji Man", Phi Gamma Delta's historical racist mascot, caused complaints from the 1970s to 1990s.

A Fiji Man snow sculpture at Colgate University in 1979 and a t-shirt depicting Fiji man at the University of Texas in 1989 both caused campus-wide apprehension about racism. A "slave auction" with Fiji Man decorations at the University of Southern California in 1989 resulted in mandatory diversity training for the fraternity members. The women who conducted the training characterized it as not one of her more successful efforts.

In 1987, the Phi Gamma Delta chapter at University of Wisconsin–Madison was suspended twice for racism. In May, it was closed because of a Fiji Island party featuring a large caricature of a Pacific Islander with a bone through his nose. Eight days after it was reinstated, the chapter was closed again because Phi Gamma Delta members entered Zeta Beta Tau, a majority-Jewish fraternity, where they began shoving and punching people. Two Fiji members were charged with battery.

In 1990, Phi Gamma Delta members at the University of Texas in Austin handed out t-shirts with a racist Little Black Sambo drawing during a basketball tournament. 500 students protested outside the fraternity house after the incident.

Indiana
A federal lawsuit filed by a Butler University student in 2019 describes being raped by a Wabash College Phi Gamma Delta member while she was black-out drunk during a Phi Gamma Delta party. She told her attacker to stop and attempted to escape while blacking out repeatedly. Other Phi Gamma Delta fraternity members tried to prevent the woman's friends from finding her as she was being raped, according to the lawsuit. She says that Crawfordsville, Indiana police told her that Wabash College has no formal code of conduct and that the student who assaulted her would face few consequences, so encouraged her not to pursue the complaint.

Iowa
On August 30, 2021, an online petition alleged a sexual assault at the University of Iowa Phi Gamma Delta chapter, said to have occurred the year prior. The allegation appeared a few days after a reported assault at the Nebraska chapter, where students protested in front of the Phi Gamma Delta house.

Nebraska
In September 2012, University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) campus police fielded a report of a rape at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house.

On January 21, 2017, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity members at UNL were claimed to have screamed pro-rape slurs at participants of the 2017 Women's March. Chants of "no means yes, yes means anal" were allegedly aimed at thousands of women, children, and men walking past the fraternity house on the University of Nebraska campus. Fraternity members were accused on social media of waving Donald Trump signs, screaming "grab them by the pussy," and then announcing which marchers they would and would not want to "grab by the pussy". Multiple protesters have said that they heard the fraternity members chanting, which a spokesperson for the fraternity has denied. One week later, a protest was held outside the fraternity's chapter house. The protest was attended by about 50 people, including an antifa group which flung tampons dipped in red paint at the building. The fraternity was suspended from UNL from March 2017 to May 2020 because of "a pattern of sexually harassing conduct" and other patterns of misconduct.

The UNL chapter was accused of sexual misconduct in October 2019, while it was still suspended because of the events of 2017.

A sexual assault was reported to University of Nebraska police on August 24, 2021, as having been committed by a Phi Gamma Delta member. Hundreds of protesters converged on the fraternity house that night, calling for an end to rape on campus and for the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity to be shut down. Fraternity members stayed inside the house and shared a video via the internet of them laughing at the protestors out the window. The next day, chancellor Ronnie Green announced that the university would be closing the fraternity house and suspending the chapter while the allegation of sexual assault was investigated.

Campus protests against Phi Gamma Delta continued through the next week. State senator Megan Hunt spoke at one, confirming that, although she did not attend UNL, she was aware of the "open secret" of frequent sexual assault at Phi Gamma Delta and certain other UNL fraternities. During the week of protests, university police received an influx of reports of rape; many were previously unreported events from years ago.

In October 2021, the UNL chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was suspended until 2026. The suspension was because of alcohol use, and not officially connected to the recent protests or ongoing sexual assault investigation.

Tennessee
A member at the University of Tennessee was accused of drugging and raping two women during a party in 2019. The accused apologized to one of the women in a text message, which was later used as evidence of his guilt. The fraternity house was sanctioned.

Hazing allegations
In 1997, as part of an allegedly mandatory hazing event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chapter, 18-year-old freshman Scott Krueger died as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Manslaughter charges were brought against the Phi Gamma Delta organization itself, rather than any individuals. In response, the chapter dissolved and the case was suspended. MIT later settled with Krueger's family for 4.75 million dollars.

In 1999, a 19-year-old pledge was tackled and taken to the Phi Gamma Delta house at the University of Nebraska, where he was handcuffed and forced to drink 15 shots of brandy and whisky and three to six cans of beer over two and a half hours. He broke loose from the handcuffs and attempted to escape by sliding down a drainpipe from a third story window. He fell and suffered head injuries. The incident led to the Nebraska Legislature making hazing a crime. In a resulting lawsuit, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the university should have taken more steps to protect the student, as the university was aware of a pattern of hazing, sexual assault, and other problems at the Phi Gamma Delta house.

In 2006, 19-year-old Danny Daniels was found dead in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at Fresno State University, prompting an investigation and immediate suspension of the chapter. It was found that the fraternity hosted a large party the night before, and that members forced Daniels to drink large amounts of alcohol for initiation. Once he became sick, a few FIJI brothers carried him to a secluded room at the fraternity and left him. Daniels died in the early morning of January 8 from acute alcohol intoxication, and later tests showed that Daniels had a blood-alcohol level of 0.34, more than four times the legal limit. The university suspended the chapter for 5 years; as of 2019, they are still inactive.

On September 17, 2010, a prospective member (pledge), Matt Fritzie, was partially paralyzed after diving into a shallow pool during a Fiji Islander party in Lawrence, Kansas. In response to the incident, the University of Kansas placed the chapter on a two-year probation for hazing. Fritzie has since sued both the chapter and the national organization.

In 2012, West Virginia University banned the fraternity in response to alcohol-related hazing. The fraternity reinstated the chapter in 2014.

On April 4, 2014, Michael Evan Anderson, member of the University of Arizona chapter of FIJI, died after an unsanctioned FIJI event, when he fell 20 ft from the top of an air conditioning unit onto the roof of his dormitory. The investigation of his death by the University Police led to an investigation from the Dean of Students Office, which included several counts of hazing, including kicking new members in the stomach, new members cleaning the house before and after parties, and performing personal acts of servitude to members.

In 2015, five members of the fraternity at the University of Alabama were arrested after an investigation into hazing of their pledges. Per a legitimate anonymous source, fraternity members required pledges to stand in buckets of ice and salt, resulting in severe injuries.

In 2017, the fraternity at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln was suspended by the university until 2020 for reckless alcohol use, hazing pledges, and inappropriate sexually based behavior, including a pattern of sexually harassing conduct.

Police at the University of Missouri - Columbia were alerted to an unresponsive freshman, Daniel Santulli, brought to a local hospital by members after a fraternity party in 2021. Lawsuits are in process, and two of the members have been charged with felonies. One lawsuit states Santulli's "skin was pale and his lips were blue, yet no one called 911." Instead, "the decision was made to drive Santulli to University Hospital in Columbia in one of the brother’s cars." It was also alleged that "this was not just an alcohol overdose, but was hazing on a pledge during their 'dad reveal'." The university announced it would no longer recognize Phi Gamma Delta as a student organization because of multiple violations of its standard of conduct.

In 2021, the fraternity at the University of Missouri had their recognition as an officially registered student organization on campus withdrawn due to multiple violations of the university's standard of conduct.

In 2022, the fraternity at Bowling Green State University was suspended after an investigation by the university revealed hazing and underage drinking by the group.

In 2022, the chapter at University of Kansas was suspended for several years due to extreme verbal, emotional, and physical abuse of pledges. One pledge reported to authorities his entire pledge class was "under the control and authority of members every waking minute each day" during the fall 2021 semester.

Founding of Kappa Alpha Theta
Fijis at the Lambda chapter at Indiana Asbury University (now known as DePauw University) played an important role in the founding of Kappa Alpha Theta women's fraternity. Bettie Locke, the sister of George W. Locke (DePauw, 1871), was one of the first women enrolled at DePauw. Bettie had many Fiji friends and one of them asked her to wear his badge. She contended that she would do so only if she knew the secrets behind the letters. The fraternity, after debate, declined to initiate her. So, upon suggestion of her father, John Wesley Locke, a Beta Theta Pi, she formed Kappa Alpha Theta with a few other women enrolled at DePauw at the time. Kappa Alpha Theta was founded on January 27, 1870. Phi Gamma Delta later presented Bettie Locke with an engraved silver cake basket as a token of friendship.

title: Phi Gamma Delta