2025_programme: Quantum Spin States in Water: Ortho-Para Transition Theory and Its Impact on Environmental and Industrial Technologies

• Day: June 20, Friday
    Location / Time: B. ERATO at 09:30 - 09:50
• Last minutes changes: -
• Session: 30. Underwater Sensors Technology
  Organiser(s): N/A
  Chairperson(s): Yannik Steiniger
• Lecture: Quantum Spin States in Water: Ortho-Para Transition Theory and Its Impact on Environmental and Industrial Technologies
  Paper ID: 2126
  Author(s): Irina Bjørnø, Sergey Pershin, Michail Grishin
  Presenter: Irina Bjørnø
  Abstract: Recent discoveries have revealed a groundbreaking phenomenon where light alone, without any thermal input, can induce water evaporation, termed the “photomolecular effect” . This study explores a novel hypothesis that this effect can be explained by ortho-para magnetic spin interactions in water molecules within the water-air interface layer. The interaction of polarized light with these spin states may induce transitions between the rotational levels of ortho- and para- forms due to catalysts like triplet oxygen (O₂) in its inhomogeneous magnetic field. Resonance pumping at 532 nm (~18,797 cm⁻¹) results in an increase in molecular energy sufficient to overcome intermolecular forces at the water surface, thereby causing evaporation. The proposed ortho-para conversion mechanism involves spin-orbit coupling and specific resonance conditions.\n\nThis theory provides a quantum mechanical perspective on the photomolecular effect, potentially offering insights into natural processes such as cloud formation and climate modeling, as well as practical applications in solar desalination and industrial drying. Further experimental validation is required to confirm the role of spin interactions in light-induced water evaporation.\n
• Corresponding author: Dr Irina Bjørnø
  Affiliation: Assoc. Prof.
  Country: Denmark