Can Electrons

1
Can Electrons Remember?On the Transference of
Solution Crystallization PatternsVia Electrical
Current
?
Jennifer L. Nielsen, Bachelor of Science Student,
Physics / Pre-Med Supervisor Dr. Michael
Ferrari, Assistant Professor University of
Missouri Kansas City Department of Biology
New Questions - Whats Really Going On?
Introduction Intriguing Properties of Electrons
in Molecular Systems Recent
experiments in molecular electronics support the
idea that electrons and their molecular
environments interact, and that electrons may
retain information regarding these interactions.
Dr. Sergio Ulloa, professor of
Physics and nanostructures expert at the
University of Ohio, says that electrons go
through molecules like pin balls and leave all
the bells ringing (atoms moving) as they pass
byand that electrons remember not only where
they are, but where they have been (quote from
Ohio University Research Communications).

• The question now is, whats really going on?
  According to Nielsen and Ferrari, the simple
  answer is, We dont know. However, evidence
  from the pilot study indicates that a serious
  examination of the electrical transference
  hypothesis is needed. The necessity for further
  research is also indicated. If further studies
  continue to indicate the flow of electric charge
  as the source of the crystal structure
  transference, the next question ishow is this
  transfer occurring? Nielsen is quick to point out
  that significant exploration is necessary before
  we can draw a satisfying This is how it happens
  type of conclusion.
• The length of the copper wire connecting the
  beakers is 20 cm. Therefore it would take about a
  half hour for electrons to get from the
  proteinated beaker to the plain salt beaker,
  which is close to the length of time it took for
  the pattern to begin to emerge.
• At the present time, any speculation about how
  the electronic transference occurs is, admittedly
  just thatspeculation. Jennifer says, If a
  transference via electrical current is whats
  really going on hereand our results, and the
  results of previous experimenters point that it
  issomething is going on that is not, at least at
  first glance, typically described by classical
  mechanics. Electrical current is not typically
  viewed as having memory properties. Schwartz and
  Russek at U of AZ have a hypothesis about
  systemic memory, in which looped systems are
  constantly collecting data which interacts with
  itself to produce a system that becomes more
  complex with timethis is called systemic memory
  hypothesis, and while the logic looks good at
  first glance, its not physicsits an offshoot
  of systems engineering theory. To really explain
  whats going on in our experiments, we need a
  physical model. Thats what Ive been looking for
  since our results started coming in, when it
  first started looking like it wasnt just
  capillary action going on here. I wanted a simple
  explanationthis stuff was just getting
  contaminated, that it was only capillary action,
  or the previous researchers had allowed for some
  contamination to get through. We do need more
  experimentation. Crystal growth is a complicated
  process, involving chaos mathematics, and many
  factors play into what creates a finished
  crystal. There is of course a possibility that
  something usual is going on, and that a minute
  contamination that nobody has caught is somehow
  seeding the change. Nevertheless, after our
  study, and the studies of previous researchers,
  contamination really doesnt appear to be whats
  going on--this just doesnt look like the
  classical explanations.
• There is, however, a wide open and ever expanding
  horizon of quantum possibilities.

RESULTS

• METHODS AND MATERIALS
• 0.15 M NaCl solution
• 10 mg/mL Bovine Serum Albumin/.15 M NaCl solution
• 10 mg/mL albumin 0.15 M NaCl
• 6 20 mL glass beakers
• Several pipettes w/ droppers
• Three 20 cm AWG 26 copper wires, uninsulated
  except at center
• 1.5 Volt D size batteries w/battery holder
  wires
• Microscope slides
• Voltmeter and ammeter to measure voltage and
  current through circuit
• Phase contrast light microscope equipped with
  digital camera

Experimental Trial

• The Phenomenon of an Electrical Transference of
• Solution Crystallization Patterns
• Background
• Ferning of salt crystals is a well known
  phenomena which occurs when NaCl is mixed with
  certain proteins such as bovine serum albumin.
  Water, NaCl, and protein molecules interact
  electrically in a solution so their electrical
  fields mutually adjust when in contact and during
  solution crystallization. Patterns of solution
  structure are intimately linked with the
  electrostatic equilibrium of solution and protein
  (Kim, Young, et all, 2005).

Experimental Trial Set up
15 M NaCl after sharing current with
albumin salt solution for 90 minutes in
Experimental Trial. Note ferning and strong
resemblance to proteinated crystals. 400X.
Pure NaCl samples dried from Beaker B
at start of experimental trial. 400X
magnification.
Control Group A
Control Group Trial B

• Experimental Trial
• Set up to test whether or not an electrical
  current alone could transfer a fernlike protein
  crystallization pattern to a pure salt solution.
  To prevent leaching, uninsulated solid wire was
  used, and taped at the center to prevent the
  transference of any wicked matter.
• Set Up
• Beaker A (NaCl albumin in water)
• Beaker B (NaCl only, in water)
• Connected electronic circuit with 1.5 V
  battery. Samples were taken from Beaker B at
  fifteen minute intervals, dried on a sterile
  slide, and photographed to be checked for any
  changes in formation of crystal patterns.
• Control Group A
• Control Group Trial A was set up to test
  whether or not an electrical current alone
  Experimental Trial A was set up to test whether
  or not an electrical current alone could transfer
  a fernlike protein crystallization pattern to a
  pure salt solution.
• Set Up
• Beaker C (Pure NaCl in water)
• Beaker D (Pure NaCl in water)
• Control Group B

Plain salt after open circuit
connection with proteinated salt in Control B.
(No battery present). No significant changes
noted in crystal structure no ferning. 400X.
Plain salt after sharing current
with plain salt in Control A, for 90 minutes. No
noticeable changes in cubic structure. No ferning
present. 400X.

• Multiple trials were taken. Photos were judged by
  multiple blind sources as to which were more
  fernlike. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being most
  fernlike and complex, 3 being relatively complex,
  and 1 being simple/cube like, original BSA salt
  ferns were judged as 5, Beaker B produced
  crystals were judged an average of 4.5, Beaker D
  crystals were judged an average of 1, and Beaker
  C crystals were judged 1.5.

• All plain salt solution samples were tested for
  protein contamination using Izit protein dye. No
  protein contamination was detected.

• CONCLUSIONS
• It was found in the experimental group trials
  that fernlike crystals could be generated in
  plain salt after sharing a current with a
  proteinated salt, despite no apparent chemical
  contact between the plain salt solution in Beaker
  B with the proteinated solution in Beaker B.
• It was found in the control groups that fernlike
  structures did not emerge from exposure to an
  electrical current alone, or from an open circuit
  looped with a proteinated salt. This, along with
  protein dye testing, contradicts capillary action
  and contamination as the source of the plain salt
  crystal ferning.
• Evidence appears to support hypothesis of an
  electrical transference of crystal growth
  information patterns between the chemically
  isolated systems.

Significance of the Electrical Transference
Hypothesis If indeed the flow of
electrical charge alone is generating the
replication of the crystal pattern in the second
beaker, this seems to indicate that electrons can
gather information about their environments and
relay information at a later time, as if somehow
recording the route it takes in the first beaker
and then repeating the route in the second beaker
to induce the fern crystallization phenomenon.
For additional information please
contact Jennifer L. Nielsen, Undergraduate
Researcher, jlnr25_at_umkc.edu Dr. Michael Ferrari,
Faculty Mentor, FerrariM_at_umkc.edu