Why Alkaline Water Hydrates Better

Alkaline water science experiment

Why does alkaline water hydrate better than plain water? Because it has lower surface tension than regular water. The surface tension of water determines how well your cells can absorb it through osmosis. The lower the surface tension, the easier it is to absorb.

The calcium and magnesium hydrates in alkaline water act as osmotics – substances that reduce the surface tension of water. When you reduce the surface tension of water, it becomes easier to absorb through osmosis. Alkaline water’s surface tension can be compared to plain water with a simple experiment called “The penny experiment”.

The Penny Experiment: Surface tension of alkaline water vs. plain water

You can test the surface tension of water by counting how many drops of water you can get to sit on a penny before it spills over. The water’s surface tension is what holds it in place on the side of the penny. The lower the surface tension, the fewer drops of water you can fit on the penny before it overflows the sides of the penny.

Use an eyedropper and two pennies. Hold the eyedropper a little above the penny so the droplet has to drop on to the penny. Count how many drops you can fit on the penny until they spill over.

Important: Hold the eyedropper at the same height when adding drops to both pennies. Gravity will affect the outcome of this experiment!

Penny test – Our Results

 Water Type:  Alkaline Water            Plain Water

As you can see from the results we got, you can fit more drops of tap water on a penny than you can with alkaline water. The reason is that the surface tension of alkaline water is lower than the plain water it was compared against.

Why alkaline water has lower surface tension than plain water

The mineral hydrates in alkaline water lower the surface tension of water. Plain tap water contains carbonate minerals – Calcium and magnesium carbonates. A water ionizer splits the carbonates from the alkaline minerals. The minerals then hydrolyze – combine with –  hydroxyl ions taken from water molecules.

About the mineral hydrates in alkaline water

Calcium hydrate and magnesium hydrate are both recognized for their contribution to human nutrition. In fact, calcium hydrate is used to fortify orange juice and infant formula with calcium. Magnesium hydrate is the active ingredient in Milk of Magnesia.

The amount of hydrate minerals you get in your alkaline water depends on the number of carbonate minerals in your tap water. If you have hard water, you have plenty of minerals to make alkaline water with!

Want to take advantage of alkaline water hydration? Call our healthy water experts today at 877-959-7977, and put alkaline water to work for your health!