JP2004097163A - Processing method for water-containing material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processing method to improve the properties such as taste and palatability of a water-containing material such as food and drink by applying a physical treatment to the material. <P>SOLUTION: The processing method for the water-containing material includes the irradiation of the water-containing material with high-voltage high-frequency wave generated from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil. The properties such as taste and palatability of the water-containing material such as food and drink can be improved by applying the physical treatment to the water-containing material. The cluster of water molecule can be decreased by the processing method. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for treating water-containing substances such as food and drink.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there is no known method for improving the taste and texture of a food or drink by physically processing the finished food or drink such as alcoholic beverages.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide a treatment method capable of improving characteristics such as taste and texture of a water-containing substance such as food and drink by physically treating the substance.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a result of intensive studies, the present inventor has found that by irradiating a water-containing substance with a high-voltage high-frequency wave (spark) emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil, it is possible to improve the properties of the substance such as taste and texture. Heading, the present invention has been completed. Further, it has been found that clusters of water molecules contained in a water-containing substance can be reduced by irradiating the substance with a high voltage high frequency (spark) emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil.
[0005]
That is, the present invention provides a method for treating a water-containing substance, which includes irradiating the water-containing substance with high-voltage high-frequency waves emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil. The present invention also provides a method for reducing clusters of water molecules in a water-containing substance, which comprises irradiating the water-containing substance with high-voltage high-frequency waves emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The Tesla coil is a high-frequency resonance coil invented by renowned inventor Nikola Tesla, and its discharge electrodes emit high-voltage high-frequency waves as visible sparks. The Tesla coil is basically connected to the high-voltage DC power supply, the high-voltage DC power supply, a primary resonance circuit including a primary coil, a capacitor, and a discharge gap, disposed near the primary coil, one end is grounded, the other end And a secondary coil provided with a discharge electrode. By the DC supplied from the high-voltage DC power supply, electricity is accumulated in the capacitor, and the voltage between the electrodes of the capacitor increases, but the same voltage is applied between the discharge gaps connected to the capacitor. Go. When the voltage becomes higher than the withstand voltage of the discharge gap, pulse discharge occurs in the discharge gap, and the discharge gap is connected. Thereby, the primary coil is also energized, and an oscillating current flows through the primary coil. Then, the secondary coil resonates with the oscillating current, and high-voltage high-frequency waves are radiated as sparks from a discharge electrode provided at one end of the secondary coil.
[0007]
Tesla Coil has historically been famous for being a genius inventor, Nicola Tesla, who made a spectacular plan to use a huge Tesla coil to supply power without wires, but now most of it is Not used. It is only slightly used in arts such as movies and theaters to enhance the effect of production using sparks.
[0008]
In the method of the present invention, a high voltage radio frequency (spark) emitted from the discharge electrode of the Tesla coil is irradiated to the water-containing substance. Examples of the water-containing substance include drinking water, various beverages such as alcoholic beverages, various foods, and the like. In particular, drinking water and various beverages whose main component is water are preferable. By applying the method of the present invention to food and drink, the taste and / or texture of the food and drink can be improved.
[0009]
High-voltage, high-frequency irradiation can be performed by applying a visible spark to the water-containing substance. Irradiation may be performed by directly applying a spark to the water-containing substance, or the container may be irradiated with the spark. The irradiation time can be appropriately selected according to the amount and properties of the water-containing substance, the purpose of the treatment, the voltage and amount of the high-voltage high frequency, and the like, and usually about 5 minutes to 10 minutes is appropriate.
[0010]
In addition, the present inventor has found that by irradiating a water-containing substance with a high-voltage high-frequency wave emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil, clusters of water molecules contained in the water-containing substance are reduced. In water molecules, oxygen molecules with high electronegativity and hydrogen molecules with low electronegativity are covalently bonded, so electrons shared by oxygen and hydrogen atoms are attracted to the oxygen atom side, The atoms are negatively charged and the hydrogen atoms are positively charged. Therefore, in liquid water, oxygen atoms of one water molecule are electrically coupled to hydrogen atoms of another water molecule, so that many water molecules are connected to form a lump. Such a mass of water molecules is called a cluster. Various effects are known by reducing the clusters of water (reducing the size of the clusters), for example, by giving the water to plants to promote the growth of the plants. Therefore, the growth of a plant can be promoted by giving the water treated by the method of the present invention to the plant. In addition, the above-mentioned improvement in the taste and / or texture of food and drink is probably related to the reduction of clusters.
[0011]
The circuit of the Tesla coil itself has been known for a long time, and the Tesla coil circuit used in the method of the present invention can use the well-known Tesla coil circuit as it is. The circuit of the Tesla coil includes a high-voltage DC power supply, a primary resonance circuit including a primary coil and a capacitor connected in parallel to the high-voltage DC power supply, and a discharge gap connected in series to the primary coil. And a secondary coil having one end grounded and the other end provided with a discharge electrode. That is, the Tesla coil basically has, for example, the circuit shown in FIG. 1 (A and B are both acceptable). That is, the circuit of the Tesla coil includes the high-voltage DC power supply 17 , the primary resonance circuit 19, and the secondary coil 16. The high-voltage DC power supply 17 is a high-voltage DC power supply circuit that generates a high-voltage DC voltage by using a known high-voltage DC voltage generation circuit (for example, including a transformer, a commutator, and a capacitor) using an AC power supply as a power supply. The primary resonance circuit includes at least a primary coil 22, a capacitor 18, and a discharge gap 20. One end of the secondary coil 16 is grounded, and the other end is connected to the discharge electrode 10 .
[0012]
A high voltage is applied between the discharge gap 20 and between the electrodes of the capacitor 18 by the DC voltage applied by the high-voltage DC power supply 17 . When the voltage exceeds the withstand voltage of the discharge gap 20, discharge occurs in the discharge gap 20, the discharge gap 20 is connected, and an oscillating current flows through the primary coil 22. The secondary coil 16 resonates with this oscillating current, and the high voltage high frequency is discharged from the discharge electrode 10 as a spark.
[0013]
The discharge electrode of the Tesla coil has conventionally been spherical, and a spherical discharge electrode can be used in the present invention. However, in order to further limit the direction in which the spark travels and more efficiently hit the water-containing substance with the spark, for example, as shown in FIG. A rod-shaped electrode 14 provided at the center of the inside of the electrode 12 or in the vicinity thereof can also be used. As the discharge gap 20, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of electrodes 24 and 24 'and a rotatable rotary electrode 26 disposed at a position sandwiched between the pair of electrodes 24 and 24' The distance between each of the pair of electrodes 24, 24 ′ and the rotating electrode 26 may be simultaneously reduced or increased by the rotation of the rotating electrode 26. With such a discharge gap, discharge occurs only when the distance between the rotating electrode 26 and the pair of electrodes 24, 24 'is short, so that not only can the spark be made stronger, but also a high-frequency waveform can be obtained. Is further fluctuated. It is presumed that such fluctuations are effective in improving the taste and texture of food and drink and reducing clusters.
[0014]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically based on examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.
[0015]
Example 1
(1) Production of Tesla coil A Tesla coil having the circuit shown in FIG. 4 was produced. One terminal 1 of the DC high-voltage power supply circuit 17 is connected to the + side of a capacitor block (a plurality of capacitors 18 are connected in parallel) 18, and the negative side of the capacitor block 18 is connected to the terminal 4 of the DC high-voltage power supply circuit 17. As a result, a DC high voltage is applied to the capacitor block 18. The capacitance of the entire capacitor block 18 was 0.1 μF, and the applied DC voltage was 5 kV. A primary coil 22 (17 cm in diameter, 3 cm in length, two turns) is connected to the DC power supply circuit 17 in parallel with the capacitor block 18, and a discharge gap 20 is provided in series with the primary coil 22. The discharge gap 20 includes a pair of electrodes 24, 24 'and a cross-shaped rotary electrode 26 disposed at a position sandwiched between the pair of electrodes 24, 24'. A pair of electrodes 24, 24 'are provided with gap adjusting screws 28, 28' capable of finely adjusting their positions. By turning these screws, the respective positions of the electrodes 24, 24 'are adjusted in the horizontal direction in the figure. , So that the size of the gap can be adjusted. In addition, the size of the gap when the tips of the electrodes 24 and 24 'and the tip of the rotating electrode 26 were closest to each other at the time of discharge was about 1 mm. The rotating shaft of the rotating electrode 26 is connected to a rotating electrode driving motor 30, and the rotating electrode 26 is rotated by the motor 30. The motor 30 is connected to a rotation controller 32 so that the number of rotations can be adjusted. The base end of the electrode 24 ′ of the discharge gap is connected to the negative side of the capacitor block 18, and is connected to the terminal 4 of the DC high-voltage power supply circuit 17 . The DC high-voltage power supply circuit 17 is connected to an AC power supply 36 via a switch & timer 34. Further, the DC high-voltage power supply circuit 17 is grounded, and a ground wire and a switch & timer 34 are connected via a pilot lamp 38. The device can be switched on and off by a switch & timer, and can be operated for a predetermined time by a timer function. The rotation controller 32 is connected to an AC power supply 36 via a switch 40. By switching the switch 40, the rotation of the rotating electrode 26 can be turned on and off. A voltmeter V and an ammeter A are connected to terminals 2 and 3 of the DC high-voltage power supply circuit 17 , respectively.
[0016]
The secondary coil 16 is arranged near the primary coil 22. In this embodiment, the primary coil 22 is wound so as to surround the secondary coil 16. The secondary coil 116 is wound around a cylinder 42 made of an insulator and having a diameter of 8 cm and a length of 95 cm (the number of turns is 1130). The base end is grounded, and the discharge electrode 10 is connected to the tip. Have been. The discharge electrode 10 includes a hemispherical electrode 12 and a rod-shaped electrode 14 that passes through the center of the hemisphere and extends in a direction perpendicular to the opening surface of the hemisphere. The radius of the hemispherical electrode 12 was 8.5 cm, the length of the rod-shaped electrode was 14 cm, and the thickness of the rod-shaped electrode was 6 mm in diameter.
[0017]
When an AC power supply of 200 V was input as an AC power supply for the Tesla coil having the above configuration and the rotating electrode 26 was rotated at a rotation speed of 150 revolutions / minute, a DC high voltage of about 5 kV was supplied from the DC high voltage power supply circuit 17 to the capacitor block. 18 and the discharge gap 20 , the discharge gap 20 is intermittently discharged, and connection and disconnection of the discharge gap are repeated, and the tip of the rod-shaped electrode 14 of the discharge electrode 10 of the secondary coil 16 and the semi-spherical electrode 12 High-voltage high-frequency waves were discharged from the entire inner surface as sparks. The spark was strong enough.
[0018]
(2) A spark was generated from the discharge electrode prepared in the alcoholic beverage tasting sensory test (1), and a commercially available alcohol was placed in a position where the spark from the rod-shaped electrode 14 directly hit the container, and treated for 5 minutes. Alcohols tested were scotch whiskey, bottled beer, canned beer, sake (haya) and potato shochu. Alcohols treated by the method of the present invention ((1)) and untreated liquors ((2)) were tasted by 18 panelists, and the aroma, sweetness, hotness, acidity, bitterness, and richness Sensory evaluation was performed on each item of goodness, good taste, mellowness, and good texture. The evaluation criteria were as follows.
[0019]
"(1)" I feel that (1) is clearly higher.
"1" I feel that (1) is slightly higher.
"△" Same for both.
“2” I feel that ▲ 2 ▼ is slightly higher.
"(2)" I feel that (2) is clearly higher.
[0020]
The counting method was as follows. That is, the numbers of (1), 1, 2, and (2) are totaled for each item, and “(1)” is added as 2 points, “1” is added as 1 point, and (1) (processing group) is added. It is the point of the degree of feeling that it exceeded. Similarly, “2” is added as 2 points, and “2” is added as 1 point, which is a point at which the degree that 2 (unprocessed group) is felt to be higher is added. In addition, “△” and no entry are not counted because there is no difference in taste.
[0021]
The results are shown in FIGS. In these figures, ☆ indicates that a clear difference appeared on the tabulation. As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 9, the improvement of taste and / or texture of various alcoholic beverages was clearly recognized by the method of the present invention.
[0022]
Example 2
Sparks emitted from the discharge electrode of the Tesla coil produced in Example 1 (1) were irradiated to water. That is, a spark was generated from the discharge electrode prepared in (1), and 2,000 ml of water was placed at a position where the spark from the rod-shaped electrode 14 directly hit, and treated for 5 to 30 minutes. The treated water and untreated water as a control were subjected to NMR to examine clusters (half-width of a resonance curve of an oxygen atom (O ₁₆ ) having a mass number of ₁₆ ). The results are shown in FIG.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 10, the clusters decreased as the treatment time increased, and decreased by about 23% after 30 minutes of treatment. Thus, it was confirmed that clusters of water molecules can be reduced by the method of the present invention.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, there has been provided a treatment method capable of improving properties such as taste and texture of a water-containing substance such as food and drink by physically treating the substance. Further, the present invention provides a method capable of reducing clusters of water molecules.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a basic circuit diagram of a Tesla coil.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of one embodiment of a discharge electrode of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of a discharge gap capable of automatically changing the size of the gap.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a Tesla coil according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the results of a sensory test when scotch whiskey is treated according to the method of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the results of a sensory test when a bottled beer is treated by the method of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing the results of a sensory test when canned beer was treated by the method of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the results of a sensory test when sake (hiya) is treated by the method of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a graph showing the results of a sensory test when potato shochu is treated by the method of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the results of NMR measurement of the number of clusters when water is treated by the method of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 discharge electrode 12 bowl-shaped electrode 14 rod-shaped electrode 16 secondary coil
17 DC high-voltage power supply circuit 18 Capacitor block 20 Discharge gap 22 Primary coil 24, 24 'A pair of electrodes of discharge gap 26 Rotary electrodes 28, 28' Gap adjusting screw 30 Rotary electrode drive motor 32 Rotary controller 34 Switch & timer 36 AC power supply

Claims (5)

A method for treating a water-containing substance, comprising irradiating the water-containing substance with a high-voltage high-frequency wave emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil. The method according to claim 1, wherein the water-containing substance is a food or drink, and is used for improving taste and / or texture. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said water-containing substance is a beverage. The method according to claim 3, wherein the beverage is liquor. A method for reducing clusters of water molecules in a water-containing substance, comprising irradiating the water-containing substance with high-voltage high-frequency waves emitted from a discharge electrode of a Tesla coil.

Images