The Ultimate Primer On Free Radicals

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The Ultimate PrimerOn Free Radicals

• Free Radicals Are The Sole Cause Of Heart Disease
  And Cancer

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Introduction

• In this series you will learn what aFree Radical
  is.
• You will also learn how Free Radicals cause heart
  disease and cancer
• Finally, you will learn how you can greatly
  reduce the number and activity of Free Radicals
  in your body
• And thereby prevent disease!

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Atomic Physics

• A Free Radical is the size of anAtom
• They are very, very small
• They are moving very rapidly

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Denharm Harmon

•  Many years ago I recall reading aboutsomething
  called a "free radical."  Thefirst time I saw
  that phrase I had not the slightest clue as to
  what it meant.  Within a few more days I had read
  a great deal about it.  Dr. Denham Harmon had
  only recently, then, become very famous for
  having "discovered" free radicals, or more
  accurately, for developing the "free radical
  concept of aging."  (More on Dr. Harman here.)

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Early Understandings

• After that initial study I thought I knew
  whatone of these things was.
• A free radical, I thought, was simply an atom
  that had an odd number of electrons in its outer
  ring.  That is correct, but it omits some useful
  data.  There is an excellent and detailed
  explanation of free radicals on one of my webs --
  click here.  This explanation also includes more
  data abut Dr. Harman.  Connected to that web page
  are two more about free radicals.  ONE of these
  has 100 scientific studies about free radicals,
  and THE OTHER one describes a machine that
  produces negatively charged water.

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Electrons Like Partners

• The more complete answer isthat a free radical
  is any atomor molecule with an "unpaired
  electron" in the outer ring.  An "unpaired
  electron" will also always mean there is an odd
  number since "pairing" of electrons goes by
  "twos."   However, that term, "unpaired
  electron," needs more explanation -- so continue
  reading.

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Basic Principle Of ThePhysical Universe

• It seems that a basic principle of the physical
  universe is natural pairing.  You could even take
  this to the fact that we have two sexes -- each
  needing the other for mutual survival, through
  their progeny, on into the future.  At the other
  end of things, electrons don't seem to like to
  exist without a mate!  You see couples dancing --
  it is the norm!

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Illustrated Atom

• First, my overly simple understanding was like
  this.  The large picture here on the left is of
  an atom of helium.  Helium has two protons in the
  center of the atom, and has two electrons
  circling around that center.  (There are also two
  neutrons in the center, along with the protons.) 
  This is the same helium used to fill balloons at
  your fairs and carnivals.
• You might say that the two electrons are moving
  in a "shell" around the center. They don't
  necessarily always follow the same "orbit," but
  they do stay in the same shell.

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Illustrated Atom 2

• Protons have positive electrical charge. They
  are shown in the picture in palegreen with a
  mark in thecenter -- with the "p" label.
• Electrons have negative electrical charge. They
  are shown here as the blue balls, with a " - " in
  their centers, and with a "tail" implying that
  the electrons are moving around the central mass.
• Neutrons have no electrical charge.  The word is
  related to "neutral."

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The Balanced Atom

• The electrical charge does not affect whether an
  atom is a free radical or not, but it is
  important to understand when you want to figure
  out what keeps those electrons movingaround the
  center nucleus. 
• This was, for me, basic high school physics and I
  was comfortable with this. 
• You could say that this atom is "balanced."  In
  fact, helium is one of the most stable of
  elements.  It is "inert."  It won't react with
  anything else and won't explode or catch on
  fire.  For a while I thought it was "balanced"
  because the electrical charge of the protons
  equaled the electrical charge of the electrons. 
  You have 2 positive protons and 2 negative
  electrons.
• I discovered, however, that the lack of stability
  had more to do with whether or not there was on e
  of those pesky electrons without a mate --
  looking to wander off and join some other atom,
  or to grab another electron from somewhere and
  get paired up!

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Hydrogen
You could contrast helium with hydrogen -- the
lightest of the elements.  Hydrogen is very
reactive.  If you mix some hydrogen with oxygen,
you can get a loud explosion. That is what
happened with the dirigible, the Hindenburg that
was filled with hydrogen.  Dirigibles are now
always filled only with helium.  No explosions. 
The picture at the top left was taken just a few
seconds after the explosion of the Hindenburg --
many people died, and, of course, that was the
end of hydrogen as a gas for dirigibles.
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Hydrogen Atom

• The entire physical universe seems to be made up
  of hydrogen -- there is more hydrogen in our
  physical universe than allother elements
  combined.   The sun is one vast hydrogen ball,
  exploding, burning -- and there is no need for
  oxygen at the levels of temperature of the sun.
• Hydrogen has only one electron, thus it is, by
  definition, an "unpaired" electron, and thus the
  normal form of hydrogen is a free radical.  It is
  possible to add one electron to the atom of
  hydrogen, making it no longer a free radical. 
  This type of hydrogen is described HERE.
• The image at the top left shows an animated
  graphic image of the hydrogen atom.

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Helium Atom With One Electron

• Going back to the helium picture earlier, where
  the atom has TWO electrons circling around the
  center, if ONE of those electrons "goes away"
  you would have something like the drawing on the
  left.  You see the same number of protons, the
  same number of neutrons, but only ONE electron.
• That electron no longer has a mate!
• This image portrays a free radical.  It does have
  an odd number of electrons (one) in the outer
  ring (the only ring).  The status here can also
  be described as an "unpaired electron" since
  there is only one electron.  (It is very
  difficult to take one electron away from helium
  -- that is why it is considered so stable.)

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What Is An Ion?

• Another word to understand in thissituation is
  "ion."  An "ion" is an atom with some "net
  electrical charge" an atom with either a plus
  charge or a minus electrical charge.
• In the above picture you see that the protons,
  with positive electrical charge, are two in
  number while the electron, with negative
  electrical charge, is a single item.   So, in
  this atom, now, there is more positive electrical
  charge than negative electrical charge --
  therefore we say that THIS atom is, itself,
  positively charged.
• Because it is positively charged it attracts any
  available electron, with its negative charge. 
  Opposites attract.

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Philosophical Truth

• So, that philosophical truth?The physical
  universe is basedon PAIRS, but the pairs are
  made up of different sexes, or different
  electrical charges, or whatever it is that is
  different between the two items in the pair! 
  Opposites attract!

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