‘Structured Water,’ ‘4th-Phase Water,’ ‘Exclusion Zone Water’ — Three Names for the Same Miracle?

How a quiet revolution in physics—and a long-overlooked Japanese engineer—reveals that water is far more alive than we ever dared to imagine.

I still remember in elementary school science when I first learned about the wondrous properties of water — and how life on Earth would be impossible without them. I was fascinated by the list of traits that make water almost completely unique among all substances:

• Universal solvent: Water dissolves and transports nutrients, enabling virtually all biological processes in living things.

• High heat capacity: It stabilizes temperatures, buffering organisms and environments from rapid change.

• Ice floats: Solid water is less dense than liquid, protecting aquatic life beneath the surface.

• Cohesion and adhesion: Hydrogen bonds enable water to travel upward in plants and create surface tension that supports life above and below water.

• Exists in all three phases: Found naturally as solid, liquid, and gas — sustaining the water cycle and the evolution of life itself.

Every living process depends on these singular properties. Without water, Earth would be uninhabitable! But there’s a problem: I was taught — as every student still is — that water exists in only three phases. Even AI models will insist on this… unless you ask a particular question:

“Does water have a fourth phase?”

AI will then sheepishly answer: Yes, according to emerging research—especially work by Dr. Gerald Pollack—there is evidence for a “fourth phase of water” beyond solid, liquid, and gas.

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The Fourth Phase: Exclusion Zone (EZ) or Structured Water

According to decades of research led by Dr. Gerald Pollack at the University of Washington, water exhibits a previously unrecognized state. This structured, quasi-crystalline form exists between the solid and liquid states.

This “fourth phase” of water forms next to hydrophilic surfaces — including biological membranes — where it arranges itself into hexagonal, layered sheets. It is negatively charged, repels impurities, and stores light-derived energy, behaving almost like a biological gel.

Problem: Many of you will have heard of this “new type” of water, with descriptions that vary - “structured water,” “fourth phase water,” or “exclusion zone water.” Fortunately for you (and me), all three describe the same fundamental phenomenon, differing only in the characteristics the term emphasizes:

• “Fourth-phase water” – emphasizing its state beyond solid, liquid, or gas.

• “Structured water” – highlighting its hexagonal molecular order.

• “Exclusion Zone (EZ) water” – referring to its ability to exclude particles and impurities.

So, folks, rest assured —dispel any confusion, IT. IS. ALL. THE. SAZMETHING.

Pollack’s experiments revealed that this water, H₃O₂, carries a negative charge, while adjacent bulk water becomes proton-rich. In effect, it functions like a microscopic battery — a self-organizing, light-charged electrical system.

How Structured Water Forms — and What It Does