A
Anonymous
Guest
I recently came across this and it just doesn't sound right:
According to the Longman Illustrated Dictionary of Biology, 1985:
"Osmosis is the process by which water passes through a semi-permeable membrane from a solution of low concentration of salts to one of high concentration ......"
This applies to distilled water in that you have an extremely low (if not zero) concentration of salts and other minerals in distilled water. A frog's cells, on the other hand are chock-full of salts and enzymes and minerals - in short, highly concentrated. The cell membrane of a frog cell, and indeed, one of any animal, is water-permeable, allowing the distilled water to cross over into the cells in an attempt to equalize the concentration of substances on either side of the cell wall. The pressure will build up more and more until the cell pops.
If a frog is exposed to distilled water on a consistent basis, then it will eventually die. (BTW: the same goes for people [takes a while] and fish, the latter being the subject of a rather odd running joke in my biology class "The exploding goldfish")
In summary, I would avoid the use of distilled water with any aquatic / semiaquatic species. Instead, look around at spring water. Artesian sources are usually a fairly safe source in my experience.
According to the Longman Illustrated Dictionary of Biology, 1985:
"Osmosis is the process by which water passes through a semi-permeable membrane from a solution of low concentration of salts to one of high concentration ......"
This applies to distilled water in that you have an extremely low (if not zero) concentration of salts and other minerals in distilled water. A frog's cells, on the other hand are chock-full of salts and enzymes and minerals - in short, highly concentrated. The cell membrane of a frog cell, and indeed, one of any animal, is water-permeable, allowing the distilled water to cross over into the cells in an attempt to equalize the concentration of substances on either side of the cell wall. The pressure will build up more and more until the cell pops.
If a frog is exposed to distilled water on a consistent basis, then it will eventually die. (BTW: the same goes for people [takes a while] and fish, the latter being the subject of a rather odd running joke in my biology class "The exploding goldfish")
In summary, I would avoid the use of distilled water with any aquatic / semiaquatic species. Instead, look around at spring water. Artesian sources are usually a fairly safe source in my experience.
