This machine is hot and was just released in Japan last month.
I recently purchased a Plasmacluster Ion machine from Sharp. According to the maker the machine “emits positive and negative ions into the air, thus deactivating impurities.” This is different to a humidifier which just releases steam into the air. Sharp have a number of patents for the technology this machine is based on. They have also released hybrid machines that act as plasmacluster and humidifiers, but I was told by staff at BicCamera that the machine IG-A100 Plasmacluster was the full model whilst the hybrid machines were more like an introductory model. The IG-A100 machine gives out 25,000 Ion clusters per cm cubed. It cleans the room from dust mites, virus particles and mold spores. This is different to conventional air filters or air purification machines.
IG-A100 Plasmacluster
According to the Sharp website the machine “Plasmacluster Technology splits water molecules into positively and negatively charged ions, which spread throughout the room, surrounding airborne particles. This system effectively treats the air the way nature cleans the environment near waterfalls or just after a thunderstorm to help keep the air healthier and cleaner smelling.”
Anyway, the result is a very pleasant environment which smells fresh and clean. Here is a picture of my machine in my apartment.
and some links to Sharp’s site talking about the technology
http://www.sharp.ca/products/ion/key_points.asp
http://www.sharp.ca/products/ion/plasma_2.asp
http://sharp-world.com/plasma_c/
Above is Sharp’s logo for the Plasmacluster Ion product range. They use this on their hybrid machines also, but be sure to check the Ion count the machine is putting out. that seems to be the key to the effectiveness of the machine.
I did an update to this post that can be found here
http://shibuya246.com/2009/02/01/sharp-plasma-ion-cluster/
Shibuya246 