Negative ions generator

Asuming the circuit is correct, I cannot grasp how it works.

Could anyone explain it?

Thanks for any help.

 

The 555 sends a square wave to the MOSFET, switching a high current to the step up transformer. A large negative pulse voltage appears at the wire point, allegedly generating negative ions by shedding and attaching electrons to them.

 

The 555 sends a square wave to the MOSFET, switching a high current to the step up transformer. A large negative pulse voltage appears at the wire point, allegedly generating negative ions by shedding and attaching electrons to them.

Is the circled terminal of the transformer returned properly? To +12V?

 

Is the circled terminal of the transformer returned properly? To +12V?

The arrow isn't current flow or a diode. It just indicates that that wire eventually finds itself a +12v terminal to connect to.

 

Is the circled terminal of the transformer returned properly? To +12V?

I think so. The big negative pulse gets referenced to +12V instead of 0V, but that's trivial compared to the voltage involved. I'm not really sure why it's not referenced to ground, but it shouldn't make much difference.