[EWAR] Electromagnetic origins of the Taos hum Date: 97-11-04 10:00:36 EST From: west@sonic.net (Wes Thomas) Sender: owner-ewar-l@sub.sonic.net Reply-to: west@sonic.net (Wes Thomas) To: EWAR-L@sonic.net Some tentative speculations on the electromagnetic origins of the Taos hum follow. First a summary of recent reports on the Taos Hum list : "Sara T. Allen" reported an informal study by a team from U. of New Mexico along with technical members from Sandia National Lab, Phillips Air Force Lab, and Los Alamos National Lab. She was able to perceive beat frequencies at about 33 HZ, 44 HZ, 67 HZ and 73 HZ, with no simultaneous audio signal pickup. She also reported that no attenuation of the subjective effects within a Faraday cage were noted in tests at Sandia labs. I speculated that these might be U.S. ELF submarine communications frequencies. Anders noted that these frequencies (at least the first three) are approximate harmonics of 11 Hz. Steve Ekwall described the hum as "diesel like in sound, BUT, being a bit [of] a mechanic myself.. WASN'T QUITE TIMED RIGHT!... Like huff and puffing (but pausing occassional inbetween?).. Constant BUT NOT STABLE! On-Going (Loudest never Louder... Softest never Softer) then there is always the nanosecond(?) slip of time to the next idle stroke." "Sara T. Allen" added: "At first, when I heard the irregular "beat" of the hum, I thought perhaps that I was actually hearing my own pulse and movement of blood through my body and head. I counted the hum pulses and counted my pulse, close but not quite in synch. Where my own pulse at rest is normally 59, or 60 bpm, the hum is always 62, 63, in that region. I did try to count pulse and hum beat at the same time but got confused as to which was which. Then I concentrated on my pulse and the hum and it kind of is in sync then obviously loses sync like a windshield wiper keeping beat to a song, but not quite exactly and then it is out of sync. That convinced me that I was not hearing my own body noise." Based on these subjective reports (and others), can we agree that the hum waveform appears to be a pulse form rather than sinusoidal and that the pulses appear to have a low-frequency phase, frequency or amplitude modulation superimposed? (Note to Sara: can you test to match this modulation quantitatively too?) One key question: is the central nervous system an efficient transducer of RF signals? Frey's classic paper [7] reporting on research on perception of UHF and microwave signals amplitude-modulated by pulsed audio concluded that "using extremely low average power densities of electromagnetic energy, the perception of sounds was induced in normal and deaf humans. The effect was induced several hundred feet from the antenna the instant the transmitter was turned on, and is a function of carrier frequency and modulation. "... average power density can be at rf as low as 400 _u_w/cm2" with an ambient noise environment of 80 db." In an anechoic room, "rf sound could theoretically be induced by a peak power density of 3 _u_w/cm2 measured in free space. Since only 10% of this energy is likely to penetrate the skull, the human auditory system and a table radio may be one order of magnitude apart in sensitivity to rf energy." Frey cited some evidence that the sensitive area for detecting rf sounds is a region over the temporal lobe of the brain. Ron Hill asked for information about Schumann resonance and its relevance to the hum. Some basics: the two predominant geomagnetic frequencies are Schumann resonance (Earth-ionosphere cavity), which is 7.8 Hz fundamental, and the resonance of the Earth itself (10 Hz fundamental). You can get a feel for the relative strength of these signals (and other ELF signals) at . Note that the 60 Hz signal is now greater than the earth's natural frequency. As stated by leading Schumann resonance authority Dr. Martin Fullekrug , Stanford U and Visiting scholar at the Institut fur Meteorologie und Geophysik, [1] "These [Schumann] resonances result from the interference of propagating waves within the spherical shell bounded by the conducting Earth and the ionosphere, denoted Earth-ionosphere cavity....The Earth-ionosphere cavity resonances are mainly excited by atmospheric sources , i.e. tropospheric lightning activity in continental thunderstorms ocurring in the tropical belt around the world." The SR is measured every 15 minutes at UC Berkeley Seismographic Station electromagnetic field measurements . (As for the increased SR myth, UC Berkeley Seismographic Station electromagnetic field measurements show that SR is still in the range of roughly 7.5 to 8.1 Hz (as you can see from the data, the frequency varies throughout the day, with an average around 7.8 Hz). The original source of the misinformation on alleged increased SR appears to be an undocumented speculation in Gregg Braden's Approaching the Zero Point book, propagated by Drunvalo Melchezedek via Val Valerian in Leading Edge, http://www.cco.net/~trufax/editor/ed1.html.) Michael Persinger speculates [2] that these basic geofields may have influenced all life forms in the evolution of their basic neural functioning. For example, 10 Hz is the universal tremor reflex in all life forms (you can confirm that by measuring your finger's micromotion) because the strong magnetic field somehow affected molecules in an early stage in the development of life and evolved as magnetic drivers for universal circadian rhythms. Persinger has also stated that [3] "The possibility that masses of susceptible people could be influenced during critical conditions by extremely small variations (less than 1%) of the steady-state amplitude (50,000 nT) of the earth's magnetic field such as during geomagnetic storms (50 to 500 nT) [6]. Recent experimental evidence which has shown a threshold in geomagnetic activity of about 20 nT to 30 nT for the report of vestibular experiences in human beings and the facilitation of limbic seizures in rodents is consistent with this hypothesis." [2] "Sandyk [4] has discerned significant changes in vulnerable subjects such as patients who were diagnosed with neurological disorders following exposure of short durations to magnetic fields whose strengths are within the pT to nT range but whose spatial applications are multifocal (a fasces-type structure) and designed to introduce heterogeneous patterns within a very localized brain space. The effective components of the field (which are assumed to be discrete temporal patterns due to the modulation of the frequency and intensity of the electromagnetic fields) are not always obvious; however, the power levels for these amplitudes are similar to those associated with the signals (generated globally by radio and communication systems) within which most human beings are exposed constantly." The key variable here is to what extent these signals are bioactive, Persinger states [3]: "If the temporal structure of the applied electromagnetic field contained detailed and biorelevant information (Richards, Persinger, & Koren, 1993), then the intensity of the field required to elicit a response could be several orders of magnitude below the values which have been previously found to elicit changes. For example, Sandyk (1992) and Jacobson (1994) have found that complex magnetic fields with variable interstimulus pulse durations could evoke unprecedented changes in melatonin levels even with intensities within the nanoT range." In other words, small variations in a magnetic field ("the nanosecond(?) slip of time to the next idle stroke..."?) at the right bioactive frequencies and phases might have disproportionately large effects on neural activities (such as hearing). Persinger goes even further out with this line of thought [3]: "The most parsimonious process by which all human brains could be affected would require (1) the immersion of all the approximately 6 billion brains of the human species within the same medium or (2) a coercive interaction because there was facilitation of a very narrow-band window of vulnerability within each brain. For the first option, the steady-state or "permanent" component of the earth's magnetic field meets the criterion. The possibility that masses of susceptible people could be influenced during critical conditions by extremely small variations (less than 1%) of the steady-state amplitude (50,000 nT) of the earth's magnetic field such as during geomagnetic storms (50 to 500 nT) has been discussed elsewhere (Persinger, 1983). Recent experimental evidence which has shown a threshold in geomagnetic activity of about 20 nT to 30 nT for the report of vestibular experiences in human beings and the facilitation of limbic seizures in rodents is consistent with this hypothesis. "The potential for the creation of an aggregate process with gestalt-like properties which reflect the average characteristics of the brains that are maintained with this field and that generate the aggregate has also been developed (Persinger & Lafreniere, 1977) and has been labelled the "geopsyche." This phenomenon would be analogous to the vectorial characteristics of an electromagnetic field which is induced by current moving through billions of elements such as wires contained within a relative small volume compared to the source. Such gestalts, like fields in general, also affect the elements which contribute to the matrix (Freeman, 1990). "The second option would require access to a very narrow limit of physical properties within which all brains are maintained to generate consciousness and the experience of self-awareness. This factor would be primarily loaded by the variable of brain temperature. Although the relationship between absolute temperature and wavelength is generally clear [an example which can be described by Wien's law and is well documented in astrophysics (Wyatt, 1965)], the implications for access to brain activity have not been explored. The fragile neurocognitive processes that maintain consciousness and the sense of self normally exist between 308[degrees]K and 312[degrees]K (35[degrees]C and 39[degrees]C). The fundamental wavelength associated with this emission is about 10 micrometers which is well within the long infrared wavelength. "However, the ratio of this normal range divided by the absolute temperature for normal brain activity which maintains neurocognitive processes is only about 0.013 (4[degrees]K/312[degrees]K) or 1.3%. If there were a subharmonic pattern in naturally occurring or technically generated magnetic fields which also reflected this ratio, then all brains which were operative within this temperature range could be affected by the harmonic. For example, if 11.3 Hz were one of these subharmonic electromagnetic frequencies, variations of only 1.3% of this mean, i.e., 11.3 Hz +/- [plus or minus] 0.1 Hz, would hypothetically be sufficient to affect the operations of all normal brains. If this "major carrier frequency" contained biorelevant information by being modulated in a meaningful way, then the effective intensities could well be within the natural range for background radiation (microwatts/cm2) and could be hidden as chaotic components within the electromagnetic noise associated with power generation and use." Hmmm, that 11 Hz number again... Ehud Ahissar has recently reported on experiments with 8 and 10 Hz behaviors in rats and the relation to thalamocortical loops implementing phase-locked loops: [5]: "The temporally encoded information obtained by vibrissal touch could be decoded "passively," involving only input-driven elements, or "actively," utilizing intrinsically driven oscillators. A previous study suggested that the trigeminal somatosensory system of rats does not obey the bottom-up order of activation predicted by passive decoding. Thus, we have tested whether this system obeys the predictions of active decoding. We have studied cortical single units in the somatosensory cortices of anesthetized rats and guinea pigs and found that about a quarter of them exhibit clear spontaneous oscillations, many of them around whisking frequencies (10 Hz). The frequencies of these oscillations could be controlled locally by glutamate. These oscillations could be forced to track the frequency of induced rhythmic whisker movements at a stable, frequency-dependent, phase difference. During these stimulations, the response intensities of multiunits at the thalamic recipient layers of the cortex decreased, and their latencies increased, with increasing input frequency. These observations are consistent with thalamocortical loops implementing phase-locked loops, circuits that are most efficient in decoding temporally encoded information like that obtained by active vibrissal touch. According to this model, and consistent with our results, populations of thalamic "relay" neurons function as phase "comparators" that compare cortical timing expectations with the actual input timing and represent the difference by their population output rate." Since 8 and 10 Hz played a significant role in the study, I asked the author to consider Persinger's hypothesis that the 8 Hz Schumann resonance and the 10 Hz universal tremor reflex (approximate earth-ionosphere cavity and earth resonances, respectively) may be phylogenetically linked to basic neural functioning and circadian rhythms. If so, could spontaneous (or experimental) bioactive ELF modulations entrain cortical oscillations using CNS phase-locked loop functions? To be continued .... References: [1] ''Schumann-resonances in magnetic-field components '', Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 57, No. 5, p. 655, 1994 . See also: for a bibliography of Persinger's papers and books. [2] ELF and VLF Electromagnetic Field Effects, Editor, Michael A Persinger, Plenum Press, 1974 [3] ON THE POSSIBILITY OF DIRECTLY ACCESSING EVERY HUMAN BRAIN BY ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION OF FUNDAMENTAL ALGORITHMS, M.A. Persinger, Laurentian University, Perceptual and Motor Skills, June 1995, 80, 791-799 [4] Sandyk, R. Successful treatment of multiple sclerosis with magnetic fields. _International_Journal_of_Neuroscience_, 1992, 66, 237-250. [5] Ehud Ahissar, Sebastian Haidarliu, and Miriam Zacksenhouse, "Decoding temporally encoded sensory input by cortical oscillations and thalamic phase comparators," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 94, pp. 11633-11638, October 1997), [6] Persinger, M.A. The effects of transient and intense geomagnetic or related global perturbations upon human group behavior. In J.B. Calhoun (Ed.), _Perspectives_on_adaptation,_environment_ _and_population_. New York: Praeger, 1983. Pp. 28-30. [7] Frey, Allan H., Human Auditory system response to modulated electromagnetic energy. J. Appl. Physiol. 17(4): 689-692. 1962. *********************************************************** EWAR-L Electronic Warfare Mailing List To unsubscribe or subscribe: send a message to majordomo@sonic.net with the following text: unsubscribe EWAR-L or subscribe EWAR-L. To post messages, send to: . Previous posts: . EWAR Web site: . -Wes Thomas , list owner