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Origins of the Taos ELF Hum
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Taos
Some tentative speculations on the electromagnetic origins of the
Taos hum
follow.
First a summary of recent reports on the Taos Hum list <taoshum-
[email protected]>:
"Sara T. Allen" <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]> noted that these frequencies
(at least
the first three) are
approximate harmonics of 11 Hz.
Steve Ekwall <[email protected]> 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" <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected].net> 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
<http://www-star.stanford.edu/~mfuelle/eicr.html>. 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
<http://www-star.stanford.edu/~mfuelle/Welcome.html>, 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
<ftp://quake.geo.berkeley.edu/pub/em/>.
(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
<http://www-star.stanford.edu/~mfuelle/eicr.html>. See also:
<http://www.laurentian.ca/www/neurosci/publist.htm> 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
<http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/T_Porter/persemf.ht
m>
[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),
<http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/94/21/11633>
[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.
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