by David Hyde and Ben Davidson
January 21,
2017
New Dawn 146 (Sept-Oct 2014)
from
NewDawnMagazine Website
Solar energy and cosmic radiation have electrical influences over a
multitude of human activities including human health.
Mainstream
science has begun to accept these effects, and to investigate the
topic in a serious way, but the science itself is by no means 'new'.
At the December 1926 annual meeting of the American Meteorological
Society, Russian Professor Alexander Tchijevsky (also spelt
Chizhevsky) presented the paper "Physical Factors of the Historical
Process."
The paper examined the
cyclical variations in the sunspot number of
the Solar Cycle in order to create
a mass index of human excitability throughout history.
He found that revolutions
and periods of intense fighting seemed to occur during
Solar Maxima - the period of
greatest activity in the 11-year solar cycle of the Sun - while
cultural flourishing and social cohesion tended to occur during
Solar Minima.
It was in this paper that Tchijevsky wrote:
The Sun is an
enormous generator of electric energy and emits it in the form
of radiation and induction.
The Sun is surrounded
by an electromagnetic field, the limits of which reach beyond
the farthermost planet Neptune, and therefore the Earth with its
electromagnetic field is in the Sun's field of tremendous power.
1
Tchijevsky and other
observers at this time noticed that during the period of maximum
solar activity, all of the Sun's phenomena would acquire tremendous
size and strength, and that,
"The Sun ejects
streams of anode and cathode rays which ionize the Earth's
atmosphere (Birke, Arrhenius, Nordmann, Paulsen, Villards) and
create certain effects."
Based on previous
research, Tchijevsky postulated that:
The influence of the
Sun on the human organism results in chemical changes in the
pigment of the skin, in the chaining of the heart-beat, in the
alterations in the chemical composition of the blood and the
latter results in changes in the general condition of the
organism and its nervous tonicity.
Lenkei, Behring, Hasselback, Nogler, Aimes, Rollier, Revillet,
Marques, d'Oelsnitz, Robin, Moleshott, Loeb, I. Newton,
Professor Bechtereff, Lombroso
Given that the varying
amount of the Sun's energy received by the different climatic zones
has such a great influence on humanity, Tchijevsky posed the
question:
Do the periodical
changes of the Sun's activity resulting in the amount of the
emitted innumerable streams of electrical particles and
electromagnetic waves also have an influence upon humanity?
It wasn't until 1942 that
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin became aware of this paper and Tchijevsky's research.
Tchijevsky was
subsequently asked to retract his ideas and writings on the
influence of Solar Cycles on human behavior,
"which contradicted
Soviet theories of the reasons for the Russian revolutions of
1905 and 1917. He refused, was arrested and spent eight years in
a forced labor gulag in the Ural mountains." 2
Nonetheless, his ideas
were central to the budding field of Space Weather research.
In a
paper from 2007,
"Solar Activity,
revolutions and cultural prime in the history of mankind," Prof.
Miroslav Mikulecký's research is in agreement with Tchijevsky's
hypothesis that "revolutions culminated near to solar maxima
while cultural flourishing usually distinctly near to solar
minima.
This conclusion is
based on the level of statistical significance alpha=0.05" (Mikulecký,
2007). 3
Space Weather
When we talk about 'Space Weather' we're discussing the
conditions on the Sun and in the
solar wind, which contains charged plasma that is emanating away
from the Solar surface and stretching all the way out past Pluto.
In this space, charged ions are all flowing along electromagnetic
currents, tethers that are connecting each planet to the Sun.
Known as the
Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF),
this dynamo of sphere magnets (planets) revolving around one
central, powerful sphere magnet (the Sun) makes up the protective
shell of our Solar System known as the
Heliosphere.
The Earth has its own protective interface from the various effects
of Space Weather, called the
Magnetosphere.
According to the
European Space Agency, there are concerns the,
"force that protects
our planet is weakening and may even be on the verge of
reversing polarity. Over the last 150 years, the magnetic field
has lost about 15% of its strength." 4
But that's not all.
This decline in
Magnetospheric strength on Earth has also been accompanied by a
weakening in Solar Magnetics, 5 as a Sunspot Grand Minima
is quite possibly knocking at our door.
Recent research into the
modes of Solar Activity have revealed there is, on average, a 400
year Sunspot Grand Minima Cycle, 6 with the last one
occurring about 400 years ago during what's commonly referred to as
the Maunder Minimum:
During the Maunder
Minimum (MM)
period extremely few auroras were recorded (Chapman, 1967)
suggesting that atmospheric/magnetospheric processes were
significantly affected.
Reduced solar
irradiance such as during the MM and
Dalton Minimum, is correlated
with the negative shift of the North Atlantic Oscillation
(NAO)
index leading to enhance north easterly wind which results into
cooling of Europe, whereas enhanced solar irradiance is
correlated with positive NAO index. 7
Singh et al. 2011
Whether or not a
Global Warming or a
Global Cooling scenario will
play-out is still very much 'up in the air', and the proposed, often
exaggerated claims of warming proponents attempt to ignore the
natural factors and cyclical variations that are taking place,
untamed by any of the anthropogenic 'climate forcing' factors.
The 11-year
Solar Cycle and 22-year Magnetic
Cycle will continue to unfold, unhindered, into the foreseeable
future; this periodicity was first discovered by H. von Schwabe
in 1851.
The Heliosphere and Magnetosphere both protect the Earth from the
harsh effects of Galactic Cosmic Rays, which are high-speed
energetic particles capable of stripping away the Earth's Ozone and
atmosphere.
Cosmic Rays are thought to induce
cloud formation in the lower atmosphere 8 and charge-up
lightning strikes, thereby impacting regional temperatures.
Both the Heliosphere and Earth's Magnetosphere are stronger during
Solar Maximum (offering more protection from Galactic Cosmic Rays)
and weaker during Solar Minimum (offering less protection from the
harmful effects of Cosmic Rays).
This inverse relationship between Solar Activity (SA) and
Cosmic Ray Activity (CRA) has been well-established in
scientific literature. What this means is that whenever SA is high,
CRA will be low, and vice versa, whenever SA is low, CRA will be
high.
A coronal mass ejection (CME)
is a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields rising above
the Sun's corona or being released into space.
A danger arises when
these are directed towards Earth, and the term geo-effectiveness is
used when determining a CME's ability to generate geomagnetic storms
on Earth.
An important aspect of geoeffective CMEs is how large of a
Forbush decrease (drop in galactic
cosmic radiation) they produce.
In the 2005 NASA article
'Who's Afraid of a Solar Flare?', Dr. Tony Phillips wrote
that,
Magnetic fields
deflect charged particles, so when a CME sweeps past Earth, it
also sweeps away many of the electrically-charged cosmic rays
that would otherwise strike our planet. This is the 'Forbush
decrease'. 9
Large CMEs that become
geoeffective often spark geomagnetic storms, which are marked by the
appearance of the Aurora Borealis throughout the
Auroral Ovals,
which circle both of Earth's polar regions and expand towards the
equator during intense magnetic storms.
A
geomagnetic storm induced blackout was the case in 1989, after a
large Earth-directed solar flare occurred on Friday, 10 March, which
reached the Earth on Monday, 13 March 1989.
The most significant
damage occurred to Canada's Hydro-Québec power utility grid, which
crashed,
"when safety systems
sensed a power overload caused by the currents pulsing through
the ground." 10
These 'ground induced
currents' knocked out electricity for nine hours to as many as six
million people in northeastern Canada.
We know for a fact that
extreme geomagnetic storms can induce ground currents that will
affect all of sorts of sensitive electronics.
Effects on the Human
Body
There are a wide variety of effects that Space Weather exerts on the
electricity of the brain, heart and central nervous system inside of
our own bodies.
Recent research suggests the solar wind actually modulates lightning
intensity here on Earth, and that an,
"increase in Galactic
Cosmic Ray flux may directly trigger lightning through 'runaway
breakdown' of electrons, leading to breakdown (Roussel-Dupré et
al 2008)". 11
Scott et al. 2014
This is important given
that, according to NASA, at any moment,
"2,000 thunderstorms
roll over Earth, producing some 50 flashes of lightning every
second.
Each lightning burst
creates electromagnetic waves that begin to circle around Earth
captured between Earth's surface and a boundary about 60 miles
up…" 12 and lightning is associated with local
emission of photons.
The Schumann
Resonances (SR)
are a set of frequencies ranging from 3 Hz to 60 Hz, increasing in
6.5 Hz intervals, with the 'fundamental' frequency of the Schumann
Resonance standing at 7.83 Hz.
The Schumann Resonances
are easily detectable on any planet on which lightning takes place,
and so far the SR signals have been detected on Venus, Mars, Titan,
Jupiter and Saturn.
In the paper "Schumann Resonance Frequencies
found within
Quantitative Electroencephalographic Activity - Implications for
Earth-Brain Interactions," Dr. Michael Persinger discusses
the,
"bulk velocity of
action potentials within the cerebral cortices, the approximate
standing wave or resonance for a 60 cm circumference skull would
be ~7.5 Hz.
This bulk velocity
would require ~20 to 25 milliseconds to traverse the cerebral
length and is equivalent to about 40 to 45 Hz". 13
Persinger 2014
This 40 to 45 Hz band is
the classic frequency associated with 'consciousness', as well as
other complex biological functions.
It is apparent that disruptions in the Schumann Resonances via
external factors, such as natural variations in Space Weather
intensity, can have a profound impact on the physiological and
psychological health of an organism.
The brain is a,
"massive source of
extremely-low-frequency (ELF) signals that get transmitted
throughout the body via the nervous system, which is sensitive
to magnetic fields.
Brainwaves and
natural biorhythms can be affected by external factors". 14
Babayev & Allahverdiyeva 2007
The late Dr. Neil Cherry
wrote:
The first five
Schumann Resonances coincide with the frequency range of the
first four EEG bands.
The primary EEG bands are:
-
Delta 0.5 to 4
Hz
-
Theta 4-8 Hz
-
Alpha 8-13 Hz
-
Beta 13 to 30 Hz
Malmivuo &
Plonsey 1995
Hence resonant
absorption and reaction is biophysically plausible…" 15
Cherry 2001
Dr. Cherry had collected
and conducted research showing that the effects to human health via
solar and geomagnetic activity (S-GMA) are biophysically possible
through
changes in Schumann Resonance intensity.
The effects include,
Many occupational
studies have found that exposure to ELF fields between 16.7 Hz
and 50/60 Hz significantly reduces melatonin levels.
Cherry 2001
Melatonin is a potent
anti-oxidant with receptors in every major organ, and it is released
from
the pineal gland when the natural boundary of light is missing.
16
Melatonin production
peaks at night, around 4 am when the temperature is at its lowest
and the melatonin level is at its highest.
The variable changes in Space Weather and solar wind parameters lead
to perturbations in the environmental electromagnetic fields,
certain frequencies of which can,
"significantly alter
the cellular calcium ion fluxes and Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)
waves in brain tissue". 17
Cherry 2001
The collected evidence
reveals that the effects can go from environmental ULF/ELF signals
to directly altering our cellular calcium ion homeostasis, which is
capable of altering primate and human EEG waves, thereby affecting
cell-to-cell communication and impacting reaction times.
There is evidence that,
"at days with high
neutron activity (CRA) there were more medical emergencies and
more deaths…
A strong trend of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD)
(mostly of fatal cardiac arrhythmia, fibrillation) occurred more
often on days of high CRA (neutron activity)".
Stoupel et al. 2014
During periods of low
Solar Activity and 'zero' geomagnetic activity, data showed that
those at risk were more likely to die of SCD; this illustrates the
inverse correlation between Solar Activity and Cosmic Ray Activity.
On the other hand, in the scientific paper "Geomagnetic Storms Can
Trigger Stroke," the authors purpose was to present evidence for the
impact of geomagnetic activity on stroke occurrence, which has been
"limited and controversial."
They conclude that,
"Geomagnetic storms
are associated with increased risk of stroke and should be
considered along with other established risk factors". 18
Feigin et al. 2014
Perhaps it is the
balance, the middle ground, which is most prevalent compared to high
Solar Activity and CRA, which are short-term events and less
prevalent than active conditions.
Previous research shows that geomagnetic variations of a solar
origin have been correlated with enhanced anxiety, sleep
disturbances, altered moods, and greater incidences of psychiatric
admissions (Persinger, 1987). 19
Babayev and
Allahverdiyeva's findings indicate,
"there were an
indisposition, weakness and presence of indistinct localized
headaches during the days with severe Geomagnetic Storms in
experiment participants."
They concluded that,
"geomagnetic
disturbances affect mainly the emotional and vegetative sphere
of human beings… changes in geomagnetic conditions mostly affect
the activity of the regulating systems of the right hemisphere
and the ability to adapt to changes in a physical environment."
There have been numerous
papers that explore even more connections between human health and
energy from space:
-
infant mortality
-
suicide
-
traffic accidents
-
crime rates,
...and numerous other
significant events and human conditions have been statistically
matched with fluxes in solar and cosmic energy.
Although this field of
study is by no means new, it is just now becoming accepted,
understood, and investigated in a serious manner.
Footnotes
-
A.L.
Tchijevsky, 'Physical Factors of the Historical Process',
Translated edition published January 1971,
www.cyclesresearchinstitute.org/cycles-history/chizhevsky1.pdf
-
Alexander
Chizhevsky,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Chizhevsky
-
M.
Mikulecky, 'Solar Activity, revolutions and cultural prime
in the history of mankind', Neuro Endocrinology Letters
[2007, 28(6):749-756],
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/18063926
-
ESA, 'The
Force That Protects Our Planet', European Space Agency.
-
Tony
Phillips, 'Cosmic Rays Hit Space Age High', NASA Science
News, 29 September 2009,
http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/29sep_cosmicrays/
-
Arnab Rai
Choudhuri, 'The irregularities of the sunspot cycle and
their theoretical modelling', arXiv.org, Solar and Stellar
Astrophysics, 12 December 2013,
http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.3408
-
A.K. Singh,
Devendraa Siingh, R.P. Singh, 'Impact of galactic cosmic
rays on Earth's atmosphere and human health',
Atmospheric Environment (2011) 3806-3818,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231011004055
-
Ibid
-
Tony
Phillips, 'Who's Afraid of a Solar Flare?', NASA Science
News, 7 October 2005,
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/07oct_afraid/
-
Adam
Hadhazy, 'A Scary 13th: 20 Years Ago, Earth Was Blasted with
a Massive Plume of Solar Plasma', Scientific American,
13 March 2009,
www.scientificamerican.com/article/geomagnetic-storm-march-13-1989-extreme-space-weather/
-
C.J. Scott,
R.G. Harrison, M.J. Owens, M. Lockwood & L. Barnard,
'Evidence for solar wind modulation of lightning',
Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 9, No. 5, 15 May
2014,
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/9/5/055004
-
Jim Wilson,
'Schumann Resonance', NASA,
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/schumann-resonance.html
-
Michael A.
Persinger, 'Schumann Resonance Frequencies Found Within
Quantitative Electroencephalographic Activity: Implications
for Earth-Brain Interactions', International Letters of
Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy (2014),
www.ilcpa.pl/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/
ILCPA-111-2014-24-32.pdf
-
Elchin S.
Babayev & Aysel A. Allahverdiyeva, 'Effects of geomagnetic
activity variations on the physiological and psychological
state of functionally healthy humans: Some results of
Azerbaijani studies', Advances in Space Research 40
(2007), 1941-1951,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117707009404
-
Neil
Cherry, 'Schumann Resonances, a plausible biophysical
mechanism for the human health effects of Solar/Geomagnetic
Activity', 8 September 2001,
www.salzburg.gv.at/cherry_schumann_resonances.pdf
-
www.sleepdex.org/melatonin.htm
-
Op. cit.,
Neil Cherry
-
V. L.
Feigin, et al. 'Geomagnetic Storms Can Trigger Stroke',
Stroke - American Heart Association, published online 22
April 2014,
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2014/04/22/STROKEAHA.113.004577.short
-
M.A.
Persinger, 'Geopsychology and geopsychopatology: mental
processes and disorders associated with geochemical and
geophysical factors', Experientia 43 (1), 92-104,
1987,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3792507
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