MadSci Network: Biophysics
Query:

Re: Can ELF/EMR cause low frequency vibrations in common objects?

Date: Sat Jun 27 16:59:38 1998
Posted By: William Beaty, Electrical Engineer / Physics explainer / K-6 science textbook content provider
Area of science: Biophysics
ID: 893130284.Bp
Message:

Hi Steve!

Oh no, you are infected by "The Hum" :)

This is a complaint which occurs worldwide, although there are "hotspots" for the Hum such as New Mexico and Washington state. For more info you can check out Taos Hum Page on my website. There is even an online discussion group about this.

It is entirely possible that the magnetic component of low frequency RF could cause small vibrations in physical objects. This would mostly be an issue with magnetized iron sheets and girders within buildings, but since all metals are immersed in Earth's magnetic field, all iron objects are magnetized to some degree.

Also, electrically charged objects will respond to the electrostatic component of RF signals. Outdoor surfaces are electrified by the electrostatic sky-field caused by thunderstorms worldwide. This effect is thought to be the origin of the unexplained instantaneous "sounds" which accompany some meteors, aurorae, and lightning. (Sound waves travel slowly, so if a distant event creates a simultaneous sound, the energy must have travelled electromagnetically and not as conventional sound waves.)

During the "Taos Hum" controversy around 1990, researchers from the University of New Mexico went out searching for the origin of the infamous "idling truck" noise. The found no sources. They couldn't even measure any subsonic audio or low frequency ELF signals which resembled the "hum". This while some of the researchers themselves could hear the noise. If the "hum" is caused by ELF radio signals being translated into sounds by charged objects or metal objects, where is the detectable ELF signal and subsonic sound signal?

Also, hum-hearers have noted that faraday cages do not reduce the percieved loudness of the hum. Whatever its source, this indicates that it is not electrostatic, since a faraday cage excludes external e-fields (but may not effect low frequency magnetism.)

Several people in Europe did similar research, and they were able to measure subsonic sound by using commercial microphones. They tracked the sources to various origins, such as industrial blowers, incinerators, and huge crosscountry gas pipes. At the same time, people have observed that the "Hum" in the American southwest continues unabated even during regional power outages, when all industrial processes have been interrupted. This seems to suggest that some types of "hum" are from traceable manmade sources, while the sources of "Hum" in other regions is unexplained.

Wild speculation about the "Hum" abounds. One hum-researcher was approached by a person who claimed knowledge of a classified military submarine communications system which is not based on normal RF energy. He said that humans were not supposed to hear the signal, and the military does not know exactly what to do about this. Has the Navy discovered "subspace radio", yet it is a signal which is somehow translated into audio by unknown processes within human skulls? At the same time, others are sure that the hum is caused by Earth Changes, while still others are positive that it comes from vast tunnels being drilled through the continent by grey-alien machinery.

Needless to say, the topic is unconventional and controversial, and so most scientists would risk their careers if they dared to publicly take it seriously, to say nothing of actually studying it. Even so, some testing at the U of NM was done on the part of the population which complains about the "Taos Hum". It was found that these people do not have abnormal sensitivity to low frequency sound, so the darned noise is still unexplained.

Earplugs rarely are effective against the hum. Those who suffer from the sound can often find relief by using masking noises such as loud fans, radios, or those "rainstorm" sound generators found in some electronics stores. Even so, the "hum" sometimes disrupts sleep. It has subtle psychological effects which arise when one person in a marriage can hear it, while the other person suspects their sanity. There is even one recorded instance of suicide, where a person in the UK was basically driven crazy by the unstoppable hum sound.

Best of luck should you choose to investigate this sound. Suggestions: I have never heard that hum-hearers have tried total magnetic shielding. There are shield-rooms where the magnetic fields of the human brain are studied. If a hum-hearer went into one of these, would the "hum" go away? Also, I have never heard that a hum-hearer has tried going into a hyperbaric chamber. It is extremely difficult to shield subsonic sound, but a sealed chamber under pressure would probably do the trick. But would it shield the hum?


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