MadSci Network: Earth Sciences |
You know, it might be interesting to open a discussion on MadSci concerning HAARP. The number of issues that it raises would make it an interesting topic. I'm certain that quite a few scientists in various fields are familiar with the project. For those readers who aren't, here are the very basics, so that people know what we're talking about...:
1. The U.S. Navy is constructing a huge ground-based antenna in Alaska that will transmit in the ELF range, that's down in the single digit Hertz, such as 8 Hertz, for example (I don't know that the exact operating frequency is specified, only that it is in the ELF range). The reason that such a huge antenna is necessary is because at that frequency, the wavelength of transmission is 300 million meters for 1 Hertz, 30 million meters for 10 Hertz.
If I recall correctly, in order to set up a proper 360 degree wave, you need an antenna at least 1/3 the wavelength (I think the actual value should be 1/pi). That means at 10 Hertz, the antenna needs to be at least 10 million meters long (10,000 kilometers, or roughly 6,000 miles), which is quite an undertaking. Not undo-able, if you consider the millions of miles of phone lines stretching across the country.
2. The Navy states that they intend to use the antenna to transmit in the ELF to communicate with submarines, since only wavelengths in the ELF will penatrate water (currently, submarines either have to surface or float an antenna above the water to transcieve messages).
3. The energy of transmission needs to be in the megawatt range in order to make the distance necessary to circumscribe the globe. ELF, if I recall correctly, reflects off of the outermost layers of the atmosphere, much in the same way infrared (long wave light) does, hence the greenhouse effect.
4. The environmental concerns include, but are not limited to: a. ELF is shown to affect human and animal brain and central nervous system function at relatively low amplitude (in the pico-Tesla range) as well as other aspects of function of animal (including human) central nervous system activity.
REFERENCES:
These references are listed below.
b. Since ELF has not been transmitted in this frequency range at this power, the direct ecological impact is otherwise unknown.
c. The dynamic magnetic field of the Earth, referred to as the Schumann resonance (predicted by the German physicist W. O. Schumann between 1952 and 1957, and first detected in 1954), at 7.8 Hertz, is directly in the ELF range, at only a fraction of the broadcasting power of HAARP. The ecological impact of this transmission is unknown.
d. As a 'mind control' device, it is demonstrated in the peer-reviewed scientific literature that ELF causes human and animal wave function (EEG patterns) to 'follow,' or directly mimic (become just like - referred to as 'entrainment') ELF frequencies that the brain is exposed to. This technique has been demonstrated in laboratory settings to induce altered states of consciousness, including hypnogogic states (hypnosis).
REFERENCES: Again, these references are listed below.
e. The CIA has already been put on trial before the U.S. Senate for being suspected (This was in the '70s, if I recall) of experimenting with these techniques: you may have heard of MK-ULTRA. Sounds like X-Files stuff, however, the U.S. Senate thought seriously enough of it to conduct hearings in 197something (this was many years prior to the X-Files, by the way). The outcome was a stalemate, with the Hearings Committee asking 'did you, did you, and did you,' and the CIA responding 'we ain't gonna tell yuh…' The general line of questioning was not limited to the subject of using forms of radiation like ELF, but ELF radiation was a topic discussed in the context of exposing humans to ELF specifically for the purpose of inducing altered states of consciousness including hypnogogic states. The transcripts are available by writing:
REFRENCES:
"PROJECT MKULTRA, THE CIA'S PROGRAM OF RESEARCH IN BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION", Joint
Hearing Before the Select Committee on Health and Scientific Research of the
Committee on Human Resources, Unites States Senate (Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1977).
It is probably true that the Navy only intends to use the antenna to communicate with submarines. However, the potential effects of the operation of this unit could have serious implications for human and animal health, as well as hitherto unforseen ecological impacts, not to mention the risk of operating in a frequency range demonstrated to directly affect human and animal behavior and physical health.
It would be very interesting to get some feedback on this out on MadSci from some scientists, although, I don't belive the system is currently set up for chat or open discussion (I actually never checked on that).
I would like to see some open discussion/debate on this.
wjb
REFERENCES:
NOTE: I want the reader to note that some of these papers date back 30 years, indicating that this knowledge has been in the public domain for quite some time.
Ronald I. Adams R.A. Williams, BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION (RADIOWAVES AND MICROWAVES) EURASIAN COMMUNIST COUNTRIES, (Defense Intelligence Agency, March 1976.) R.J. MacGregor, "A Brief Survey of Literature Relating to Influence of Low Intensity Microwaves on Nervous Function" (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 1970) Allan H. Frey, "Behavioral Effects of Electromagnetic Energy," SYMPOSIUM ON BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND MEASUREMENTS OF RADIO FREQUENCIES/MICRO- WAVES, DeWitt G. Hazzard, editor (U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1977). E. Preston, "Studies on the Nervous System, Cardiovascular Function and Thermoregulation," BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIO FREQUENCY AND MICROWAVE RADIATION, edited by H.M. Assenheim (Ottawa, Canada: National Research Council of Canada, 1979), 138-141. Chung-Kwang Chou and Arthur W. Guy, "Quantization of Microwave Biological Effects," SYMPOSIUM OF BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND MEASUREMENT OF RADIO FREQUENCY/MICROWAVES, edited by Dewitt G. Hazzard (U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1977). PHYSICAL CONTROL OF THE MIND, by Jose Delgado (Harper and Row, 1969). PSYCHOTECHNOLOGY, Robert L. Schwitzgebel and Ralph K. Schwitzgebel (Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1973). Adrian, D., "Auditory and visual sensations stimulated by low-frequency electric currents", Radio Science, 12, No. 6(5):243-250, 1977. Anderson, L.E., "Biological Effects of Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields: In Vivo Studies", American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 54(4):186-96, 1993. Anderson, Larry, "ELF: Exposure Levels, Bioeffects and Epidemiology", Health Physics, July 1991 Wilson, Bary, "Chronic Exposure to ELF Fields May Induce Depression", Bioelectromagnetics, 9, pp. 195-205, 1988. Authors Reiser H. Dimpfel W. Schober F. Institution Pro Science Private Research Institute GmbH, Linden, Germany. Title The influence of electromagnetic fields on human brain activity. Source European Journal of Medical Research. 1(1):27-32, 1995 Oct 16. Abstract Possible effects of electromagnetic fields on human brain activity were studied. In a single-blind, cross-over-designed and placebo-controlled study 36 volunteers were exposed firstly to an electromagnetic field originating form a MediLine "MEGA-WAVE 150/1" therapy instrument and secondly to a field originating from a mobile, digital tetlephone as used for wireless telecommunication. All volunteers also underwent a control experiment with no field exposure. Application of the MEGA-WAVE instrument caused an increase in EEG power in the frequency bands Alpha2, Beta1 and Beta2 during and after field exposure. Operation of the mobile telephone caused an increase in the same frequency bands with a delay of approximately 15 minutes after exposure. Authors Bell G. Marino A. Chesson A. Struve F. Institution Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport 71130. Title Electrical states in the rabbit brain can be altered by light and electromagnetic fields. Source Brain Research. 570(1-2):307-15, 1992 Jan 20. Abstract The effect of low-frequency magnetic fields on the rabbit electroencephalograph (EEG) was studied using a quantitative procedure that permitted statistical evaluation of the response of individual animals. The field conditions used were those predicted by various theories to result in field-animal interactions; light and sham exposure were employed as positive and negative controls, respectively. Sixty-seven percent of the rabbits exhibited changes in the EEG power spectra when light was presented in 2-s epochs; none of the animals responded to sham exposure. When 1 Gauss, 5 Hz, was presented in 2-s epochs, 100% of the animals tested responded to the presence of the field. The rabbits did not respond when the magnetic-field frequency was higher than the physiological range (1-20 Hz) or when it was tuned for resonance of K+. The results showed that an electrical state function may be operationally defined for the rabbit brain, and used to assess the occurrence of an interaction between an animal and external magnetic fields. Authors Adey WR. Institution Department of Physiology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, California 92357. Title The cellular microenvironment and signaling through cell membranes. [Review] [62 refs] Source Progress in Clinical & Biological Research. 257:81-106, 1988. Abstract The structural and functional aspects of communication between cells have been reviewed, with emphasis on the cell membrane in detection and transductive coupling of oscillating electromagnetic fields in the pericellular environment. Imposed fields are powerful and highly specific tools in manipulation of the sequence of events in membrane transductive coupling. They have revealed nonlinear and nonequilibrium aspects of these interactions. In cerebral tissue, extracellular fields orders of magnitude weaker than the membrane potential can modulate cell firing patterns, entrain EEG rhythms, alter neurotransmitter release and modulate behavioral states. These sensitivities have also been widely detected in non-neural tissues. It is therefore proposed that an intrinsic communication system between cells based on these weak electromagnetic influences may be a general biological property. A three-step model of transductive coupling is presented. First, a highly cooperative modification of calcium binding occurs in the plane of the membrane surface following a focal event at a receptor site. This "amplifying" stage releases substantially more energy than in the initial events. Cerebral extracellular conductance changes accompanying physiological responses may arise in perineuronal fluid with a substantial macromolecular content and calcium ions may modulate perineuronal conductivity. In the second stage, coupling occurs along transmembrane helical proteins and may be mediated by solitons. The third stage couples transmembrane signals to the cytoskeleton and to intracellular enzyme systems, including membrane-bound adenylate cyclase and the protein kinase system of intracellular messengers. Activation of these intracellular systems is calcium-dependent. [References: 62] Authors Sidiakin VG. Stashkov AM. Ianova NP. Chemodanova MA. Shumilina KA. Kirillova AV. Title [The physiological mechanisms of the regulation of zoosocial behavior in rats exposed to low-frequency electromagnetic fields]. [Russian] Source Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal Imeni I. M. Sechenova. 81(4):21-31, 1995 Apr. Abstract The infraslow frequency electromagnetic fields were shown to affect social activity in rats: the changes induced by territorial priority and isolation were eliminated, an interaction between the motor activity and the social status appeared. The monoaminergic system of the rat brain seems to take part in physiological mechanisms of regulation of the zoosocial behaviour according to changes in ambient conditions. Authors Anderson LE. Institution Bioelectromagnetics, Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352. Title Biological effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields: in vivo studies. [Review] [116 refs] Source American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal. 54(4):186-96, 1993 Apr. Abstract This paper discusses the biological effects of exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields observed in animal studies. Three areas of investigation are reported: (1) studies on the nervous system, including behavior and neuroendocrine function; (2) experiments on cancer development in animals; and (3) measurements of currents and electric fields induced in animal models by exposure to external magnetic fields. An attempt is made to evaluate experimental results and interpret them with respect to potential health implications. [References: 116]
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