Why Study Them?

The cells of all living systems are immersed within the earth's magnetic field. Life is likely to have evolved within and have been guided by the intrinsic temporal variations within the geomagnetic field. Most of their peak-to-peak intensities range between 1 picoTesla (one-trillionth of a Tesla) to over 1000 nT (1 millionth of a Tesla) within frequencies between 0.001 Hz (1 mHz) and 100 Hz. The larger intensities, between 50 nT and 1000 nT, involve slower variations. A component of this band is well within the major spectrum of electroencephalographic activity of the human brain and looks very similar to the classic shapes of "brain waves".

The complexities of these variations have not been measured because of their immensity. However they have the potential to simulate every known electromagnetic pattern that mediates the effects of the brain's own neurotransmitters upon cell receptors and to imitate all of the consequences of pharmacological agents (drugs). Many of these complex geomagnetic patterns occur during or following geomagnetic storms whose yearly frequency is in large part controlled by solar activity. Because the nearly seven billion (almost identical) brains of human beings on this planet are immersed in this field there may be emergent fields that under certain conditions affect large populations. The effect would be analogous to applying a magnetic field through billions of copper wires. Magnetic fields (tenors) would emerge that would have the capacity to be affected by and to affect the characteristics of the individual conductors (wires) that generated them.

What We Have Found

We have found moderately strong correlations between the amount of daily global geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of epileptic seizures, aggression, immunological responses, and ambulatory behavior. Even the propensity to report experiences about death and crisis of others is associated with quiet periods of geomagnetic activity. Certain increments of activity, which are likely to reflect different "complex patterns", have been implicated in the occurrence of Sudden Infant Death and electrical cardiac anomalies resulting in death in subpopulations of adults. A correlation between two variables does not necessarily mean causation. Consequently we have imitated specific geomagnetic patterns by the special application of a computer technology. When we simulated these natural conditions in the laboratory by applying experimentally generated magnetic fields within the 50 nT range seizures in epileptic rats were elicited with the same incidence and latency as those associated with increases in natural geomagnetic activity.