Session IV
ELF WAVES AND SCHUMANN RESONANCES
Michael R. Tynan
American University,
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. 20016-8058, mt2057a@student.american.edu
Abstract — The planet and all the matter contained within
its mass is constantly engulfed in energy. This energy takes
many forms across the electromagnetic spectrum. There are
certain extremely low frequencies that have a particular
resonance with planet Earth and all of its inhabitants. This
energy of the Earth, the Schumann Resonances (SR), were
mathematically predicted in 1952 by physicist Winfried Otto
Schumann. They are the frequencies at which the Earth itself
resonates. These resonances are excited by electrical
activity between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere, a
portion of the upper atmosphere. The fundamental mode of
the resonances spans a wavelength that is roughly equal to
the circumference of the Earth, and vibrates at a frequency
of 7.83 Hz. The resonances provide a great wealth of
information about the celestial bodies they resonate from,
and in the case of the Earth, they provide a profound insight
into the co-evolution of life itself and the planet upon which
it has staked its claim. While not much is known about
Schumann Resonances, research into the biological effects
of extremely low frequency (ELF)-range radiation is giving
the scientific community key insights into Schumann
Resonances and how they may potentially benefit mankind.
Unfortunately, with the advent of modern technology and the
“noise” from the interference such technology produces, the
physical connection between life and the planet has been
altered greatly and may be completely drowned out in the
future.
Analyzing the effects of not only Schumann
Resonances but also the effects of technology that interferes
with these natural phenomena will be crucial in determining
the direction that ELF-radiating technology should take as it
progresses into the future.
known wireless phenomena making them scientifically
sound. Hertz’s apparatus for generating electromagnetic
waves consisted of two polished brass knobs connected to an
induction coil. The induction coil serves as an electrical
transformer, generating large pulses of electricity from a
much lower current. Theoretically, the device would allow
electromagnetic waves to be transmitted when a spark
jumped from one knob to the other. He built a simple
receiver several yards away from the knobs to confirm his
theory. The receiving loop as shown in Figure 1 would
concurrently produce a spark across the gap in the loop. The
experiment proved highly successful, producing the first
transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves [6].
Index Terms — Earth-ionosphere cavity, electromagnetism,
extremely low frequency, global lightning, induction,
interference, q-burst, schumann, spectrum, technology, wave
motion.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE EARTH’S RESONANCE
Although we are all constantly surrounded by ELF waves,
the scientifically viable discovery of waves in this range of
the electromagnetic spectrum was not the result of natural
observations. David Edward Hughes made the first radio
transmission in 1879, but it could not be scientifically
proven. It wasn’t until 1886 that German scientist Heinrich
Hertz produced radio waves artificially using specific
electrical circuits designed to produce low frequency
oscillations. These tests effectively ruled out all other
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FIGURE 1
CONCEPTUAL SCHEMATIC OF HERTZ’S EXPERIMENT
Hertz’s research and experiments paved the way for the
wireless telegraph, audio broadcast radio, and television
broadcast. It is from this experiment that we now call the
cycle per second the Hz [6]. In 1930, the International
Electrotechnical Commission officially named the SI unit of
frequency the hertz in honor of Heinrich Hertz’s discovery.
Global electromagnetic activity would not be observed
until 1899 by Nikola Tesla in his famous Colorado Springs
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Session IV
trials. His research lead to ideas that were so profound and
far-reaching that he claimed to be able to advance mankind’s
development through free, wireless, radiant energy.
Unfortunately, his peers mocked his ideas and his funding
from JP Morgan was eventually cut, bringing his large-scale,
philanthropic developments to a halt. It is interesting to
imagine what Tesla could have developed, had he not given
up his immense patent royalties and been refused funding by
JP Morgan. To further understand the significance of these
breakthroughs in electromagnetic discovery, the properties
of waves must be discussed.
ground electrically polarized and, thus, positively charged.
This is referred to as charging by induction. Even though the
charged clouds don’t come in contact with the ground, the
electrons in the ground will still repel the electrons in the
cloud.
If the potential difference in the electric field
becomes large enough, the negative charge discharges either
to the ground or from cloud to cloud as seen in Figure 2 [7].
WAVE MOTION
Electromagnetic radiation travels through space as a wave,
much like how an ocean wave travels through water or a
sound wave travels through air. However, electromagnetic
waves do not require a medium to travel through and thus
have the ability to radiate through the vacuum of space.
Electromagnetic waves oscillate back and forth at specific
frequencies related to the amount of energy they carry. The
distance between these oscillations is the wavelength of the
wave. Wave motion involves not only the frequency of the
waves’ vibrations, but also the time in which the wave takes
to make one complete vibration. This is known as the period
of the wave. The period of the wave can be expressed as:
1
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 (𝑠) =
(1)
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝐻𝑧)
Conversely, the frequency can be derived from the period by
flipping the equation such that:
1
𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝐻𝑧) =
(2)
FIGURE 2
ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE OF LIGHTNING
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 (𝑠)
While vibrating back and forth, the wave also travels
outwards from its source or point of origin. This vector
motion is described as the wave’s speed. Since speed is
equal to a distance traveled over time, the speed of a wave is
defined as the wavelength, or distance between two points in
wave, divided by the period, or the time it takes the wave to
complete one oscillation [8].
On Earth and on other cosmic bodies, Schumann
Resonances radiate as single linear waves. They generate
from constantly varying points scattered across the surface
of the planet and travel away from the surface until they
reflect off an upper portion of the atmosphere or puncture
through to space. The fact that they reflect back means that
the Earth and all of its inhabitants are constantly engulfed in
Schumann Resonances, just as the audience in a concert hall
is engulfed in sound waves reflecting around the room.
NATURAL CAUSES OF SCHUMANN RESONANCES
Lightning strikes the Earth at an average rate of 40 – 50
times per second which equates to a total of nearly 1.4
billion flashes per year [12]. As the lightning discharges, it
radiates electromagnetic energy like a broadband transmitter
in the range from extremely low to Very High Frequencies
(VHF), which include the Schumann Resonances [16]. The
electromagnetic waves reflect around the planet in a region
between the Earth and the atmosphere. This region is known
as the Earth-ionosphere cavity. The ionosphere comprises a
region of the atmosphere that includes the mesosphere,
thermosphere, and exosphere. As shown in Figure 3, the
ionosphere is located from approximately 85 km to 600 km
above the surface of the Earth. As the name ionosphere
indicates, the region has high concentrations of ions, or
charged particles, as a result of the collisions of energetic
photons from the Sun and the atoms and molecules in the
atmosphere [16].
On Earth, the main natural source of radiation in the ELF
range is caused by lightning. Lighting occurs due to the
charge polarization of clouds. Clouds will generally end up
negatively charged at the bottom and positively charged at
the top to produce lightning. The negative charge on the
bottom also repels like charges on the surface, leaving the
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Session IV
MONITORING SCHUMANN RESONANCES
FIGURE 3
LAYERS OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
The methods of capturing ELF data parallel many of the
methods commonly used to record audio, but with a much
higher precision and different range of desired frequencies.
When recording sound, the most common signal flow uses a
microphone to pick up the analog sound waves and convert
them to electrical impulses. Such a signal alone has an
extremely low level of amplitude and must be amplified by a
preamplifier to bring it up to a useable level. From there, the
analog signal is converted to a digital format by an analogto-digital converter. A computer can then record the digital
representation of the analog sound. Figure 4 shows that, like
complex sound waves, the Schumann Resonances have a
fundamental mode frequency followed by higher modes of
the fundamental.
The region between the Earth’s surface and the
ionosphere acts as a massive vibrating space with a resonant
frequency that amplifies the low energy waves emitted from
lightning. These signals are observable and measureable.
The excitation of the Earth-ionosphere cavity can occur from
a single, large flash of energy from lightning known as a Qburst, or result from many smaller flashes of lightning
combined [16].
ELF wave data capture has allowed scientists to
discover and understand many different aspects of global
lightning activity. Observing the frequencies, amplitudes,
and modes of Schumann Resonances had provided a wealth
of information that fuels this understanding, as the
relationships between lightning and Schumann Resonances
are directly connected. We are able to infer the rate of
strikes [5], as well as seasonal and diurnal variations in
global lightning activity [16].
Prior to monitoring Schumann Resonances, global
lightning activity was measured by simply counting the
sharp transients of energy produced by large lightning
flashes. This method proves to be highly inaccurate as these
large flashes only account for a small portion of global
lightning activity. Since the average rate of lightning strikes
is approximately 40-50 times per second with an interval of
roughly 10-20 ms between flashes, much of the lightning
can not be counted. This is because the time from the initial
flash to ‘ring down’ for each large flash is >130ms [16]. As
the energy slowly dies out, it overlaps with the other smaller
flashes that occur within the 130ms span. This method of
counting flashes will also only provide a number of flashes
per second, which is not absolute on Earth. To provide a
more accurate measurement in absolute units, the
background intensity of Schumann Resonances are
measured to provide quantitative data that, when calculated,
is proportional to the flash rate of lightning. The energy
dissipated in the Earth-ionosphere cavity must balance with
the energy input by lightning strikes to maintain an even
FIGURE 4
THE AVERAGE DAILY FREQUENCY VARIATIONS FOR THE FIRST
electromagnetic state. The rate of dissipation is proportional
THREE MODES OF THE SCHUMANN RESONANCE
to the field intensity. The flash rate is also proportional to
field intensity which allows it to be derived as an exact
quantity [16].
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The common methodology of measuring ELF data is to
first capture the low level signal using a unique antenna.
The antenna consists of a large metal ball 45cm in diameter
attached to a two-meter tall, insulated pillar. The antennasystem is designed to be extremely heavy in an effort to
reduce mechanical vibrations, which may disrupt the
antenna and invalidate the data captured. Once the antenna
captures the ELF signals, it then amplifies them in two
stages using first a preamplifier followed by another
amplifier. Once the signal has been boosted to a useable
level, it is then converted to a digital representation using an
analog-to-digital converter and is finally recorded into the
computer [17]. With this recording method, seasonal and
even daily frequency variations of Schumann Resonances
can be measured, as seen in Figure 3, from their trials.
Measuring Schumann Resonances provides a detailed
insight into global electrical activity. It is also important to
understand the unique properties of electromagnetic
radiation and where these unique Earth vibrations fit in the
measureable electromagnetic spectrum.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
The electromagnetic spectrum contains a wide range of
frequencies emitted from electromagnetic radiation. The
known range of frequencies is extremely vast, and each
portion within this range will exhibit various properties
associated with light, heat, and energy.
At the highest energy portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum are the gamma rays. They oscillate at extremely
high frequencies, up 2.4 × 1023 Hz. These high frequencies
equate to a wavelength in the same order of magnitude as an
atomic nucleus. Moving down the frequency range are Xrays, with a typical frequency of Approximately 1018 Hz.
These waves easily travel through soft organic tissues and
reflect well off bones, making them ideal for medical and
security uses. As the energy decreases, radiation now falls
into the ultraviolet range of electromagnetic radiation. This
light still falls just out of the range visible to humans but its
effects on life are significant. Excessive exposure to
ultraviolet light causes damage to various organic tissues
such as human skin and eyes.
The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is
lower in energy than ultraviolet light is the entire range of
light visible to humans. This small fraction of the spectrum,
from 4.3×1014Hz to 7.9×1014 Hz, contains all of the light
from high-energy violets and blues to greens and yellows
down to lower-energy oranges and reds. If the frequency is
still further decreased after the visible range, what was once
visible light is now felt as heat. The infrared spectrum is
extremely important to life, as it is the main source of heat
for the Earth. The Sun’s rays engulf the planet with infrared
heat energy that is either absorbed by the surface or reflected
back-and-forth in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases. This
important reflection of infrared energy in the atmosphere
creates an environment warm enough for sustaining life. It
has also created a challenging problem as global populations
continue to release unsustainable amounts of CO2, a
powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere causing an
increase in global temperatures. For a sense of scale, the
wavelengths of these waves are about the size of the tip of a
needle. Microwaves, the energy commonly used to heat
foods quickly has broad range of wavelengths from one
millimeter to one meter as they travel through space. These
waves have a general frequency on the order of 10 9 Hz. At
this point, the energy is considered to be in the broader range
of radio waves. True radio waves are the giants of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
Their wavelengths are
unbelievably long, spanning the size of skyscrapers and
eventually dwarfing the largest manmade objects. Radio
frequencies commonly carry data around the globe and can
be tuned into around the ranges of 300 GHz to 3 kHz.
Finally, there is an even lower energy form of waves.
Extremely Low Frequency, or ELF, waves are
electromagnetic radiation located within the range of 3 Hz to
3kHz. ELF waves are also commonly known as radio waves
but they satisfy a vastly different role on Earth than their
tunable counterparts. Their physical wavelengths can reach
1×108 meters as they travel at the speed of light in the
vacuum of space. That’s roughly one quarter of the distance
to the Moon from the Earth at its furthest point away.
FIGURE 5
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
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BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Each and every other portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum described in this paper is known to have significant
effects on organic tissues and life in general. Whether it is
sunburns from ultraviolet light, genetic defects from
radioactive x-rays, or even the heat felt from infrared energy,
none of them will go unnoticed. However, upon a basic
intuitive assessment of the effects of low frequency energy
on organic tissues, no real side effects seem to come to
mind. There is, however, much widespread concern about
the effects of wireless mobile phone technology on humans,
particularly the skull and brain due to the device’s close
proximity when operated. Cellular phones transmit on the
Global System for Mobile Telecommunications (GSM)
network. Cellular phones use a few different portions of the
lower-energy electromagnetic spectra. Unlike television and
standard AM/FM radio, cellular phones transmit a variety of
different signals through ELF-modulated pulse microwaves.
They essentially transmit controlled bursts of microwaves to
send and receive data. The presence of these bursts of
microwaves has many scientists wondering if these devices
are administering any negative influence on human tissues.
The testing of cellular microwave radiation on humans is
well under way in the scientific community, but due to such
recent advances in cellular data technology, long-term data
is scarce. There simply has not been enough time to observe
any potentially negative effects. Some short-term effects
such as complications with pacemakers and personal
electronic radiation dose-monitoring equipment have been
observed. One in vitro experiment has tested for the
alteration of spontaneous neuron activity in the snail Helix
aspersa when exposed to pure magnetic fields at 8.3 and 217
Hz. Changes in neuron activity have been observed, which
could lead to problems in the nervous system, but more
importantly, the reversibility and recoverability of these
changes has also been observed [20].
With effects of ELF waves observed, and significant
effects from other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum
already known, it isn’t entirely out of scope to infer that ELF
waves play some sort of role in biological evolution. Life
has grown and evolved while constantly surrounded by
Schumann Resonances and other similar frequency bands of
ELF waves. Just as humans have evolved strong skin
pigment to adapt to high exposure to ultraviolet light, might
it be that portions of the brain or other organ systems have
evolved interdependently with ELF waves?
Winfried
Schumann set out to test just that. He and Prof. R. Wever
constructed a large, concrete bunker that screened out the
Schumann Resonances. Student volunteers then proceeded
to live together in the bunker for four weeks. It was noted
that the students began to suffer from migraines, emotional
distress, and a diversion of their standard sleep cycles in the
absence of the Schumann Resonances. The symptoms
quickly went away once a pulse generator artificially
reintroduced the resonance.
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The fact that humans exhibited a considerably negative
reaction when SR waves are filtered out begs a serious
question. What sort of impacts from ELF waves do we
currently know about, and more importantly what is there to
learn? Hopefully these questions will have answers as future
research develops.
THE FUTURE
Schumann Resonances cannot be measured in metropolitan
areas. They are drowned out by the cacophony of radio
waves, wireless data networks, and various other signals that
now occupy the space in which the natural resonances once
inhabited. Could this in some way be linked to some of the
problems that modern society faces? Are some of the
underlying causes for many psychological and emotional
problems that humans face caused by the noise that we think
we can’t perceptibly hear?
Humans are constantly
bombarded not only with the digital messages we write, read
and hear every day, but also by the physical structure of this
information as it travels from one place to another. It
drowns out our connection to the natural world in a
confusing mess of signals. Maybe someday when scientific
data produces viable results, we will be able to say “that’s
where these psychological symptoms developed,” or, “this is
what has been causing such an impact on our lives.”
Research is well underway on ELF waves and hopefully
someday soon it will open new doorways of human
understanding with our connection to the Earth.
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