Magnetic Resonance and Extrasensory Perception

Magnetic resonance and extrasensory perception.

All of our radio-communications systems rest on resonance phenomena, albeit the simple wavelength type. When we “tune” a radio receiver, we are simply changing the frequency at which the internal circuits resonate, and we receive only that signal in which we are interested. This system is not highly sensitive to magnetic fields except during magnetic storms, which change the characteristics of the ionosphere and either interfere with reception of specific frequencies or enable us to detect signals from much greater distances than normal.

The phenomenon of extrasensory perception (ESP) has been likened to biological radio, with the “sender” giving off an electromagnetic signal that is sensed, in some fashion, by the “receiver.” However, application of radio technology to explain this phenomenon has not been successful. It is difficult to explain the distances of transmission when the measurable fields given off from the human brain are almost imperceptible and when the tuned circuits for the transmitter and receiver have not been identified.

However, we now know that ESP of a variety of types is enhanced by a quiet geomagnetic field and adversely affected by a disturbed field. This finding was presented at a session on parapsychology at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Society in 1986 by doctors Michael Persinger, Marsha Adams, Erlendur Haraldsson, and Stanley Krippner. Each had worked independently of the others and had used different techniques. Nevertheless, all had arrived a the same conclusion: the phenomenon of extrasensory perception is interfered with by a disturbed geomagnetic field.

This connection could indicate that a complex resonance phenomenon is involved, with the geomagnetic field serving as the steady component. The exquisite sensitivity of the resonance process certainly would assist inb dis9pelling, to some extent, the problem of transmitting and receiving the extremely low pwer signals that must be involved.

However, the data may also be interpreted in other ways. The phenomenon of ESP requires three components similar to radio communications systems: a transmitter, a signal that spans distance, and a receiver. If magnetic forces are involved in this process, a disturbed geomagnetic field could interfere with the ability of the transmitter or the receiver to operate or with the propagation of the signal itself across distance.

The apparent ability of the signal to span long distances is a problem if simple radio technology alone is considered. However, ELF signals are known to be transmitted in magnetic ducts over long distances. This transmission is, in fact, associated with an increase in signal strength. Magnetic ducts are formed by adjacent lies of the magnetic field extending from the north to the south magnetic poles. The problem is that this can be used toe explain only north-south transmissions of ELF signals. We continue to discover new aspects of the Earth’s magnetic field, however, and it would appear reasonable to keep these possibilities in mind.

Resonance theory provides us with clues about the types of experiments that could yield some understanding of the mechanisms involved. The most pressing problem of ESP is its lack of reproducibility. On occasion it works with astonishing precision, while at other times it simply cannot be replicated. In science, this is cause for rejection of the entire concept: if something cannot be replicated in a laboratory, it doesn’t exist. Knowing the potential relationship of ESP to the status of the Earth’s magnetic field might enable us to remove this lack of reproducibility by disclosing the hidden variable. Furthermore, it would permit us to design experiments to explore this relationship in detail.