It
has been suggested that the rate
of sunspot change, rather than
the actual number of sunspots,
is the leading indicator of warfare. Buryl
Payne observed that international
battles tend to begin a year or
two before - or sometimes a year
after - sunspot peaks, but never
exactly at the maximum. Based
on the accompanying table, wars
increase to a peak and decrease
to a trough within one year of
sunspot highs and lows 59% of
the time. There is a 92%
correlation within two years (before
and after). The probability
that the correlation between wars
and sunspots is due to chance
is only one in one hundred twenty
five.[1]
The
physical mechanism responsible
for this statistical fact is geomagnetic
activity. Geomagnetic activity
is highest either just prior to
or just after sunspot peaks, but
not at the time of maximum sunspot
activity.
The
Sun is the supreme generator of
geomagnetic fluctuations. Solar
activity disturbs the Earth’s
magnetic field and apparently
changes brain rhythms and the
hormone balance of animals and
humans. Many studies demonstrate
that living organisms are highly
sensitive to magnetic changes
in the range of the Earth’s
field or less (Brown, 1967, Becker,
1983). How small magnetic
fields affect human behavior is
still largely unknown. Magnetic
materials found in dolphins, pigeons,
bacteria, and other animals –
but not in humans – supposedly
modulates geomagnetic changes
in the environment. The lack
of magnetic materials in the human
body means another mediating element
must be involved. It might
be water. Water is extremely
affected by magnetic fields (Ellingsen,
1979).
Extensive
scientific inquiry has found that
crimes, riots, accidents, and
many human ailments (ranging from
the flu to heart attacks and psychosis)
tend to increase at times of geomagnetic
storms. Anxiety and irritation
rise with strong solar storms
and geomagnetic disturbances -
this could account for the wave
of violence, accidents, and illness
reported.
The
geomagnetic field closely follows
the sunspot cycle, although there
may be as much as a year’s
difference between sunspot maximums
and geomagnetic peaks. There
is also a strong cycle in geomagnetic
data that does not synchronize
with solar cycles. This cycle
is 9.7-years, which correlates
with a 9.6-year cycle in international
battles discovered by Dewey in
1970. Geomagnetism is influenced
by several planetary factors. Geomagnetic
storms, for instance, are prevalent
when the Moon is full. There
are also strong disturbances in
the spring and fall when the Earth
crosses the solar equator. Certain
planetary alignments are also
a key factor in triggering sunspots
and geomagnetism.
John
H. Nelson, short-wave radio quality
forecaster for RCA Communications
New York, worked out a method
of predicting sunspots based on
planetary aspects of 0, 90, and
180-degrees. Nelson found
that when three hard aspects are
made within a 5-degree orb storms
on the Sun increase.[2] At
least one aspect involving the
Earth, Mercury, Venus, or Mars
must be made to Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. Jupiter/Saturn
aspects produced the most severe
disturbances. Storms are
generally greater and more numerous
when multiple planetary aspects
occur.
Buryl
Payne, Ph.D., however, found that
only some planetary conjunctions
are associated with increased
solar activity; other planetary
alignments are associated with
decreased sunspot numbers. Solar
activity, for instance, increases
by about 15% when Mercury is conjunct
Uranus, but decreases by 33% when
Mercury is conjunct Earth. The
fact remains that solar storms
are somehow triggered by, and
certainly correlate with, a complex
array of planetary configurations.
We
know that the Sun’s energy
output fluctuates throughout the
sunspot cycle. The flow of
solar energy into inter-planetary
space is accompanied by strong
magnetic fields. The solar
wind pushes back the Earth’s
magnetic field into the shape
of a teardrop. The electromagnetic
qualities of the solar wind also
interact with the Earth’s
field – the magnetosphere
– causing intensity variations. A
variety of extremely low frequency
(ELF) and very low frequency (VLF)
electromagnetic waves are created
in this natural magnetic environment. Studies
of the effects of ELF and VLF
electromagnetic fields on humans
and animals number in the hundreds.
Researchers
have discovered a relationship
between ELF and VLF magnetic fields
and changes in many biological
systems. In vitro studies
point to ELF sensitivities in
cellular signaling, ionic flow
rates, DNA synthesis, systemic
responsiveness to hormones and
neurotransmitters, animal passivity,
and human reaction time and behavior. Brain
chemistry and body metabolism
are apparently affected by weak
electromagnetic fields. Interestingly,
it seems to be the frequency and
rate of change in the Earth’s
field that creates the effects
observed. Biological systems
have a difficult time adjusting
to rapid changes in field frequency
and intensity. Steady change,
even at much higher intensity,
does not seem to elicit the same
disturbing effects that rapid
change does. Geomagnetic
field strength varies, of course,
in response to changes in the
solar wind (flow and levels of
solar radiation from sunspots). These
weak ELF fields likely produce
changes in neurotransmitter levels
and cellular responsiveness. In
this way, human behavior is pulled
by the Sun!
The
Sun literally electrifies us. The
rate of change in the geomagnetic
field created by the Sun’s
varying output is one factor that
modulates a variety of economic
and financial activities. The
annual rate of change in the U.S.
Gross National Product has been
compared with Ap (a measurement
of electromagnetism) changes in
the upper environment. As
the intensity of electromagnetic
storms rage in the ionosphere,
human productivity increases! Consumer
prices rise and fall with the
Ap index, as does the spot gold
price. Bond yields also rise
and fall with the annual rate
of change in Ap. No wonder
then that the stock market (DJIA)
rises and falls with electromagnetic
disturbances.
The
financial markets change as human
sentiment changes. Since
human behavior is to a certain
extent influenced by rapid changes
in the geomagnetic field, we might
suppose that geomagnetic fluctuations
are a factor in market conditions. It
is easy to connect this line of
thinking with sunspots and human
excitability – and war.
