permaculture

[Victor Guest <vic@daena.eepo.com.au>]

                On The Fringe - An Occasional Series
                                by
                        Jim Donaldson B.Sc.

Electronic Compost
------------------
Have you ever been watching travelogues of Olde Ireland and seen the 
mysterious Irish Round Towers dotted around the countryside and wondered what 
they were and what was their function?

According to Professor Phillip S. Callahan ex NASA USAF NSDC etc. etc those
towers are collectors of naturally occurring electromagnetic radiations 
called Schumann waves. 

Folk law surrounding these towers says that they promote fertility and help
crops to grow in the soil adjacent to the towers. Recent research suggests 
that the old monks who built these towers may genuinly have known more
about some aspects of natural science than we do today.

It seems that the surface of the earth and the underside of the ionosphere 
form a huge resonant cavity. On average within this cavity there are 2000
thousand lightning strikes per minute. These lighning strikes make this cavity
ring electrically just like a bell but at much different frequencies or 
pitches. Note, we are talking about radio waves here, not sound waves. The
method of propogation, and behaviour are quite different. For example, we can
hear a 350 Hz sound wave, but we cannot hear a 350 Hz radio wave. The reasons
for this are outside the range of this article... if you really want to know,
try a good physics textbook. 

There appear to be 3 dominant groups of frequencies that are produced by these
lightening flashes. The first is a group of frequencies from around 3 Hertz
(Thats old fashioned cycles per second) to about 30 Hertz, a second group, 
covering the spectrum from about 350 Hertz up to 6000 Hertz and a final group
from 20,000 Hertz up and into the shortwave radio bands.

Professor Callahan has discovered that the two lower groups of frequencies
effect both human behaviour and plant root growth. 

The group of frequencies between 1 and 30 Hertz appear to influence human
behaviour. In slum areas in cities, and anywhere there have been riots etc,
there appear to be inadequate amounts of the appropriate Schumann waves. This 
makes sense when one considers that human brain frequencies eg. alpha, theta,
delta etc. lie in this region. The frequencies between 350 and 6000 Hertz 
seem to be associated with the growth of plant roots.

Interestingly, Professor Callahan has found that the ability to concentrate
Schumann radiation is also associated with certain types of rock, notably
basalt. When roughly ground, (not powdered) quantities of these rocks are 
added to soil, there seems to be an immediate improvement in the fertility 
of the soil, presumably by means of magnetic reonance phenomena. The effects
are noticible within days apparently. 

Other types of rock material notably dolamites, seem to suppress the growth
of plant root structures.

To detect the Schumann radiation, Prof. Callahan has developed a couple of 
detectors. The first (believe it or not) is a coil of hemp rope about 14 
feet long wound into a spiral, soaked in seawater and then connected to an 
oscilloscope, which allows the shape, amplitude and frequency of the Schumann 
waves to be displayed. The second is a meter which shows the ability of 
various rocks to resonate at Schumann radiation frequencies. The properties 
concerned he has defined as being either paramagnetic or diamagnetic. These 
terms define whether a material is capable of either being a conductor of a 
magnetic field (paramagnetic) or alternatively incapable of being of being a 
magnetic conductor (diamagnetic).

Using these instruments Prof. Callahan has shown quite plainly much higher
levels of Schumann waves both within and around these towers. Funnily enough
he has found high levels of Shumann radiation in stone circles and sacred 
sites around the world.

In 1993 in Tintinara NSW local farmers were experimenting with modern 
versions of these towers using the principles outlined by Prof. Callahan.

I am trying to locate concrete details of the detectors so both locally and
overseas in order to duplicate the results of Prof. Callahan. If any reader 
has information I would appreciate hearing from them. Also anyone with an 
interest in this type of research is welcome to contact me on 9342 2774. 


Coming next time..... Companion planting & guilds - electronic insecticides?
--
     Jim Donaldson B.Sc. (Env. Sc.) Phone - (08) 9342-2774, 041 793 2409
            Email - jim.donaldson@eepo.com.au        
                  - elric@argo.net.au

Environmental Scientist, Electronic Designer, Web Author, Software Consultant

        The sky is held up by the trees. 
           If the forest disappears, 
        the sky-roof of the world will collapse.
        Nature and man will perish together.  (American Indian Proverb)