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... Frontiers ONLINE No. 45: May-Jun 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Polar Bear Coats Are Thermal Diodes "A polar bear's hairs are completely transparent. The bear appears white because visible light reflects from the rough inner surface of each hollow hair. However, the hairs are designed to trap ultraviolet light. Like light within an optical fiber, the radiation is conducted along the hairs to the skin. This summertime energy supplement provides up to a quarter of the bear's needs. Thus, even while actively pursuing prey, the bear can still concentrate on building up its blubber layers in preparation for winter." In other words, the bear's fur lets heat in but not out -- in effect a thermal diode. (Anonymous; "Solar Bear Technology," Science News, 129:153, 1986.) Comment. How come polar bears are favored with this "marvelous adaptation" while the arctic foxes and other mammals shiver? From Science Frontiers #45, MAY-JUN 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... from generation to generation. With these caveats, they reproduce an Indian tradition originally set down by Judge James Swan back in 1888: "' A long time ago,' said my informant, 'but not at a very remote period, the water of the Pacific flowed through what is now the swamp and prairie between Waatch village and Neeah Bay, making an island of Cape Flattery. The water suddenly receded leaving Neeah Bay perfectly dry. It was four days reaching the lowest ebb, and then rose again without any waves or breakers, till it had submerged the Cape, and in fact the whole country, excepting the tops of the mountains at Clyoquot. The water on its rise became very warm, and as it came up to the houses, those who had canoes put their effects into them, and floated off with the current, which set very strongly to the north.'" The authors of the present article wonder if the above could be an account of a massive tsunami! They admit that the 4-day recession is inconsistent with tsunami action and that the warm water is hard-to-explain. The height reached by the inundation -- some 400 meters -- is also incredible. (Heaton, Thomas H., and Snavely, Parke D., Jr.; "Possible Tsunami along the Northwestern Coast of the United States Inferred from Indian Traditions," Seismological Society of America, Bulletin, 75:1455, 1985.) From Science Frontiers #44, MAR-APR 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... and being easily formed into any shape." Such PK 'parties' have been held scores of times since 1981, leaving trails of damaged kitchenware and popped soy beans. It's all a lot of fun. The people attending "feel good" about themselves and their shared experiences. (Houck, Jack; "PK Party History," in Proceedings of a Symposium on Applications of Anomalous Phenomena, C.P Scott Jones, ed., Kaman Tempo, Alexandria, Virginia, 1984.) Comment. Is mass delusion the foundation of PK parties? Is the above article serious? Houck's paper is in a long collection of rather standard parapsychological fare presented at a conference held under the auspices of Kaman Tempo. The phenomena of PK parties are similar to the audible effects produced by a Toronto group a few years ago. In their case, the participants conjured up "Phillip, the Imaginary Ghost," who communicated via table rapping. In all such group efforts, including the classical seance, there is strong psychological involvement. Skeptics do not do well at PK parties. From Science Frontiers #39, MAY-JUN 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... amount of aluminum-26 (26Al) in the interstellar medium." Instruments on satellites (gamma-ray spectrometers) have detected so much aluminum-26 that radical hypotheses seem required. The problem is that aluminum26 is radioactive with a half-life of only about 1 million years -- a very short time astronomically speaking. The aluminum-26 cannot be primordial solar-system stuff; it cannot even be 10 million years old. It had to be created somewhere nearby recently. The best aluminum-26 factory conceived so far is a nova in our vicinity. (Anonymous; "Are We inside a Supernova Remnant?" Sky and Telescope, 69:13, 1985.) Comment. A nova close enough to engulf the earth with its debris must have had a profound effect on the earth and its cargo of life -- perhaps on Saturn's rings, too. See next item . From Science Frontiers #39, MAY-JUN 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A Different Way Of Looking At The Solar System The current scientific consensus has the sun and its planets forming during the same process of accretion/condensation. In this view, the inner terrestrial planets differ from the outer giant planets only because their volatile elements were driven off by the sun's heat. This scenario has many problems, as recorded in our catalog volume The Moon and the Planets. G.H .A . Cole thinks that astronomers might have more success in explaining the origin of the solar system if they considered it a system of five large bodies of star stuff (light elements), each surrounded by its own retinue of high density satellites (the sun's four satellites would be the inner planets). In effect, then, we would have a quintuple star system in which only one member (the sun) collected enough star stuff to make it to incandescence. The four, large, outer planets would be merely failed stars. The advantages of this change of perspective are threefold: (1 ) All five central bodies are now compositionally similar as a class, (2 ) In each of the five systems, the angular momentum of the central body is greater than that of its satellites, whereas in the unitary solar system the angular momentum of the nine planets is much greater than that of the sun -- an embarrassing anomaly. (3 ) A final "bonus" appears when the distances of the satellites in the five systems are plotted, as indicated, and compared. The arrangement ...
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... a mental image or a deified thought but an actual voice heard when one was presented with a situation requiring decisive action." You must really read Jaynes' book to appreciate the evidence he has collected in support of his hypothesis. In the present article, J. Hamilton has found additional support for Jaynes' theory. His abstract follows: "When a system for communicating with nonverbal, quadriplegic, institutionalized residents was developed, it was discovered that many were experiencing auditory hallucinations. Nine cases are presented in this study. The 'voices' described have many similar characteristics, the primary one being that they give authoritarian commands that tell the residents how to behave and to which the residents feel compelled to respond. Both the relationship of this phenomenon to the theoretical work of Julian Jaynes and its effect on the lives of the residents are discussed." (Hamilton, John; "Auditory Hallucinations in Nonverbal Quadriplegics," Psychiatry, 48:382, 1985.) From Science Frontiers #43, JAN-FEB 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... several mutations and a slight change in gene frequency for one or two loci, all occurring in a limited period of time. "If an organism such as the Kaibab squirrel is able to escape all but a few minor changes in coat color (and these of dubious survival value) given the supposed immense time of rather complete isolation and violation of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we must ask wherein lies the fault. Is it in the violation of the Hardy-Weinberg concept, or is it in the time alloted for gene pool changes to occur?" Meyer answers his questions by stating that the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium concept seems reasonably well-founded, so that the problem must lie in the length of time estimated for the Kaibab squirrel's isolation from surrounding populations. In effect, Meyer concludes that the Grand Canyon is much younger than generally supposed. (Meyer, John R.; "Origin of the Kaibab Squirrel," Creation Research Society Quarterly, 22:68, 1985.) The Kaibab squirrel is isolated in the Kaibab Plateau (60 x 35 miles in extent). South of the canyon and elsewhere, the similar Albert squirrels may be found. From Science Frontiers #44, MAR-APR 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Subjects Parapsychology: a lack-of-progress report Speculating, as in the above item, is fun; but we need something to deflate balloons before they drift too high into the wild blue. The Skeptical Inquirer is the perfect "something." In the latest issue, ESP or psi takes it on the chin. J.E . Alcock reviews the last 8 years of parapsychological research. His conclusion: "The past eight years have been no kinder to those seeking compelling evidence about the reality of paranormal phenomena than were the previous eighty: The long-sought reliably demonstrable psychic phenomenon is just as elusive as it always has been." Alcock believes that parapsychology is on the ropes and must grasp at straws. One of these straws is the enthusiastic espousal of those quantum mechanical effects which seem to transcend time, space, and even human comprehension. Alcock contends that the admitted enigmas of quantum mechanics are being unfairly twisted by the parapsychologists. [Parapsychologists and their critics will argue interminably about the applicability of quantum mechanics to psi, ceasing only when someone with powerful, undeniable psi powers comes along -- the equivalent of a UFO landing on the White House lawn.] Meanwhile, Alcock identifies an important characteristic of psi, which is truly anomalous, for it is completely foreign to science as we understand it today. This is the generalizability of psi. ". .. psi effects turn up whether one uses cockroaches or college students, whether the effects are to be generated in the present or the future or the past, whether the subjects know that there is ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 25: Jan-Feb 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Schizophrenia And Season Of Birth Several scientists have published data that suggest that schizophrenics are more likely to be born in the winter months. The data have been subjected to much criticism. In this paper, the authors were careful to avoid previous errors in data collecting and analysis. From the Abstract: "We studied the birth months of 3,556 schizophrenics at a Minnesota Veteran's Administration hospital before and after instituting corrections for year-to-year across-month variations in birthrates in our expected values and the age-prevalence bias toward the January-March seasonality effect described in some earlier studies. Finally, we reanalyzed our data on a subset of patients in whom the ageincidence effect should be minimal. Even after these corrections the results supported the contention that the winter birthrate for schizophrenics is excessive, at least in severe climates." (Watson, Charles G., et al; "Season of Birth and Schizophrenia: A Response to the Lewis and Griffin Critique," Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 91:120, 1982.) Comment. What could possibly cause this seasonal effect, assuming it withstands scrutiny? From Science Frontiers #25, JAN-FEB 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Case Against Impact Extinctions The neocatastrophists seem to be getting overly smug with their iridium-rich deposits at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Is there really incontrovertible evidence that a large asteroid or comet hit the earth at this point in history, causing widespread biological extinctions? To add some perspective, Leigh M. Van Valen has tossed 15 arguments against impact extinctions on the scales. Ten of these are reproduced below, as taken from Nature. More de-tails may be found in Paleobiology, 10: 121, 1984. Freshwater life was unaffected; In Montana and its vicinity, the last occurrence of dinosaurs was detectably below the crucial boundary; Transitional floras also exist below the boundary; Apparently extraterrestrial material exists below the boundary; The expected effects of eliminating atmospheric ozone are missing; The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is coincident with a very large marine regression, suggesting a nonextraterrestrial cause; Marsupials but not placentals were nearly eliminated, while most aboreal multituberculates (a type of vertebrate) and birds survived; The predicted cooling effects on the earth are absent; The predicted effects of acid rain cannot be found; and Assuming a marine impact, no turbidites can be found; assuming a land impact, no large terrestrial crater has been discovered. (Van Valen, Leigh M.; "The Case against Impact Extinctions," Nature, 311:17, 1984.) From Science Frontiers #36, NOV-DEC 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... various correlations has convinced almost no one. John P. Bagby has now introduced a new piece to the puzzle of solar-system cyclic behavior. While searching for possible perturbations of the planets due to a tenth major planet or a dark massive solar companion (MSC), he discovered that the perihelia of the outer planets (orbital points closest to the sun) were being disturbed with an average period of 11.2 years. This is almost exactly the sunspot period. This serendipitous finding caused Bagby to wonder whether some common influence was causing not only the sunspot cycle and those perturbations in outer-planet perihelia but also cyclic volcanic and seismic activity on earth. Some correlations indeed do indicate a sun-earth link of some sort. Bagby suggests two possibilities: (1 ) Mutual resonance effects between the planets, (2 ) The effects of a massive solar companion. (Bagby, John P.; "New Support for the Planetary Theory of Sunspots," privately circulated paper, 1983.) Comment. Even "farther out" is the thought that gravitational waves or some unrecognized influence from the galaxy or beyond causes the whole solar system to "ring." In this context, see again the above item on solar vibrations. From Science Frontiers #31, JAN-FEB 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 28: Jul-Aug 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Different personalities: different brainwaves Psychologists have always wondered how a single brain could harbor several personalities, as is the situation in the so-called MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder). Are the different personalities really separate physiologically? Are they faked? Psychological testing of the separate personalities, conducted at different times when each personality was 'in charge,' seemed to indicate discrete personalities, even though one personality might know of the existence of one or more of the others in the same brain. Brain-wave tests were even more conclusive. Each personality had its own distinct set of brain waves in response to identical stimuli. In effect, the brain was operating in a different mode for each personality. (Anonymous; "Multiple Personality Not All in the Mind," New Scientist, 98:290, 1983.) Comment. Could the ability of the brain to operate in different modes be turned into an asset rather than an affliction? After all, computers can be made more effective when they execute several programs at once. From Science Frontiers #28, JUL-AUG 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... that is, macroscopic nature. He has applied the principles of quantum mechanics to nature in-the-large where gravitational forces are dominant. (Gravitational forces are negligible in the subatomic world.) His math cannot be reproduced here. Suffice it to say that Greenberger has applied his findings to the absorption lines of quasars and the elliptical rings surrounding normal galaxies. Now, quasars and galaxies are far from atomic nuclei, being vast assemblages of diverse matter. Somewhat surprisingly, his equations are successful in predicting some features of these two macroscopic entities. (Greenberger, Daniel M.; "Quantization in the Large," Foundations of Physics, 13:903, 1983.) Comment. At the very least it is mindstretching to find that complex systems with millions of stars may exhibit quantum effects. With some relief, we note that like microscopic quantization effects, the consequences of macroscopic quantization will be hard to discern in our comfortable "smooth" world. From Science Frontiers #32, MAR-APR 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 25: Jan-Feb 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Learning By Injection The following abstract is taken from the Psychological Record. "In an attempt to replicate previous findings that learned information could be transferred from trained donor animals to untrained recipient animals by means of brain extracts, two groups of rats were trained to approach a food cup in response to a discriminative stimulus (click or light). RNA extracted from the brains of these animals was injected intraperitoneally into untrained rats. The two untrained groups showed a significant tendency to respond specifically to the stimulus employed during the training. The results support the conclusion that acquired behaviors can be transferred between animals by transferring brain DNA, and further suggest that the transfer effect is dependent upon and specific to the learning of the donors." (Oden, Brett B., et al; "Interanimal Transfer of Learned Behavior through Injection of Brain RNA," Psychological Record, 32:281, 1982.) Comment. Of course, morphogenic fields, as described in R. Sheldrake's A New Science of Life, could also explain this effect. From Science Frontiers #25, JAN-FEB 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... No. 35: Sep-Oct 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Infrared Atmospheric Waves When the night sky is photographed in the infrared portion of the spectrum, luminous wave-like structures appear in the upper atmosphere. The wave crests are about 50 kilometers apart; lengthwise, they stretch up to 1.000 kilometers; altitude, about 85 kilometers. As many as ten waves may be seen at the same time. Morphologically, these waves resemble noctilucent clouds, which are sun-illumined, high-altitude clouds. The infrared waves, however, appear when the sun is well below the horizon. Since these waves are seen only at low angles over the horizon, some geophysicists propose they are the result of a geometric effect produced by viewing a rippled layer of weakly emitting gases in the upper atmosphere. When one looks at this rippled layer just above the horizon, one sees alternating thick and thin sections due to the perspective. The thick portions will appear brighter than the thin sections. As for the origin of this postulated rippled layer; no one is sure. Gravity waves may be involved. (Herse, M.; "Waves in the OH Emissive Layer," Science, 225:172, 1984.) Comment. As described in our Catalog Lightning, Auroras, Nocturnal Lights. luminous atmospheric waves are, on rare occasions, visible to the naked eye. It is possible that the bandedsky phenomenon is related to the infrared waves. For more information on the book just mentioned, visit: ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 29: Sep-Oct 1993 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Astronomy And Earthquakes "Large earthquakes in southern California with epicenters between 33 and 36 N have statistically significant 12 hourly, lunar fortnightly and 18.6 -yr periodicities. Smaller earthquakes in the same region do not display these periodicities. A search for tidal effects associated with these periodicities shows that large earthquakes have significant correlations with the times and orientations of daily/semi-daily tidal stresses while the lunar fortnightly terms are associated with the ocean tides along the Southern Californian coast." (Kilston, S., and Knopoff, L; "Lunar-Solar Periodicities of Large Earthquakes in Southern California," Nature, 304:21, 1983.) Comment. The literature contains many similar correlations for quakes of various sizes, for various restricted geographical areas, and for various depths. Many of these studies are summarized in our Catalog volume Earthquakes, Tides, Unidentified Sounds. For more information on this book, visit: here . One tidal strain component (normalized) plotted for 20 days before and after the earthquake of June 25, 1925, showing the large fortnightly modulation of the diurnal tide. Curiously (perhaps anomalously) the quake occurred during a period of minimum strain. From Science Frontiers #29, SEP-OCT 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Natural Laser Beacons "It has long been realized that the Earth's upper atmosphere cannot be in thermodynamic equilibrium, and during the last decade astronomers have made telescopic observations of nonequilibrium processes taking place in the upper atmospheres of our Earth-like neighbors, Mars and Venus. A preliminary analysis by Michael Mumma, of Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, and his colleagues. indicated that processes analogous to optical pumping in laboratory lasers were taking place and led to the coining of the term 'natural lasers.' Now, Deming and colleagues from the Goddard team have taken new observations of emission from Mars and Venus at wavelengths near 10 micrometers. and modelled them to show that stimulated emission -- the effect which makes lasers so powerful -- accounts for up to seven per cent of the total emission. This is not a large amplification factor by laboratory standards, particularly for a CO2 laser. But, the authors speculate that the sheer size of the natural lasers could make them useful tools in the future for communicating with distant civilizations beyond our own planetary system." The atmospheres of Mars and Venus are almost pure CO2 . The CO2 molecules are excited by the absorption of energetic solar photons; then, thermally emitted photons at about 10 micrometers from lower reaches of the atmosphere collide with the excited molecules, stimulating them to emit another 10-micrometer photon, thus doubling the number of photons. This is typical laser action. Deming and Mumma speculate that the natural laser action existing in the ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 34: Jul-Aug 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Are parasites really the masters?All animals harbor parasites; and some parasites even have their own parasites. The usual effect of a parasite upon its host is debilitation, often to the point of death. But parasites have to reproduce, and some settle for the modification of their hosts in ways that improve their chances. Parasites can change the size, color, and even the behavior of their host. The object is usually to encourage a specific predator to eat the host so the parasite can continue its life cycle. A classic example is the lan-cet fluke which infests ants and then sheep. The problem is that sheep don't normally eat ants, giving the flukes a chance to switch vehicles. So, the innovative flukes somehow force the ants to crawl to the tops of plants and lock themselves there with their jaws. The next hungry sheep that comes along has his meal seasoned with ants. The bulk of the present article deals with thorny-headed worms, which are not as endearing as the lancet flukes. These parasites are merely bags of reproductive organs attached to a thorny probiscus, by which they attach themselves to the intestinal walls of vertebrates. Living in a sea of processed nutrients, the worms don't even have a digestive tract. Part of the life cycle of this parasite is spent in arthropods (insects, crustaceans). As with the lancet fluke, the thorny-headed worm ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 35: Sep-Oct 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Gravity And Going Around In Ellipses We thought that our readers might like to know that the force of gravity apparently has no significant effect on circumnutation. Now circumnutation is the result of an "impressively ubiquitous mechanism" in all elongating plant organs. More simply, it is the elliptical weaving motion seen in the tips of growing leaves, shoots, flower stalks, branch roots, etc. In a 4- to 5-day-old sunflower seedling, the ellipse traced is 6-8 millimeters long and takes about 110 minutes. The ellipses result from differ-ential growth in the elongating plants. No one knew whether the force of gravity played a role in circumnutation until some sunflower seedlings were flown on Spacelab 1. Zero-g did not affect circumnutation at all. (Brown, Allan H. and Chapman, David K.; "Circumnutation Observed without Significant Gravitational Force in Spaceflight," Science, 225:230, 1984.) Comment. Nature seldom indulges in frivolous actions, but we just may have a phenomenon here that has absolutely no deeper significance. From Science Frontiers #35, SEP-OCT 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 35: Sep-Oct 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Immune System As A Sensory Organ John Maddox, the editor of Nature, has written a remarkable editorial on psychoimmunology; that is, the science of the brain's effects on the body's immune system. It is basically a running commentary on new discoveries that are helping us to understand this poorly appreciated relationship. Maddox begins by mentioning the 20-plus-year collection compiled by Professor G.W . Brown, University of London, of life-events that affect the health of outwardly normal people. Typical life-events are the death of a spouse, imprisonment, personal bankruptcy, etc. Everyone seems to recognize -- if only through anecdotes -- that mental states affect health, but how this brain-body link is maintained is hard to pin down. D. Maclean and S. Reichlin (Psychoneuroimmunology, 12: 475, 1981.) have reviewd some of the possible connections. One potential link is through the interaction of the hypothalamus on the pituitary. The pituitary is a source of materials that influence the immune system. Maddox lists several specific candidates, and then observes: "The more radical psychoimmunologists talk as if there is no state of mind which is not faithfully reflected by a state of the immune system." So far, not too radical! But then Maddox comes to an article by J.E . Blalock, University of Texas (Journal of Immunology, 132: ...
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... phosphorescence lasting some 2.5 hours. The complete report is 6 pages long, with 8 diagrams, so only the highlights can be reported here. As is often the case, this display began with parallel phosphorescent bands (2 sets) rushing toward the ship at about 40 mph. They were 50-100 cm above the sea surface. The bands then changed into two rotating wheels; then a third wheel formed. All three rotated counterclockwise, with their hubs 300, 300, and 150 meters from the ship. The spokes stretched to the horizon. The display ceased for about 20 minutes and recommenced with four systems of onrushing parallel bands, which soon metamorphosed into four rotating wheels. Radar, visible light (from an Aldis lamp), and engine revolution appeared to have no effect on the spectacle. Next, evenly distributed, circular, flashing patches of brilliant blue-white light appeared all around the ship out to a distance of about 150 meters. This system of patches flashed away simultaneously the wheel display. The patches varied from 15-60 cm in diameter, and flashed 114 times per minute. When an Aldis lamp played steadily on the patches, nothing happened. When the lamp was flashed, the whole array of flashing patches disappeared, only to reappear in about 2 minutes. Each patch seemed to consist of worm-like segments 2 cm long, 2 cm apart. The worms were all aligned perpendicular to a vector from the ship. In contrast to the bands and wheels, the worms were located about 5 cm below the surface of the water ...
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... years across. A disturbance or physical change leading to a variation in intensity, even travelling at the speed of light, could not begin to move across this huge region in half an hour. Yet, the changes in intensity seem to be there, inferring a physical change that travels perhaps a million times faster than physics permits. Variations in intensity decades long would be acceptable, but half an hour is out-of-the-question! The author of this referenced comment in Nature believes that the observational procedures employed must be at fault. (Gaskell, C. Martin; "Spectra That Defy Explanation," Nature, 304:212, 1983.) Comment. This possible anomaly is closely related to the so-called superluminal velocities also observed in quasars, in which physical effects seem to travel faster than light. Apparently something is very wrong in our model of a quasar, or our distance scale, or even our basic physics. From Science Frontiers #29, SEP-OCT 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... day canonical cycle on track with its true synodic period of 583.92 days. Their predictions of the position of Venus were accurate to 2 hours in 481 years! Not bad for a civilization that did not seem to have any conception that the planets revolved around the sun. The Maya, in fact, did not seem to care what made heavenly bodies move; they only wished to predict their appearance accurately. Instead of developing celestial mechanics based on gravitation and laws of motion, as we have done, they were content with numerical algorithms; that is, ways of computing a desired result. Their astonishingly accurate predictions of Venus, solar eclipses, and other astronomical phenomena evolved from cycles of numbers advancing each day like interlocking gear teeth. These algorithms gave them no insight into cause and effect, but they got the right answers. They needed no physical laws, just patterns of numbers. It was a different way of comprehending and dealing with the universe. (Aveni, Anthony F.; "Native American Astronomy," Physics Today, 37:24, June 1984.) Reference. For much more on archeoastronomy, consult our Handbook Ancient Man. Details here . An early drawing of the Big Horn medicine wheel in Colorado. It is actually not quite this regular. From Science Frontiers #35, SEP-OCT 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 34: Jul-Aug 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Behind magnetic flip-flops The earth's magnetic field frequently reverses its polarity. Such flips can of-ten be correlated with climate changes, global ice volumes, sea-floor spreading rates, and deposition of black shales, tektite falls, biological extinctions, etc. The frustrating thing is the lack of clear-cut cause and effect; that is, how these phenomena are linked physically to the geomagnetic field. Part of the problem is that we can only guess at how the geomagnetic field is generated. Let us assume that the earth's magnetic field is created by dynamo action in the planet's fluid core. P. Olson finds analytically that the core dynamo may reverse sign due to fluctuations in core turbulence caused by two competing energy sources: heat loss at the mantle-core boundary and progressive growth of the inner core. In concept, the heat lost at the core-mantle boundary might be linked to climate changes and sea-floor spreading. Taking a different tack, D. Gubbins has investigated the possibility that field reversals are triggered by ice ages and meteorite impacts (tektite falls). The physical mechanism here would be the increase in pressure upon the core, which affects the rate of freezing in the outer core, and thus the power available to the core dynamo. Gubbins found that these externally caused pressure changes were too small to explain the polarity changes. However, the parameters involved ...
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... 3700 miles out. The satellite, called Lageos, is covered with laser reflectors so that it can be tracked with high precision. At its altitude of 3700 miles, the earth's atmosphere is supposed to be so thin that friction will bring the satellite only 1/250th of an inch closer to the earth each day. The trouble is that Lageos actually falls at ten times this rate. In 1979 it descended 60% faster than it does now. Lageos will stay in orbit several hundred thou-sand years, but space scientists are understandably concerned about their theories about the upper atmosphere. Many suggestions have been made to explain this anomaly. Some say the atmosphere is thicker than expected; others prefer to think there is more helium than predicted; but the "plasma drag" effect seems to fit the situation the best. Lageos may, in fact, be electrically charged and interacting with the surrounding cloud of electrically charged particles and is ever so slightly braked by the electrical forces. (Maran, Stephen P.; "Fall from Space," Natural History, 91:74, December 1982.) From Science Frontiers #25, JAN-FEB 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 36: Nov-Dec 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Mallia Table The Mallia Table was discovered in the Central Court of the Minoan Palace of Mallia on Crete. It is a large limestone disk 90 centimeters in diameter and 36 centimeters thick. Around its circumference are 33 cups of equal size. A 34th. cup is larger and is located in a sort of ear that extends beyond the normal circumference of the disk. The larger cup is oriented due south. The disk is set in the stone pavement of a small terrace that is slightly elevated above the level of the Central Court. This strange monolith, which dates circa 1,900-1 ,750 BC, has been a puzzle to scholars since its discovery in 1926 by French excavators. C.F . Herberger's thesis is that the disk is a lunisolar clock. The 33 small cups provide a convenient and symmetrical division of the 99 lunations of the 8-year cycle. By moving markers, one could have a fairly accurate lunisolar clock. The 34th. cup, by virtue of its larger size, would announce the need for an intercalcated month. This sort of clock, even though arrived at empirically, represents a remarkable innovation for a period almost 4,000 years ago. (Herberger, Charles F.; "The Mallia Table: Kernos or Clock?" Archaeoastronomy, 6:114, 1983.) Diagram of the Mallia disk, with intercalation cups in black. Diameter: about ...
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... These flowers are pollinated by minute flies, but just how the orchid's seeds are dispersed is still a mystery. (Cooke, John; "Hidden Assets," Natural History, 93:75, October 1984.) Bats navigate by somehow constructing an image of the external world from the echoes of their squeaks. Since bats have but two ears, one wonders how they can develop a three-dimensional image from a two-dimensional sensor; ie., two ears give right-and-left information only. The moustache bat makes up for this deficiency by generating echo-locating pulses at three distinct harmonics: 30, 60, and 90 kilohertz. Its external ears are so shaped that each of these three frequencies has a different acoustic axis, giving the bat in effect three separate sets of ears pointing in three different directions. Inside the bat's head, in the inferior colliculus of the brain, are three sepa rate sets of neurons sensitive to the three different frequencies. No one knows how the bat processes such information into a "display" it can use in swooping after insects at night. (Anonymous; "The Ins and Outs of a Bat's Ears," New Scientist, 20, August 30, 1984.) Reference. For more on bat navigational prowess, see section BMT3 in our catalog: Biological Anomalies: Mammals II. This volume is described here . The three acoustic axes of the moustache bat. From Science Frontiers #36, NOV-DEC 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... bale, although the hay normally required two or three days of drying time after being cut. Perhaps the most startling remains of the storm was in what had been the cotton patch at Pete and Inez Burns' farm. The cotton was about knee high and a 'lucious crop' the day before, according to the couple. The next morning all that was left were carbonized stalks peeping out of the ground. The corn fared little better." (Glaze, Dean; "Kopperl's Close Encounter with Satan's Storm," Meridian (TX) Tribune, May 12, 1983, p.1 . Article appeared originally in the Dallas Times-Herald Westward Magazine. Cr. J. Mohn) Comment. The consequences of this storm closely resemble the burning and drying effects of some tornados. See GWT in our Catalog: Tornados, Dark Days. Ordering information here . From Science Frontiers #29, SEP-OCT 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 31: Jan-Feb 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Sun As A Scientific Instrument In connection with the preceding item on solar oscillations and asymmetry, a few brave astrophysicists are now proposing that one mode of solar oscillation (the 160-minute period) is really a manifestation of the sun "ringing" in response to gravity waves sweeping through it! A nearby binary star, Geminga, has a period of this length. It seems that the 160-minute oscillation of the sun is far too long to be a solar pressure wave, and external forces could conceivably be involved. This article also mentions "the throbbing earth" reported in SF#30, an effect which may result from gravitational waves emanating from the center of our galaxy. (Walgate, Robert; "Gravitational Waves on the Sun?" Nature, 305:665, 1983.) From Science Frontiers #31, JAN-FEB 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 36: Nov-Dec 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Spiked Ball Lightning December 3, 1979. Fleetwood, England. "On the evening in question there was an intermittent thunderstorm with rain in heavy showers. My son Michael had just come in from the college and had gone into the room and was standing watching the T.V . The time would be a little before 6.00 p.m . I said something to the effect that his meal would be ready and he'd better wash his hands, so he turned the television off, although it remained plugged in... At this point a spherical object about six inches (15 cm) in diameter floated down the (sealed) chimney and into the room. It appeared to be rather like a soap bubble but was dull purple in colour covered or rather made up of a furry/spiky emission all over. The coating seemed to be about one inch (2 .5 cm) thick with spikes of two inches here and there but changing all the time. It was quite dim and appeared to be semi-transparent, in so much as I could see through to the inside of the opposite side, which appeared quite smooth -- all the spikes pointing outwards from the surface. It appeared to me to be insubstantial and made no sound. It drifted between the two of us towards the television screen at about 30 inches (75 cm) from the floor, covering the six feet ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 34: Jul-Aug 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Techno-jinx George Gamow once said of his fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli that "apparatus would fall, break, shatter, or burn when he merely walked into a laboratory." Some people just seem to have adverse effects on machines. When they appear on the scene, computers crash, copying machines jam, and telephones go on the fritz. Robert Morris, an experimental psychologist at Syracuse University, has been collecting such anecdotes and finds them far from rare. On the other side of the coin, other individuals seem to have phenomenal positive rapport with machinery, like those favored few who can fix anything. Of course, bulging files of anecdotes prove nothing. Many of the stories are likely embellished with each retelling. And some people are singularly clumsy, careless, and ignorant about machines. These types are always pushing the wrong buttons and otherwise mishandling the man-machine interface. Obviously, objective tests are required to determine of there is really anything to this curious business. (Huyghe, Patrick; "Techno-Jinx," Omni, 6:20, May 1984.) Comment. Even typewriters can be %r / lim-. ! From Science Frontiers #34, JUL-AUG 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Brin has conducted an analysis of this puzzle and has come to these conclusions: "The quandry of the Great Silence gives the infant study of xenology its first traumatic struggle, between those who seek optimistic excuses for the apparent absence of sentient neighbors and those who enthusiastically accept the Silence as evidence for humanity's isolation in an open frontier. "Both approaches suffer greatly from personal bias, and from lack of detailed comparative study. In this article we have attempted to deal with a subject that, for all of its great importance, is almost ghostly in its intangibility. We have broken the subject into its logical elements and attempted a morphological discussion of the possibilities. Table I [not reproduced because of its size] presents an overview of many of the ideas discussed here and their respective effects on the equations.... "Some of the branch lines discussed here serve the optimists, while others seem pessimistic to an unprecedented degree. We have laid out only the outline of a full analysis of the problem. Further work should consider every experimental test that could be applied to this fundamental question of humanity's uniqueness. "This survey demonstrates that the Universe has many more ways to be nasty than previously discussed. Indeed, the only hypotheses proposed which appear to be wholly consistent with observation and with non-exclusivity -- 'Deadly Probes' and 'Ecological Holocaust' -- are depressing to consider. "Still, while the author does not accept that elder species will necessarily be wiser than contemporary humanity, such noble races might have appeared. If such a ...
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... person actually is stimulated by a poison ivy-type plant. Similarly, individuals who are viewed as allergic to pollen or house dust may not manifest the allergic reaction when they believe (falsely) that they have not been exposed to the allergic substance. .. .. . "Believed-in suggestions can affect specific parts of the body in very specific ways. Suggestions of being burned can give rise to a very specific irregular pattern of inflammation on the hand that closely follows the pattern of a previously experienced actual burn in the same place. Suggestions that a congenital skin disorder will ameliorate step by step first in one area of the body, then in another, can be actualized exactly as suggested. At least one set of investigators found that suggestions that specific warts will regress can be effective in removing just those warts and not others." In addition to the subjects mentioned in the quotations, the following topics are explored: congenital skin diseases, blisters produced by suggestion, stigmata, mental inhibition of bleeding, fire-walking in safety, control of blood flow and skin temperature, and so on. (Barber, Theodore X.; "Changing 'Unchangeable' Bodily Processes by (Hypnotic) Suggestions: A New Look at Hypnosis, Cognitions, Imagining, and the Mind-Body Problem," in A.A . Sheikh (ed.) Imagination and Healing, Baywood Publishing Co., Farmingdale, NY, 1984, pp. 69.) From Science Frontiers #34, JUL-AUG 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 15: Spring 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Novaya Zemlya Effect Rarely, as the long polar night draws to a close, the sun will suddenly burst above the horizon weeks ahead of schedule. This is the Novaya Zemiya Effect, and it is basically a polar mirage. Even when the sun is still 5 below the horizon, its light can become trapped between thermoclines and be transmitted over the usual horizon. The atmospheric ducts act much like flat light pipes. In the Novalya Zemlya Effect the sun's image is grossly distorted, quite different from the high quality mirages sometimes seen over hundreds of miles in the polar latitudes. (Anonymous; "New Light on Novaya Zemlya Polar Mirage," Physics Today, 34: 21, January 1981.) Reference. Related atmospheric phenomena are collected in Section GEM in our Catalog: Rare Halos. More information on this book here . Triple Novaya Zemlya Effect. Three distorted images of a sun still well below the horizon. From Science Frontiers #15, Spring 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 10: Spring 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Bend Interferometers Not Spoons Because spoon-bending and similar purported mental feats involve so much legerdemain and trickery, scientists generally avoid psychic research. Taking a different tack, R.G . Jahn, at Princeton, has been experimenting with microscopic psychic effects, such as raising the temperature of a thermistor by a few thousandths of a degree or changing the separation of interferometer mirrors by a hundred-thousandth of a centimeter. Quite unexpectedly (at least to the conventional physicist) the mind seems able to cause such changes at will under controlled conditions. The changes are minuscule to be sure, but cause-and-effect is clear-cut according to Jahn. But don't say that psi power has now been scientifically proven. The effects vary from person to person and, for the same individual, from time to time. The fact that one cannot predict the occurrence of the effects has led Jahn to speculate that the phenomena are inherently statistical. (Anonymous; "Dean Justifies Psychic Research," Science News, 116:358, 1979.) Comment. In other words, the effects resemble radioactivity where the behavior of a single atom is unpredictable but en masse the atoms follow the law of radioactive decay. From Science Frontiers #10, Spring 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... published in great detail in the Journal of the Optical Society of America. Ives would have had a more difficult time getting his results published today, for he showed quite clearly that Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity did not correspond to lab results. At the time, such results were not so shocking. Indeed, some philosophers had shown that Special Relativity led to undesirable paradoxes, and experiments by Sagnac and Michelson/Gale had cast additional doubt on this aspect of Relativity. Such experiments by Ives and other key scientists suggested that an ether actually did exist and that it could serve as an absolute reference frame. Another implication was that time was an independent entity unaffected by motion and that the infamous Twin Paradox was a fiction. Ives himself believed his work proved that so-called relativistic effects could be easily explained by phenomena appealing more to the common sense, such as the change of a light source's frequency with motion (over and above the Doppler Effect), rather than revamping space-time concepts. In short, Ives thought he had proved Special Relativity untenable experimentally and an un-necessary distortion of science's worldview. (Barnes, Thomas G., and Ramirez, Francisco S.; "Velocity Effects on Atomic Clocks and the Time Question," Creation Research Society Quarterly, 18:198, 1982.) Comment. Why do the textbooks neglect to mention the Ives experiments and why should a review of Ives' work appear in a creationist publication? The answers are easy: Special Relativity now has the status of scientific dogma, which one ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 23: Sep-Oct 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Remarkable Engineering Design In Nature Two unusual examples of inspired design in nature have been described recently: (1 ) The swordfish possesses special tissues rich in mitochrondria and cytochrome-c that generate heat for the animal's eye and brain. Not only do these heating elements keep the swordfish eye and brain significantly warmer than the surrounding water but they also keep these organs warm and thus more effective during deep dives into the cold ocean depths. (Carey, Francis G.; "A Brain Heater in the Swordfish," Science, 216:1327, 1982.) (2 ) Plants, it seems, developed light pipes long before humans. Certain plant tissues (etiolated or dark-grown) act as multiple bundles of optical fibers and coherently transfer light over distances of at least 2 cm. Optical tests show that these natural light pipes are much more effective transmitters of light than media that simply scatter light. This unsuspected sophistication of Nature's design may require significant revisions in photobiology, which did not allow for such ingenuity. (Smith , Harry; "Light-Piping by Plant Tissues," Nature, 298:423, 1982.) Comment. Since some plants are known to emit light, we would not be surprised, the way things are going, to learn of natural plant lasers! From Science Frontiers #23, SEP-OCT 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 18: Nov-Dec 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Long Arms Of Venus And Jupiter Many times in the two or three "scientific" centuries now behind us, investigators have discovered, almost against their wills, that the moon and planets affect the earth. The moon's influence is understandable, but the planets are too far away for their gravitational fields to influence one terrestrial dust mote. Well, here is one more study showing that the planets (Venus and Jupiter, in this case) do affect the peak electron density in the earth's ionosphere. The effect is most noticeable when these planets are close to earth and dwindles as they swing around to the other side of the sun. The authors are at a loss to explain this effect in terms of gravitation, suggesting that perhaps Venus or Jupiter may instead affect solar activity, which in turn modifies the terrestrial ionosphere. (Harnischmacher, E., and Rawer, K.; "Lunar and Planetary Influences upon the Peak Electron Density of the Ionosphere," Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Electricity, 43:643, 1981.) Comment. Actually, no one has shown how the planets can possibly influence the sun with known action-at-a -distance forces. Electrical forces are taboo. There are no other "recognized" forces. From Science Frontiers #18, NOV-DEC 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 21: May-Jun 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Flattened Sun Means Trouble For Einstein Recent measurements of the sun's diameter by P. Goode and H. Hill show: (1 ) The sun is "ringing like a bell" due to constant sunquakes; and (2 ) The sun is flattened enough at itse poles to signifcantly affect the precession of Mercury's orbit. The gravitational influence of the sun's bulge is so large that it, in effect, competes with relativistic effects as an explanation of Mercury's precession. Goode, in fact, has suggested that the Theory of Relativity must be in error. (Anonymous; "Reputed Mistake Found in Einstein's Theory of Relativity," Baltimore Sun, April 6, 1982. An Associated Press item.) From Science Frontiers #21, MAY-JUN 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 14: Winter 1981 Supplement Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Does the moon really faze people?Folklore strongly supports the power of the full moon to disturb people's minds, as underscored by the term "lunatic." The many scientific studies of this supposed lunar effect, however, have come to conflicting conclusions. Templer and Veleber have surveyed previous studies and believe that the discrepancies arise because of different methodologies. By combining new and older data and using a common approach, they confirm folklore by finding a disproportionate frequency of abnormal behavior occurring at the times of full moon, new moon, and the last half of the lunar phase. (Templer, Donald I., and Veleber, David M.; "The Moon and Madness: A Comprehensive Perspective," Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36:865, 1980.) Reference. The moon's putative effect on human behavior is discussed at BHB4 in our Catalog: Biological Anomalies: Humans I. For ordering information, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #14, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... philosophical background and the superb bibliography must be mentioned. Although Jahn regards his work as only beginning, he does feel that the early results clearly show the existence of non-chance factors in psychokinesis and remote-viewing experiments. For example, interferometer fringes and straingauge readings seem to be changed by the application of "mental forces." But the experiments cannot always be replicated and subjects' abilities are ephemeral. The flavor of the Princeton findings are well put in these sentences from the summary paragraphs: ". .. it appears that once the illegitimate research and invalid criticism have been set aside, the remaining accumulated evidence of psychic phenomena comprises an array of experimental observations, obtained under reasonable protocols in a variety of scholarly disciplines, which compound to a philosphical dilemma. On one hand, effects inexplicable in terms of established scientific theory, yet having numerous common characteristics, are frequently and widely observed; on the other hand, these effects have so far proven qualitatively and quantitatively irreplicable, in the strict scientific sense, and appear to be sensitive to a variety of psychological and environmental factors that are difficult to specify, let alone control. Under these circumstances, critical experimentation has been tedious and frustrating at best, and theoretical modeling still searches for vocabulary and concepts, well short of any useful formalisms." (Jahn, Robert G.; "The Persistent Paradox of Psychic Phenomena: An Engineering Perspective," IEEE, Proceedings, 70:136, 1982.) Comment. The quotation above could just as well apply to UFO research, some aspects of cryptozoology, and other ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 23: Sep-Oct 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The cretaceous-tertiary extinction bolide The recently discovered worldwide iridium-rich layer is taken by many scientists as evidence of the collision of an asteroid or comet with the earth about 65 million years ago. This cataclysmic event is also blamed (by some, at least) for the apparent sudden biological extinctions recorded on these pages of the fossil record. In this setting, the authors of this paper calculate the effects on the earth of a 10-kilometer-diameter object impacting at about 20/km/sec. Do the theoretical results jibe with the geological and paleontological data? Very definitely. Crater ejecta rich in extraterrestrial material would be blasted to an altitude of 10 km, where winds would insure global distribution. In terms of biological stress, the 10-km projectile would transfer 40-50% of its kinetic energy to the atmosphere, creating a heat pulse that could raise global temperatures 30 C (50 F) for several days. Many large animals might well succumb to such a temperature transient. In addition, the protective ozone layer might be blown away by shock waves and not reform for a decade. (O 'Keefe, John D., and Ahrens, Thomas J.; "Impact Mechanics of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Bolide," Nature, 298,123, 1982.) Reference. We catalog biological extinctions at ESB1 in Anomalies in Geology. To order this book, visit: here ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 20: Mar-Apr 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Heads or tails?Fake-head butterflies often escape predators that make passes at their cleverly designed tails, which as the figure shows, look awfully like butterfly heads, with eye spot, fake antennas, etc. Further, the converging stripes direct attention to the false head. The result is that this type of butterfly may lose its tail but save its real head. This effective stripe pattern has evolved (? ) independently at least six times in the Neotropics. (Robbins, Robert K.; "The 'False Head' Hypothesis: Predation and Wing Pattern Variation of Lycaenid Butterflies," American Naturalist, 118:770, 1981.) Comment. One wonders why all butterflies haven't evolved this neat ploy? From Science Frontiers #20, MAR-APR 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 17: Fall 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Bioluminescent Cartwheels And Whirlpools In The Arabian Sea 6 March 1980. Arabian Sea. "At 1552 GMT bioluminescence in the form of diffused white light in 'whirlpool' and 'cartwheel' formations was observed; within 3 minutes it completely encircled the vessel and extended to the horizon. The 'cartwheel' formations were brightest at the centre with a halo effect surrounding the outer edges. As the vessel passed over 2 such formations the 'spokes' were estimated to be 2-2 metres in width and the entire concentration, which was more than the width of the vessel (approximately 27 metres), was observed on both sides of the bridgewing simultaneously. The 'whirlpool' formations, with a distinct central hub, varied from l to 2 metres in width and from 14 to 15 metres in length. The phenomenon was observed for 40 minutes." (Messinger, P.A .; "Bioluminescence," Marine Observer, 51:13, 1981.) Comment. This is the first report uncovered that described "whirlpool" formations. The variety of phosphorescent formations and their long durations cast doubt on the usual seismic explanation. Reference. The many strange types of marine biolouminescence are detailed in Section GLW in our catalog: Lightning, Auroras. Details here . From Science Frontiers #17, Fall 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Fire-walking: anyone can do it San Pedro Manrique, Spain, 1969, the annual fire-walking ceremony. Arriving too late for the official ceremony, the author and his friends find a bed of coals too hot to stand near. Two members of a French TV crew remaining behind walk across the coals with no adverse effects. A Spanish companion does, too. Thus encouraged, the American takes off his shoes. He is advised: Make sure your feet are brushed free of grass and twigs; Place your feet firmly and with force; and Never hesitate, keep moving. The author walked across the coals without the slightest hint of burning. It was, he states, a "spiritual experience!" (McElroy, John Harmon; "Fire-Walking," Folklore, 89:113, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #5 , November 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 14: Winter 1981 Supplement Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Venus: highly radioactive or just cooling down?The surface temperature of Venus is about 480 C, higher than any other solar system planet. While Venus does trap solar radiation in its atmosphere greenhouse fashion, data from Pioneer Venus Orbiter show that the planet radiates 15% more energy than it receives from the sun. In other words, Venus's surface is hotter then it would be if only the greenhouse effect were operating. Where could this extra energy come from? If it arises from the decay of naturally occurring radioactivity, Venus would have to have 10,000 times as much radioactivity as the earth. If this is the case, Venus must have had an origin radically different from the earth's . (Anonymous; "The Mystery of Venus's Internal Heat," New Scientist, 88:437, 1980.) Comment. Another possibility is that Venus is still cooling down and is much younger than the earth! From Science Frontiers #14, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 7: June 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Where did chief joseph get a cuniform tablet?Among the effects of Chief Joseph, the famed leader of the Nez Perce Indians, was a clay tablet bearing a cuneiform inscription. The tablet transmits no startling message, being merely a receipt for one lamb changing hands. But where did a Northwest Indian chief get a 3,000year-old tablet? The tablet first came to light around 1878, long before cuneiform tablets became common on the artifacts market. Still, it could have been a gift from some missionary or tourist -- or even planted as a hoax. (Park, Edwards; "Where Did Chief Joseph Get a Cuneiform Tablet?" Smithsonian Magazine, 9:36, February 1979.) Reference. For other enigmatic New World tablets and inscriptions, read our Handbook: Ancient Man, which is described at: here . From Science Frontiers #7 , June 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 6: February 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Stacked Deck In Esp Experiment Balanovski and Taylor have assumed that the many purported extrasensory phenomena are very likely effected by electromagnetic forces -- the only known action-at-a -distance force they believe could be involved. Therefore, they assembled a wide variety of very sensitive electromagnetic instruments (antennas, EM probes, skin electrodes, magnetometers, etc.) and tried to find electromagnetic fields associated with people claiming paranormal abilities. Despite the high sensitivities of the apparatus, no ESP-connected electromagnetic fields were detected. (Balanovski, E., and Taylor, J.G .; "Can Electromagnetism Account for Extra-Sensory Phenomena?" Nature, 276:64, 1978.) Comment. J.G . Taylor is the author of Superminds, a rather unabashed proparanormal book. He has since recanted. His experiment (described briefly above) certainly has not disproved the existence of ESP, only that there are no accompanying electromagnetic fields. ESP, if it exists, may work through "unknown" fields or, perhaps, no fields at all, as we understand them. Although caveats appear in the article relative to the limited nature of the experiment, such an article in a key scientific journal just makes most doubting scientists say "I told you so." From Science Frontiers #6 , February 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... University of Colorado at Boulder have discovered that growing cells apparently generate electrical fields that control the shapes of living organisms. They have been experimenting with a disc-shaped alga with a lobed edge. Normally the algo reproduces by splitting in half, with each half regenerating the lost half. Nicely symmetric discs are manufactured. But if an external electrical field (about 14 volts/cm) is applied across the nutrient medium, the regeneration geometry is distorted. The experimenters surmise that the membrane chemistry is affected by the external field which augments or reduces cell-created electric fields. (Anonymous; "Electric Charges May Shape Living Tissue," New Scientist, 86:245, 1980.) Comment. Natural external electric fields, such as the atmospheric potential gradient, may therefore have some biological effects, as some experiments with electricity and plant growth have proven. From Science Frontiers #12, Fall 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Cometary Appearance Of Venus The famed astronomer Johann Maedler first recorded strange brushes of light emanating from the bright limb of Venus. Two luminous fans opening sunward gave the planet the appearance of a multitailed comet. Maedler made this curious observation on April 7, 1833; and it has come to be known as the Maedler Phenomenon. If it were not for Maedler's fame as an honest, meticulous observer, the event would have been fogotten long ago. A similar observation was made by Gadbury in 1686. The only explanation for the phenomenon offered so far involves some sort of obscure type of halo or sun-pillar effect. (Baum, Richard; "The Maedler Phenomenon," Strolling Astronomer, 27:118, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #5 , November 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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