Effects Of RF Signals On The Body

This is the third page in the series – if you have not already, then I recommend your reading the prior pages before reading this one as each page builds on the knowledge presented on the prior.  This page introduces the body’s ability to interact with externally generated electrical signals, light, and other stimulus. I also introduce the concept of remotely reading biological signals. I have highlighted text synchronous with my desire to remotely extract biological signals.

Here are some important things that you should be aware of prior to reading the contents on this page:

  • Unfortunately the terms RF Signal, RF Frequency, and Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) are generally interchanged.
    • Each are making reference to the concept of an electrical signal of some strength (power) and frequency (number of times it cycles per second).
    • Perhaps most widely used, the term RF stands for Radio Frequency, which is generally inappropriately associated with radio’s.
    • Most individuals are unaware that radios operate in a very tiny segment of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, which includes such things as microwave signals, television signals, cellular signals, light, X-Ray, Gamma Rays, and etc..
    • Perhaps the best term is the least used – Electromagnetic Frequency – as this is not generally associated with any specific technology.
  • The body generates electromagnetic signals which can be received by devices – just like the radio stations that you tune into in your stereo.
    • Your body generates strong and weak electromagnetic signals, which can be received by the correct equipment.
    • Just like your radio, some signals are strong enough to be picked out of the background noise, while others fade into the static.
    • Technologies exist that can boost extremely faint electromagnetic signals and filter out the background noise, making it possible to ‘receive’ low power signals.
  • For an externally applied electrical signal to have an effect on the body, it must be of a specific intensity (power), and have a specific duration (length of time that the signal is active). We can use the duration to calculate the signals frequency (cycles per second) for any signal.
  • Electrical signals are directly interconnected with the principles of magnetism.
  • It is known that the application of electrical and magnetic fields can have an affect on people. Here are some articles:
  • Some individuals are very susceptible to EMF. Those severely affected have moved to remote communities that have banned wireless and cellular communications. It has been reported that it is estimated that between 20% and 30% of the population suffer from some sort of noise sensitivity, and at least 10,000 people now hear “The Hum”. And of course, some individuals would interpret the ‘noise’ as ‘voices’. Of course, from the test results come direction as to how to affect a human mind – the brain could be made to interpret electrical ‘noise’ as sounds / voices – and it seems to be controllable through the regulation of other brain areas.

Stimulating The Body / Brain

Introduction – The Basics

Let’s start with this: the source of some of amputees pain could be linked to electromagnetic fields generated by power lines and cellular phones.  Essentially, given enough power, it is possible for any frequency generated to have an affect on the body. In fact a lot of research has been performed on the body using signals much higher than are actually required. The best way for a signal to penetrate the body is for it to have been formed and applied in a way that is most natural with the body (which ultimately uses the least amount of energy). Here is an introductory article for you to review, “Interaction of Radiation with Matter“.

On prior pages we noticed that electromagnetic signals are used by cells and organs to intercommunicate and function with one another in complex organisms.  Your nervous system transmits electromagnetic signals throughout the body. Because your biology does not generally change (body stays the same), then the paths these signals travel on generally stay the same, and these signals are generated in the same way (thus at the same frequencies).  And, as our bodies are essentially shaped the same, and work on the same principles, then devices such as pacemakers can work reliably for pretty much anyone they are installed in.

But every part of the body can’t react in the same way to an electronic signal. If it did, then there would be no uniqueness throughout the body – and how could that work? This means that bio-matter is electrically non-linear. This means that the different types of bio-matter will each conduct and react to specific electrical signals differently than the rest. This is how it is possible for organs to be scattered throughout the body, but use the Central Nervous System for their communication.

Considering that the body uses electricity in its function, it is therefore concluded that the human body can be described as being an electrical circuit, having components (organs) that when combined, perform a function.  In other words, the organs in the body and how they interact with one another, can all be translated into an electrical diagram (another article here). And, as we are all witness to the electrical activities found in nature, such as lightning, it should be no surprise that our environment can also be translated into a circuit diagram. Thus, these two circuit diagrams can be combined into one, large, circuit diagram.

And the body produces and works with a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies – for instance parts of the brain operate on a 1Hz signal (extremely low), while the brain also generates and uses electromagnetic waves in the lower microwave frequency region as an integral part of the functioning of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

It is also known that any device capable of generating and conducting electrical signals can also receive them – like an antenna!  Here is a great website that describes how antenna’s function. Therefore it should be no surprise to learn that the human body is able to ‘receive’ signals – just like an antenna! Here is an article describing how scientists used a device to measure the voltage on the skin induced by electromagnetic noise present in everyday homes, to allow them to monitor whole body gesturing and track location for a video game system.

In what I’ve read, I believed the body acts like a dipole antenna, but I have also found evidence that it might more closely operate like a mono-pole antenna. Here is a document describing how the spinal cord can act as a natural receptor antenna for incident electromagnetic waves and investigates their possible impacts on the central nervous system. Home researchers are also investigating this – I found this blog written by a Ham Radio enthusiast that looked into using the body as a Ham Radio antenna!

Therefore, combining the above, if you wanted to inject a signal into the body and have it interact with a specific organ, you’d need to consider that some frequencies can penetrate deeper into bio-matter than others. To help illustrate this, I suggest you go to this website, where you will be able to select various tissues and organs, and see how they react to various frequencies. While there, check out the brain – you’ll notice that the higher the frequency, the less power is required to induce an electrical effect. Here is an article that outlines the effects that the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum have on the body. Considering this, the signal would need to be formed in such a way as to penetrate the body and focus directly on the organ (lots of power required) – OR – it would need to be generated in such a way as to be received by a large part of the body (skin?), re-transmitted to another part (nervous system), and formed in a way to be interpreted by the intended organ. We’ll talk about how this is possible in later pages on this website – but first here is more interesting information for your review:

  • The body is effectively transparent to low frequency waves.
  • As you move upward through microwaves and infrared to visible light the absorption rate increases (bio-matter is non-linear).
  • In the lower ultraviolet range, all the UV from the sun is absorbed in your skin.
  • Your body becomes transparent again up into the X-Ray region of the frequency spectrum.
  • If electromagnetic energy is absorbed by the material, but the material cannot eject electrons from the atoms, then it is classified as non-ionizing radiation, and will typically just heat the material.
Can The Body Be Affected By Externally Applied Signals / Magnetic Fields / Light?

Absolutely!

I like this example the best! “Researchers have been able to stimulate the brain using ultrasonic pulses applied externally to the body.” In this example, they invoked involuntary movement by applying a combination of low power and low frequencies to enable the ultrasonic frequencies to easily penetrate the skull and stimulate brain cells. It works in that the ultrasonic waves temporarily force the cells’ voltage-gated sodium channels (special proteins that allow sodium ions to pass through the cells’ membranes) to open, which results in a localized change in the cell’s polarity from negative to positive. If the polarity change is strong enough then it will cause the cell to release chemical neurotransmitters and thereby induce similar voltage changes in other linked neurons resulting in a movement or other behaviors associated with the neuron. The test yielded results with the equipment located as far away from the body as 50 millimeters.

Going as far back as 1979, it was known that different parts of the brain operate at different frequencies, and could be manipulated via externally applied signals. Patents were made attempting to exploit this – just like this patent which uses a device that generates microwave signals that, when tuned into the auditory cortex, forces the body to interpret them as sounds. Of course, these signals can be transmitted via a simple antenna – so no physical touch is required!

More recently, a device was made that can induce an electric field in the brain using radio signals (RF Signals).  In this example, a researcher induced an electric field in the brain with aim to help those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.  He used highly focused antennas to generate the RF signals and used RF signals in the range 100-1000 MHz.  He noticed that the average electric field intensity in the brain has two local maxima at 300 MHz and 600 MHz. I have more articles regarding products that have been developed on this principle in my knowledgebase – like advertising billboards!

I was surprised to learn that bright light is transmitted completely through the brain. Read the article regarding the measurement of photon emissions and frequency-dependent modulation of spectral electroencephalographic power! This is highly interesting, especially considering that we know that the brain can be stimulated using light!  We have learned that our sensory experiences can be traced back to patterns of neurons firing in a sequence.  Scientists are working to determine how they can stimulate those same neurons to artificially create those same sensations.  Unfortunately this process is invasive, and scientists have to genetically modify neurons with photosensitive proteins so they can be manipulated by light – but this is an interesting approach that is worthy of reference.

Here are some more examples of how the body can be affected by externally applied signals / magnetic fields / light:

There are many different technologies that can be used to generate stimulus on the body – take a look at my knowledge base here for more information. I can also suggest you review this, rather interesting and informative website. While I am continuing to validate all of the articles, the ones that I have checked out are completely legit. They cover a lot of the technologies used to read biological signals, and provide an introduction as to how the body can be affected by electromagnetic frequencies.

By now it should be clear that the body can be affected by externally applied energy, whether by electromagnetic means, light, and even sound.

Humans Are Susceptible To, And Can Detect, Low Intensity Magnetic Fields And Weak RF Signals

The body is able to conduct magnetic signals! Most people believe that the body is resilient to externally applied RF signals, and that for these signals to have an effect on the body they would need to have a high level of intensity.  This is due to that earlier studies focused on high-powered hydro systems and other sources of repetitive pulses – and studies continued to be based on, expanding on, their findings. However, presenting the body with a large voltage or signal that it is not compatible with it is equivalent to lightning striking a household hydro source forcing the television on and the lights to flash brightly. This is because the signals are presented to the body in a way that is not aligned with any naturally occurring biological signals – requiring these high voltage signals to be of high intensity – to force their way into the body. But as you will read below, the body can be easily affected by ultra-weak signals when they are generated in the way the body is expecting them.

Consider that we are totally immersed in the Earth’s magnetic field, flowing through our body just as it does with almost every other object on the Earth. Our bodies evolved considering this, and are electric in nature so we should not be shocked to hear that we are able to detect it (perhaps not consciously) [Sources: PHYS ORG, Science Mag, Science Alert!, Popular Mechanics, The Guardian, Live Science, Science News, The Conversation]. In fact, studies have shown that we slow down and make more mistakes when it is not present! This makes sense as humans evolved with this field being present – it is therefore logical that our bodies would leverage this field to its advantage. And experiments have proven that we are susceptible to magnetic fields having less intensity than that of the Earth [Sources: Frontiers In Neural Circuits, 1985 CNN Special Report]. I offer this paper, which outlines how this field is used in nature.

In this patent it is also noted that a pilot study was run where it was shown that temporary changes in brain waves and behavior were noticed when individuals were exposed to power densities lower than 0.000,000,000,001 Watt/cm2 – which is substantially lower than signals generated in our every day environment. The frequencies tested included 100 KHz to 960 MHz continuous and 8.5 to 9.6 GHz pulse-modulated waves.

This should concern you, is this is well below the voltages normally discussed when reviewing the effects electrical signals, present in our every day environment, have on people. The signal only need be well formed for an excessively weak signal to have an impact on the body.

How Does The Brain and Nervous Systems Interpret Externally Applied Signals?

One such entry point could be that of the Vargas nerve (through the skin). It is very well known that the Vargas can be electrically stimulated to produce many health beneficial effects, such as treating refractory epilepsy and treatment resistant depression. The stimulation of the Vargas nerve is also being investigated as a potential therapy for; heart failure, tinnitus, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. In a study it was concluded that the application of an electrical signal by the ear where the auricular branch of the vagus nerve is close to the skin, enables the stimulation of the Vagus nerve which enhances brain GABA and noradrenaline levels, increases heart rate variability, and reduces sympathetic nerve outflow which is desirable in conditions characterized by enhanced sympathetic nerve activity, such as heart failure.

Other nerves, also close to the skin of the body, can also be used to affect the brain / body, such as the Trigeminal Nerve, which is currently being used to help treat ADHD in children (another article here).

Interesting that this is all, already fully established, science with origins going as far back as 1965 to the Ford Motor Company where they performed research on how the autonomic nervous system is affected by microwaves (another link here). Depending on the frequency and energies applied it was found to be possible to influence an individuals: motor and sensory nerves, circulation, respiration, temperature control, body water balance, EEG, galvanic skin resistance, sleep, and conscious awareness. Here are some very interesting facts!

  • Depending on the dosage applied the applied energy will either stimulate the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system.
  • Very small dosages produce analgesic effects; very large dosages are fatal.
  • A dosage as small as 1 Watt was found to alleviate surgical pain.
  • The biological effects of these waves results from the resonance absorption in the ganglia.
  • There are indications that only higher harmonics found in the signal produce biological effects.
  • The physical properties of those higher harmonics have physical properties that are similar to those of the bio-electrical energy naturally generated by the body.
  • The shielding of the test subject by metal screens increases these effects; while magnetic fields remove them.
  • The mechanism of hypnosis is explained by the transmission of this energy – in other words, some of the effects are the same as found when a person has undergone hypnosis.
  • I offer this link to an individual that seemed to have performed an interesting experiment, but please note that this link is not to one of my standard resources – this is a link to some private research that has not been vetted by other researchers. The research is titled, “Effects of 6-10 Hz ELF on Brain Waves“. While it seems the info in this link aligns with other researchers, this was not a published article, thus I would not normally have included it.

Can The Brain Discern Between Natural And Artificial Signals?

Simply put – no. As the brain evolved in nature, it did not evolve in a way so as to be able to discern between natural and synthetic stimulus. In other words, the brain cannot distinguish the difference between externally applied signals or those generated by the body – it will act on any signal it receives as if it was generated by the body. For example, a synthetic auditory stimulus that is introduced into the brain would be immediately treated as a visual stimulus if its communication ‘pattern’ was made to be identical to the visual stimulus. Therefore it is possible to introduce artificial signals in the brain beyond the reach of human perception, creating false sensations, distorting reality, and etc..

I offer three examples of ‘like’ experiments:

Can You Alter A Person’s Behavior And Functional Capabilities Using Externally Applied Signals?

Yes! Back in the 1960’s scientists were able to alter the daily habits of animals using devices implanted into the brain.  Here is an archived CNN video recording of Dr. Jose Dalgado’s experiments where he used brain implants to stop a bull from charging and used low frequency RF signals to modify monkey’s behaviors.  Here is a video interview of Dr. Jose Dalgado.  He later studied this effect on humans – here is a video about this called, “Dark Matters”, which was aired on television.

Of course, the functioning of the brain and organs can also be manipulated using non-invasive technologies (no surgery required).  For instance, electromagnetic neurostimulation produces an electric field in neuronal tissue in a way so as to cause the excitation of neurons. High precision is required during application, as we would only want to stimulate the area of focus – and have as little residual amount of current applied to nearby tissue.  This procedure generates no noticeable pain. And another example where they discovered that a person’s moral center could be modified using magnetics (second article here). In yet another example, light can be used to control brain tissue, without implanting anything into the brain (Optogenetics)! More examples can be found in my knowledge base, here.

Optogenetics can now control neural circuits at unprecedented depths within living brain tissue without surgery

Can You Communicate With People Using Externally Applied Signals?

We can communicate with people during sleep, when they are most vulnerable to suggestion. Described as “Interactive Dreaming“, people experiencing deep sleep and lucid dreams are able to follow instructions, answer simple yes-or-no questions, and even solve basic mathematics problems. (article 1, article 2).

Can We Change Cells And Genes Using Electromagnetic Signals?

Yes! Back in 2014, researchers published an article in Nature Medicine advising how the team successfully used electromagnetic waves to turn on insulin production to lower blood sugar in diabetic mice. Check out my Knowledge Section for more articles, here.

Can We Grow Brain Tissue Using Electromagnetic Signals?

Yes! Researchers at Tufts University and the University of Minnesota investigated how the difference in charge on either side of a resting cell’s membrane – its electrical potential – helps build the brain.  In previous work developmental biologist Michael Levin found that patterns of electrical potentials in the earliest stages of an embryo’s development can direct how an animal’s body grows, and that manipulating those potentials can cause a creature to sprout extra limbs, tails or functioning eyes.  This team more recently investigated how these potentials shape the brain, and were able to find a key component in healthy brain development – a bio-electrical blueprint for the brain. The team was able to grow full neural tissue, which could open the door to healing mature brains or undoing genetic damage.

Current / Future Applications

There are a lot of examples of how properly shaped and formed RF signals can improve a person’s health when they are applied to the body. I offer a few just a couple of examples below:

Health
  • US Darpa has started to promote research in natural healing (Darpa link here).
  • Psychiatrists used EEG readings to guide treatments for depression. The study found that suicidal tendencies among patients dropped by 75 percent and PTSD symptoms improved by 135 percent!
  • We may have found a future alternative to using anesthetics during surgery, as scientists were able to find a way to ‘turn off’ someone’s consciousness using electronics (another article here).
  • Scientists have recently “re-discovered” a way of physically destroying viruses and cellular materials using RF frequencies (published article here).  Here is another example. And another. And yet another.
    • “Re-discovered” because close to 100 years ago, an inventor Dr. Rife, invented a device that used radio frequencies to kill or devitalize desired micro-organisms, such as: syphilis, typhoid, anthrax, spinal meningitis, staphylococcus, cancer sarcoma, cancer carcinoma, etc..  The devices went past human trials, and they began to sell his equipment for use with the general public.
    • In trying to understand why there would be a close to 100 year stall of this technology, I’ve come to understand that upon the inventor’s death all of the units were purchased by pharmaceutical companies and destroyed, and the science discredited in favor of the pharmaceutical companies. Can’t help but wonder how far this technology could have advanced if it was not shut down for human greed.
  • Referenced elsewhere on this website, a RF device that, when worn on the head, helps to cure Alzheimer’s.
  • Another device that when worn on the head can help to eliminate brain tumors.
  • An interesting product that seems to have an ability to detect cancers early – the TrimProb BioScanner. I wonder why this product is not mass-produced and used as part of your regular check-up?
  • New products that while connected externally (to the ear) can interface with the Vargas nerve in the body, which is connected to many different organs, and when electrically stimulated, cause an effect that can be specifically isolated to an organ. This is known as trans-cutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation. Another article here.
  • How about a prosthetic arm that you can control using your brain, and that provides you with the sensation of feedback? Another article here. Here is a link to some other interesting devices. Here is a call out from DARPA for a reliable neural interface technology capable of performing dexterous manipulation functions that approach the capabilities of natural limbs.
  • An electroencephalogram (EEG)-based BCI was developed to control a functional electrical stimulation (FES) system for overground walking and assessed its performance in an individual with paraplegia due to SCI. In the study, a participant performed 30 real-time, BCI-FES controlled overground walking tests, and demonstrated the ability to purposefully operate the BCI-FES system by following verbal cues.
  • How about devices that produce sound that nobody can hear, except for the intended receiver? This is useful in advertising on the street, listening to movies or music in cars, etc.. I wonder why this is not promoted for deaf?
  • DARPA has an initiative to use brain chip implants to guide mental health.
  • A company, Advanced Brain Monitoring, whose products are used to interpret brain and physiological function as they relate to chronic diseases and early stage neurodegeneration, and to improve sleep quality and enhance performance.
  • An article, somewhat aligned with my own goals: the use of low power continuous wave frequency modulated radar for medical applications, specifically for remote monitoring of vital signs in patients.
Commercial
  • Fun? Scientists have been able to record people’s dreams and then play them back to the person when they awaken! Essentially, the brain generates specific neural patterns when we visualize specific objects in our mind, and this device records any patterns generated while sleeping for later presentation. The research, while rudimentary, is around 60 percent accurate – which is still extraordinary!
  • Companies are manufacturing products and performing research for corporations looking for an edge on their competition, such as:
    • OpenWater – a new company devising a new generation of portable medical imaging technologies that uses red and near-infrared light, and ultrasound pings. The core of their break-though image quality is in their opto-electronic and holographic systems, and novel lasers that enable their portable system to rival the resolution and image quality of multi-million dollar medical imaging scanners. They also have concepts for brain scanning systems. Another article can be found here.
    • Mindmaze – a neurotechnology company whose discoveries are positively impacting the lives of people with debilitating brain injuries. The company is also leveraging their research beyond healthcare, looking to extend human capabilities.
    • ELSYS Corp – a company that makes products that ‘reads’ micro-vibrations, which can be translated into human emotions, and devices that can detect human aura, and technology used to detect when someone lies.
    • Jaguar has incorporated technologies that detect when a driver is becoming drowsy, is not very alert, and can detect the driver’s heart rate and breathing.
    • Freer Logic – a company that produces arm-bands that measure neuro-signals (from the brain) that can be used to monitor and train those suffering from ADHD. They also manufacture a Neurobiomonitor headrest which provides real-time brain data without contacting the vehicle’s driver. (another article here) (and here is a video advertisement)
Military
Espionage / Interrogation

Constructing Signals To Artificially Stimulate The Body

Below I have prepared a simplified instruction that helps explain the core concepts behind how RF signals (EMF) can be constructed to work with the human body.

Combining Signals

You can broadcast a signal that contains meaningful information by ‘mixing’ signals together.  An example of this is music – essentially music is electronically produced by nothing more than an electrical signal that, when sent to a speaker, physically moves a magnet connected to the speaker cone back and forth.  This movement causes the air to move back and forth which is detected by your ear.  If the signal sent to the speaker only had one constant frequency in it (a single tone) then it would not be very pleasing, as you would only hear that one particular note (frequency).  But if you add different notes (frequencies) together, like drums, guitar, bass, and voice, then the sound can become more interesting!  In the example below I combined four signals together (drums, guitar, bass, voice) on the left side and show what the combined signal would look like on the right side.

Combining Signals

Because the body treats signals transmitted by it differently than your ears, it is possible that the signal could be demodulated (broken apart into the original four signals again), which could then be interpreted differently by various organs or sections of the brain, or ignored if the signals were not compatible with that specific organ. Where this gets interesting is that the body is electro-chemical by design, meaning that it responds to signals generated from within and signals applied by external sources.

Examining Biological Signals

Different parts of the body generate different signals, such as the heart and each of the different parts of the brain. By establishing what these signals look like, you would then be able to overlap these signals to build a ‘map’ as to what the body is doing at that moment. For example, the brain generates different frequencies depending on a persons sleeping and waking states.  As well, a person’s heart rate changes when they are digesting food.  If you captured these signals, then you would be able to tell every time a person was awake and eating without looking at them or interacting with them in any way.

A more complicated example could be in the examination of a grouping of the higher level brain signals generated by a person. You could, theoretically, create a full description of the top level thoughts generated by the person simply by reading a handful of biologically generated signals.

Examining Biological Signals
Signal Pulsing

Signals can be either continuous (non-stop) or intermittent (pulsed).  If a signal is continuous, then it is broadcast from start to finish without stopping.  If a signal is pulsed, then the signal is represented by short bursts of energy from start to finish. This idea is like that of how motion pictures work – individual pictures fly by your eye so fast you see a continuous video stream – but they are actually individual picture frames. Interesting to note that biological cells take time to react to an applied signal – just like your eyes.

Notice the graph of a pulsed signal below. The actual signal that was transmitted actually only consists of the dot points (pulsed signal). As mentioned above, because it takes a bit of time for the body to absorb a pulsed signal and it also takes time for the body to discharge energy, the body would actually see a pulsed signal as a continuous signal. To help visualize this, I drew a line through the dots in the picture below.

Pulsed and Continuous Signals

Considering all the above, it becomes possible for you to create a pulsed signal containing an ‘instruction’ that the body would respond to / react to. And, it would be difficult to detect – even if you were trying to detect it – as you would need to know the medium (material) that the signal was intended for to be able to decipher how it would be interpreted by the body – as well it would just look like background noise. Considering that the body reacts to extremely low level electronic signals, a signal could theoretically be constructed that could be masked by ‘background noise’ and nobody would be able to find it!

Considering Changes To A Signal As It Passes Through A Material

As an electrical signal passes through a material it changes in consideration of the properties of that material. The signal may be partially absorbed, or the wave delayed, phase shifted and attenuated by the material. Therefore any signals being broadcast on the body would need to consider any materials within the broadcast path, or be broadcast with an intensity sufficient to penetrate the material and affect the intended target. Here is a good reference! And here is a good article that discusses the considerations of transmitting signals through a body.

List Of Frequencies Claimed To Affect The Brain or Body

On this site, you’ll find a listing of frequencies that various parties have claimed can affect the human brain or body in some way.

I encourage you to read the next section, “Directed Energy Weapons“, where I introduce some of the more radical technologies used to artificially stimulate the body.