Discussion paper: An electromagnetic mechanism of solar-terrestrial relations

2. Background

[6] As noted above, the state of the near-Earth space is governed to a large extent by solar events and processes with different characteristic times. These events and processes are accompanied by considerable changes in basic solar factors affecting the near-Earth space. First of all, these are X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation of the Sun ( l 1200 Å) whose absorption in the Earth's upper atmosphere leads to ionization of neutral atoms and molecules, i.e., formation of the ionospheric plasma at altitudes above ~60 km [Ivanov-Kholodnyy and Nikolskiy, 1969]. The second factor is the solar wind which consists of fluxes of electrons and protons (whose velocities at the Earth's orbit amount to 300-1000 km s^-1 ) with a frozen-in interplanetary magnetic field. The solar wind determines to a great degree the geometry and energetics of separate structures of the Earth's magnetosphere which, in their turn, exert an influence on the ionosphere formation [Akasofu and Chapman, 1974]. At last, one more factor typically accompanying solar flares should be mentioned. This is fluxes of highly energetic electrons ( E 20 keV) and protons ( E 20 MeV). These fluxes also affect the state of the Earth's magnetosphere and, eventually, ionosphere [Mizun, 1980].

[7] It is also well known that, owing to the presence of the ionosphere, the near-Earth space contains two global natural resonators where electromagnetic waves (EMW) of definite frequencies can propagate at very long distances almost without attenuation. The first resonator is the space confined between two conducting quasi-spherical surfaces, one of which is the Earth's surface and the other is the ionosphere base [Balokh et al., 1977]. Its fundamental resonance frequencies are above 6 Hz, and the main source of its excitation is intraatmospheric thunderstorms [Borodin and Kolesnik, 2001].

[8] The second quasi-spherical resonator represents the space confined between the lower ionosphere and the region of the ionosphere that lies above the basic maximum of electron concentration ( h 1000 km) [Belyaev et al., 1989]. This resonator is referred to as the Alfvén resonator, and its resonance frequencies lie in the range <6 Hz. The sources of its excitation are in the Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere.

[9] The next group of prerequisites is related to specific features of the frequency rhythms of separate systems of a human organism. First of all, these are frequency rhythms of the human brain. It is known that a human brain generates the electromagnetic fields in the frequency range 1 div 40 Hz. They have a resonance character and form a, b, and other biorhythms [Dolgato and Kholodov, 1987]. In particular, for the a rhythm the resonance frequencies lie in a range of 8-12 Hz, and for the b rhythm the resonance frequencies are in a range of 14-21 Hz. Thus the frequency range of the electromagnetic fields generated by the human brain is rather close to the frequency range of the Schumann resonator.

[10] The cardiovascular system of a human organism is also able to generate electromagnetic fields in the range characterized by a set of harmonics having different frequencies and intensities [Amoff, 1984], with the fundamental frequency being in the range 0.8 div 2.5 Hz. It is evident that, by the frequency range, the biorhythm of the cardiovascular system of the human organism is similar to the range of the Alfvén resonator.