Sonic Solar Storms

Audible Aurora ?
Many people in the northern hemisphere have given accounts of having heard the sound of the northern lights with their bare ears, while others have denied their experience and pointed to research that shows there is no physical sound coming from them. The fact is that the phenomenon of the light creates electromagnetic radio waves of very low frequency, which can be recorded with specific radio receivers down on earth. Since these sound waves are essentially electromagnetic in nature, and do not travel in the medium of air, they should in principle be impossible to hear solely with bare ears.
More stories can also be found through the ages in mythology and folk tales about the northern lights. People usually describe them as "ticks", "sparkles", or "chorus", and in fact this might very well seem like they are hearing the sound of frozen snow and gentle wind. It was therefore a fantastic experience when we were in Iceland in January 2004 and Lapland a month later to hear in our headphones those very sounds that people have described so accurately. But how do people hear them without the right equipment? The mystery of the sounds of the northern lights is far from solved.

Observations have made on meteors moving through the sky, where delicate sounds, such as crackling, were heard simultaneously while viewing the meteor. In 1719 the astronomer Edmund Hally collected different accounts of sounds experienced in relation to a meteor seen over England. But since this meteor was moving across the sky at around 100 km, and by the fact that light travels much faster than sound, he concluded that the sounds heard could not be directly related to the meteor. His conclusion stagnated further research for many years to come.
Today exists the term "electrophonic meteor sounds", which attempts to describe this audible meteor phenomenon. Colin Keay, physicist at the University of Newcastle in Australia has discovered that the glowing meteor trails do not only give off light, but also VLF (Very Low Frequency) radio waves travelling at the speed of light. This fact should resurrect the lingering question concerning audible phenomena found in relation to meteors.
But even though these radio waves reach the earth without delay, how is it then possible for us to hear them without the use of special electromagnetic receivers?
Theories state that materials such as thin wires, aluminium foil or dry hair, could respond to VLF waves by vibrating. Very low frequency waves put things into motion, thereby causing the compression of air, which we hear. Colin Keay proposes, as an example, that a pair of glasses or a person’s long hair could be a connecting link for hearing VLF radio waves, since this material may respond to a VLF field. For the electromagnetic waves would vibrate glasses resting on the ear and skull, thereby making it audible.
The same applies to aurora, as it has been said that some types of electromagnetic waves coming from it could make a persons hair stand on end, as a response to these disturbances.

The reason that normal FM radio transmissions do not have the same vibrating effect on hair for instance, is that these frequencies exist in a much higher range and] oscillate way too fast to cause it to move. Furthermore, we would not be able to hear such waves, as they oscillate above the range of hearing.





SPHERE has been exhibited at Luleå Konsthal in Luleå, Sweden, November 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Receiver
The receivers consist of a basic electronic components similar to those found in ordinary radio technology. These receivers are different though, as they capture electromagnetic waves in a much lower frequency range, hence the name VLF.
Because of this no human made radio transmissions disturbs the recording process. On the contrary, one has to be located far from electric power lines as their noise and hum interfere and cover the natural electromagnetic waves.