Introduce V2K (Voice to Skull)

Replies

Soleilmavis August 7, 2013 at 8:36am

V2k - Voices Put Directly Inside your Head! To be used in Media Advertising
(Reported by BBC News)

No one else can hear these advert voices!

A horrifying new concept to advertising is on the horizon. We see and hear advertising everywhere we go, but we have a choice whether we want to read or listen to it. This new type of advertising violates our right to make this choice as it uses bone conduction technology, a technique that transmits sound to the inner ear by passing vibrations through the skull. No one else can hear these voices!

http://www.zipzap-get-rid-of-the-crap.com/new-advertising---voices-...
Soleilmavis July 6, 2013 at 3:29pm
http://www.infowars.com/commercials-to-be-broadcast-directly-into-c...
Commercials to be Broadcast Directly Into Consumers’ Heads

“Suddenly a voice inside their head is talking to them”

Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com July 5, 2013

A company in Germany has developed technology that will allow commercials and other announcements to be broadcast directly into train passengers’ heads when they lean against the window.

“Tired commuters often rest their heads against windows. Suddenly a voice inside their head is talking to them. No one else can hear this message,” states the video for the campaign launched by Sky Deutschland in association with ad agency BBDO Germany.

“The proposal involves using bone conduction technology, which is used in hearing aids, headphones and Google’s Glass headset, to pass sound to the inner ear via vibrations through the skull,” reports the Telegraph.

The sound is broadcast from a transmitter which is attached to the train window. BBDO said that as soon as approval is obtained from Sky Deutschland, the technology will be rolled out “as quickly as possible”. The device has already been tested on public transport in Munich and Aachen.

Neither company addressed the possibility that tired commuters who rest their head against the window may want to sleep and not be bombarded with annoying commercials.

The technology can also be used to broadcast “mass transport information,” meaning those ominous security announcements you hear in airports and train stations may soon be playing inside your head.

YouTube users reacted to the idea with little in the way of enthusiasm.

“Ugh. We need ad blocker for our brains,” remarked one.

“I think you’ll start to see a few broken windows as this becomes more popular,” added another.

Some were even more vehement, with one user commenting, “I hate the kind of people who come up with these ideas. You are the scum of humanity, and I hope you fail miserably in your misguided pursuit to make everyone else’s life that little bit harder for your own financial gain. Fuck you. Seriously. Fuck you. — A tired commuter.”

As we have previously detailed, the new wave of advertising is focused around the target consumer being bombarded with auditory and visual commercials against their will, technology which resembles the classic Minority Report scene where personalized ads are tailored to individuals via iris scans.

Back in 2006, Google announced that they would use in-built microphones to listen in on user’s background noise, be it television, music or radio – and then direct advertising at them based on their preferences.

In 2011, IBM announced that they are planning to scan “RFID technology that people are carrying around with them” in order to tailor ads to specific consumer tastes.

Last year, high-definition face-scanning cameras were installed at a bus stop in Oxford Street, London as part of a new invasive advertising campaign that delivers gender-specific targeted ad content.

The $60,000 dollar ad, displayed on a screen that is a cross between a huge iPad and an XBox Kinect, plays a 40 second video message when a female’s face is scanned but only a brief message if a man walks past.

Creators of the ad Clear Channel UK and 3D Exposure reacted to concerns about Minority Report style invasive advertising by promising that future projects “may soon surpass what we’ve seen at the cinema.”

*********************

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
Soleilmavis January 27, 2013 at 7:07am
The Voice of God Part 2 (Video)
- the voice of God
- January 13, 2013
- By: Rick Hinton
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-voice-of-god-part-2

Hearing the voices in your head? Are these subtle meanderings unlocking a world of possibilities? Is a departed spirit communicating—with a message for you and you alone, or are the birth pangs of schizophrenia rearing its ugly head?

As musician Bob Dylan once sang…”The times, they are a changing.” What would once have been explained as spirit communication from the unknown realm may now have aspects of completely something else?

Development of non-lethal weapons is an express train barreling top speed and nonstop down the tracks. There is the continued tinkering and refining, yet the technology is here, and has been for quite some time…. What starts as a military application, however, doesn’t always stay within the military guidelines. There is always more fertile ground to explore.

The Voice of God—using pulse modulated microwaves to target and disrupt the human brain—broadcasts signals directly into the mind, bypassing the ears, where the pulses are converted by the brain to inaudible voices. It began initially as a communication device, and then the light bulb went on. And that is the crux…just what did the military want these voices to say? The beginning stages of this techno wonder produced an experiment using “speech modulated” microwave energy to transmit the number 1 thru 10 to a receiver in a crowd. Microphones placed next to this person did not pick up any of the spoken numbers. The receiver heard them clearly in the confines of his mind.

"I can hear you..."

Photo credit:

data.resource

A psyops tool producing a private message transmission and simulated psychosis…strange days indeed, and somewhat psychology devastating. But, it would seem this is the intent and purpose—an electrochemical manipulation in the brain…neurons reacting to planted stimuli!

The Voice of God, or, Voice to Skull, as it is known in other circles, might produce exciting results in the lab, but in the field there was always that nasty possibility that these directed frequencies could disrupt the chemical pathway to the nervous system, inducing a seizure. For the enemy soldier, was this necessarily a bad thing, reasoned the military, but it was best to keep things hush and not overly excite the general public. This did not mean, however, that the weapon was quietly laid aside.

There are rumors that the weapon was used in military maneuvers in the war with Iraq. One report states that the device was directed at one insurgent in a group—resulting in the test victim whipping about in a frenzy, wide eyed and babbling incessantly about a voice only he could hear. When God is speaking to you directly, what do you do? If you want to really mess with a religious, loyal Islamic terrorist just plant the voice of Allah in his skull, commanding him to submit or, even better, run away! It makes them a mess, and is a win-win for all.

What is next…a holographic image married with the voice, perhaps of Charlton Heston as Moses, standing over the frightened soldier commanding him to surrender? Or, electromagnetic energy that would disrupt voluntary muscle control, effectively making the victim a quivering mass of Jell-O? The technology is inching in that direction, if not already arrived.

From a military viewpoint, clearing a building of enemy soldiers by sending in the voice of God is much more preferable than calling in a devastating air strike…and easier on the government wallet. I would agree.

The Navy had planned to use the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) to warn ships to get out of the way in the crowded coastal waters of the northern Persian Gulf, where ship traffic is as congested as a Chicago street. It has not been reported that this has been done—at least not officially.

A cruise ship off of the coast of Somalia reportedly used the device with some success to ward off attacking pirates. What started as a military application has filtered down to the private sector, which is to be expected.

Airports use the “weapon” to frighten birds away from the runways. Cities have used a form of directed sound for years to repel pigeons from downtown building exteriors. There is little doubt that law enforcement agencies might just be puttering with the technology in one form or another. The sky is the limit as this acoustical transmitter, directly affecting and altering behavior, passes through many hands…for varying purposes.

The development of non-lethal weaponry has greatly accelerated from the day LRADs blasted loud music and screeching to unsettle Manuel Noriega, to the present day when “suggestions” can be implanted into the mind. And, who’s to say this device is not being used on our own troops—to give them happy thoughts and fortify their resolve as soldiers? It’s a tampering of the mind that the military would never admit to.

Signals can be transmitted hundreds of meters using portable equipment and the signal easily adapted from existing radar units—think cell phone towers that presently dot the landscape. Hidden in plain sight!

Currently these LRAD units have gotten more portable…eons away from the bulkier early prototypes. They are, however, cost prohibitive for the common individual. I will not be purchasing one anytime soon to aim out of my apartment window for a Saturday evening of good clean fun with my neighbors.

So, is there a correlation between the Voice of God and paranormal investigations? Is there the possibility of some sort of tie-in? We do deal in possibilities, and nothing should ever be a closed door. When we close that door we also close our mind to rational thought and speculation. We live in strange times where things are not always as they seem. It is a good thing to keep an open mind…that is our lot as investigators and seekers of the truth.

…Nobody told me there’d be days like these, Strange days indeed…most peculiar mama. John Lennon“Nobody Told Me”

Next: Conjuring the dead, EVPs, and those strange horn sounds in the heavens.
Soleilmavis January 23, 2013 at 7:29am
Electronics behind voice to skull

Click on a picture to see the original picture, just in case that I made a mistake.

http://www.hearingvoices-is-voicetoskull.com/ElectronicsBehindV2K.htm

Summary

First read the summary, otherwise you might find it confusing.

There are 2 types of voice to skull:
1. The pulsed microwave method: every time the voice wave goes from positive to negative we generate a microwave pulse. For every pulse the brain hears a click. All these clicks are a form of digital audio. This goes through walls.
2. The silent sound method: a steady tone is frequency modulated with a voice wave. The ear hears hissing, but the brain hears a voice. This is a form of analog audio. This doesn't go through walls.
Then we can combine the 2 methods: we use the output of method 2 as the input of method 1. This goes through walls.

1. Pulsed microwave method

1.1. Radio waves versus microwaves

1.1.1 Radio waves

Radio and TV signals have a smooth wave form that we call sine wave.

Such a signal can't penetrate a nerve cell. The wall of a nerve cell has a small electric current that stops the signal.

1.1.2 Microwaves

Microwaves are short strong pulses.

Such a signal can penetrate a nerve cell. This was made public in 1962 by Dr Allan Frey from Cornell University in New York.

1.2. Voice conversion to pulses

Dr Joseph Sharp demonstrated microwave voice to skull for the first time in 1973.

Every time the sine wave goes from positive to negative a microwave pulse is generated.

1.3. Microwave voice to skull simulated with a 555 chip tachometer circuit

Eleanor White designed this 555 chip tachometer circuit to simulate Dr Sharp's microwave voice to skull method. She has built such a device. She has demonstrated it to her collegues to prove that Joseph Sharp's modulation method, using just clicks, can re-create speech or music reasonably well. It was connected to a normal speaker. In order to produce voices in the head, it has to be connected to a radar.

I have also a scalable drawing (PDF, 8 K).

1.4. Voice to skull speech processor

Eleanor White designed this exact replica of Dr Sharp's microwave voice to skull method. It was connected to a normal speaker. In order to produce voices in the head, it has to be connected to a radar. It should be redesigned with automatic gain control to keep the volume constant. This design worked with careful adjustment of the input volume level.

Capacitators are in microfarads unless otherwise noted.

Resistors are in Ohm unless otherwise noted (K or meg).

Shaded blocks indicate chip sockets which hold quick-change components.

2. Silent sound method

2.1. Slope detection of the brain

This is the text from patent 5,159,703 for Lowery's silent subliminal presentation system:

A silent communications system in which nonaural carriers, in the very low or very high audio frequency range or in the adjacent ultrasonic frequency spectrum, are amplitude or frequency modulated with the desired intelligence and propagated acoustically or vibrationally, for inducement into the brain, typically through the use of loudspeakers, earphones or piezoelectric transducers. The modulated carriers may be transmitted directly in real time or may be conveniently recorded and stored on mechanical, magnetic or optical media for delayed or repeated transmission to the listener.

As you can read, it has the ideal ingredients for electronic harassment.

You see also that the patent doesn't say which frequency is used. This seems to be Lowery's secret.

Eleanor White believes that the frequency is around 14500 Hz.

2.2. Hypnosis via voice-FM

A voice wave is embedded in a steady tone by means of freqency modulation. In this example a steady tone is stretched where the voice wave has a small amplitude and contracted where the voice wave has a large amplitude.

The ear hears hissing, but the brain hears a voice.

2.3. Verifying the Lowery signal

A Lowery type silent sound FM signal should appear on an oscilloscope like this:

At the left of the screen there should be a fixed point where the sine wave starts.

The sine wave of the steady tone is stretched to the right and compressed to the left to the rhythm of the embedded voice wave.

2.4. Silent sound demo device - "Voice-FM device"

Eleanor White designed this device based on patent 5,159,703. She has built this device. The chip that converts from analog to FM was extremely difficult to get in small quantities. She had to lie and say that she was a commercial circuit designer to get a handful of these chips. She demonstrated this device on the street. It produced voices in the head.

Eleanor White doesn't treat silent sound as voice to skull. She believes that silent sound is harmful when coupled to a microwave transmitter like in 3.1.

You can read more about this experiment in the Raven1 book (Reader 6 PDF, 46.4 MB, 5081 pages):
- vfmbuild.htm page 4320
- vfmdemo.htm page 4324
2.4.1. Top with the schematic

The device is chargeable with a battery of 1.2 AH, 25 ma drain, 48 hours per charge in theory.

If you want to use an ear phone then you have to use an attenuator (signal reducer).

Left is the input jack for the microphone. Right is the output jack for the tape recorder.

Capacitators are in microfarads unless otherwise noted.

Left vertical black bar = V_C.

Right vertical black bar = 3 V.

Q1 is a seperate amp for the speaker only.

The output jack gives a better sine wave at lower voltage level.

R10 = R_A = controls sine wave distortion, may be an on-board trimmer.

R19 and R20 are 100R.

I_T goes to pin 7 of U7. It has to be limited to less than 3 ma. It controls the carrier frequency as follows:

R22 = R = nominal freq pot + 1K (1M pot + 1K)

R9 = R_C = modulation coupling res (1M pot)

V_C = modulating V ahead of R_C

I have also a scalable drawing (PDF, 16 K).

2.4.2. Bottom with the solder-side layout

This is the bottom side (solder side, wire side). The components are on the opposite side.

www.partsexpress.com is the source for Springboro OH, source of piezo tweeters.

Leave the solder hole closest to the mounting screw vacant to provide clearance for the nut.

Small shaded circles between perfs are vertically mounted 1/4 watt resistors.

Output jack on panel, 1/8", mono or stereo, builder's choice but must match any plug-in device cords.

Use either crimped or soldered push-on connectors for the battery. Don't solder directly to the battery terminals.

3. Combined method

3.1. Hypnosis via frequency modulation and pulsed-microwave voice to skull

Silent sound goes through walls if you combine it with the microwave method.

Updated: Thursday, November 8, 2012, 8:25:49 AM.
June M Swartz July 11, 2012 at 1:59am

I was wondering if a cell phone can pick up these signals and some way transmit sounds to me for the last couple of months I been hearing sounds in one ear always the one closest to the cell phone when I sleep, I can hear it very clear whats bieng said its loud I mean realy loud it wakes me up from sleep yet I am the only one who hears it!
Soleilmavis June 25, 2012 at 8:57pm

Magnetically Induced Hallucinations Explain Ball Lightning, Say Physicists

Powerful magnetic fields can induce hallucinations in the lab, so why not in the real world, too?

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/418887/magnetically-induced-ha...

32 comments

The Physics arXiv Blog

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an extraordinary technique pioneered by neuroscientists to explore the workings of the brain. The idea is to place a human in a rapidly changing magnetic field that is powerful enough to induce currents in neurons in the brain. Then sit back and see what happens.

Since TMS was invented in the 1980s, it has become a powerful way of investigating how the brain works. Because the fields can be tightly focused, it is possible to generate currents in very specific areas of the brain to see what they do.

Focus the field in the visual cortex, for example, and the induced eddys cause the subject to 'see' lights that appear as discs and lines. Move the the field within the cortex and the subject sees the lights move too.

All that much is repeatable in the lab using giant superconducting magnets capable of creating fields of as much as 0.5 Tesla inside the brain.

But if this happens in the lab, then why not in the real world too, say Joseph Peer and Alexander Kendl at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. They calculate that the rapidly changing fields associated with repeated lightning strikes are powerful enough to cause a similar phenomenon in humans within 200 metres.

To be sure, this is a rare event. The strike has to be of a particular type in which there are multiple return strokes at the same point over a period of a few seconds, a phenomenon that occurs in about 1-5 per cent of strikes, say Peer and Kendl.

And the observer has to be capable of properly experiencing the phenomenon; in other words uninjured. "As a conservative estimate, roughly 1% of (otherwise unharmed) close lightning experiencers are likely to perceive transcranially induced above-threshold cortical stimuli," say Peer and Kendl. They add that these observers need not be outside but could be otherwise safely inside buildings or even sitting in aircraft.

So what would this kind of lightning-induced transcranial stimulation look like to anybody unlucky enough to experience it? Peer and Kendl say it may well look like the type of hallucinations induced by lab-based tests, in other words luminous lines and balls that appear to float in space in front of the subject's eyes.

It turns out, of course, that there are numerous reports of these types of observations during thunder storms. "An observer reporting this experience is likely to classify the event under the preconcepted term of "ball lightning"," say Kendl and Peer.

That's an interesting idea: that a large class of well-reported phenomenon may be the result of hallucinations induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation.

A difficult idea to test, to be sure, but no less interesting for it. And it raises an important question: in what other circumstances are ambient fields large enough to trigger hallucinations of one kind or another?

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1005.1153: Transcranial Stimulability Of Phosphenes By Long Lightning Electromagnetic Pulses

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TRSF: Read the Best New Science Fiction inspired by today’s emergin...
Soleilmavis March 20, 2012 at 8:57am

Michael Braukus Headquarters, Washington (Phone: 202/358-1979)

John Bluck Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. (Phone: 650/604-5026)

March 17, 2004

RELEASE: 04-093

NASA Develops System To Computerize Silent, "Subvocal Speech"

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/mar/HQ_04093_subvocal_speech.html

NASA scientists have begun to computerize human, silent reading using nerve signals in the throat that control speech.
In preliminary experiments, NASA scientists found that small, button-sized sensors, stuck under the chin and on either side of the "Adam's apple," could gather nerve signals, and send them to a processor and then to a computer program that translates them into words. Eventually, such "subvocal speech" systems could be used in spacesuits, in noisy places like airport towers to capture air-traffic controller commands, or even in traditional voice-recognition programs to increase accuracy, according to NASA scientists.
"What is analyzed is silent, or subauditory, speech, such as when a person silently reads or talks to himself," said Chuck Jorgensen, a scientist whose team is developing silent, subvocal speech recognition at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "Biological signals arise when reading or speaking to oneself with or without actual lip or facial movement," Jorgensen explained.
"A person using the subvocal system thinks of phrases and talks to himself so quietly, it cannot be heard, but the tongue and vocal chords do receive speech signals from the brain," Jorgensen said.
In their first experiment, scientists "trained" special software to recognize six words and 10 digits that the researchers repeated subvocally. Initial word recognition results were an average of 92 percent accurate. The first sub-vocal words the system "learned" were "stop," "go," "left," "right," "alpha" and "omega," and the digits "zero" through "nine." Silently speaking these words, scientists conducted simple searches on the Internet by using a number chart representing the alphabet to control a Web browser program.
"We took the alphabet and put it into a matrix -- like a calendar. We numbered the columns and rows, and we could identify each letter with a pair of single-digit numbers," Jorgensen said. "So we silently spelled out 'NASA' and then submitted it to a well-known Web search engine. We electronically numbered the Web pages that came up as search results. We used the numbers again to choose Web pages to examine. This proved we could browse the Web without touching a keyboard," Jorgensen explained.
Scientists are testing new, "noncontact" sensors that can read muscle signals even through a layer of clothing.
A second demonstration will be to control a mechanical device using a simple set of commands, according to Jorgensen. His team is planning tests with a simulated Mars rover. "We can have the model rover go left or right using silently 'spoken' words," Jorgensen said. People in noisy conditions could use the system when privacy is needed, such as during telephone conversations on buses or trains, according to scientists.
"An expanded muscle-control system could help injured astronauts control machines. If an astronaut is suffering from muscle weakness due to a long stint in microgravity, the astronaut could send signals to software that would assist with landings on Mars or the Earth, for example," Jorgensen explained. "A logical spin-off would be that handicapped persons could use this system for a lot of things."
To learn more about what is in the patterns of the nerve signals that control vocal chords, muscles and tongue position, Ames scientists are studying the complex nerve-signal patterns. "We use an amplifier to strengthen the electrical nerve signals. These are processed to remove noise, and then we process them to see useful parts of the signals to show one word from another," Jorgensen said.
After the signals are amplified, computer software "reads" the signals to recognize each word and sound. "The keys to this system are the sensors, the signal processing and the pattern recognition, and that's where the scientific meat of what we're doing resides," Jorgensen explained. "We will continue to expand the vocabulary with sets of English sounds, usable by a full speech-recognition computer program."
The Computing, Information and Communications Technology Program, part of NASA's Office of Exploration Systems, funds the subvocal word-recognition research. There is a patent pending for the new technology.
Publication-size images are available on the World Wide Web at:

http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2004/subvocal/subvocal.html
Soleilmavis September 28, 2011 at 8:38am

Acoustic Ecology

"Noise becomes a parasite which threatens to dominate the environment in the same way as weeds choke a vacant block"

Natural Sources of Low Frequency Sound:

Ever since the dawn of life on earth organisms have been exposed to low frequency sound and vibration. Though ever present, the effects of such environmental sound would not begin to have a profound impact on the acoustic ecology and inhabitants until the advent of the industrial revolution. It was only then that sounds of extremely high intensity became prevalent. Prior to this these sounds were the consequence of remarkably rare environmental events.

There are several predominant sources of naturally occurring low frequency and infrasound in the environment. The entire globe is in a continual dynamic state of enveloping low frequency sound. Sources of such low frequency sound range from atmospheric winds in the range of 30 to 40 Hz to those produced by the ocean and other turbulent bodies of water. Ocean waves produce sound with a mean frequency of 16Hz. These frequencies can become more pronounced if unique geographical conditions are present and the frequency produced by the water is the same as the resonant frequency of the environment such as in bays. The thunderous crashing torrents of water in waterfalls are strong emitters of infrasound as is the gigantic shearing and fracturing of icebergs. It has been said that such low frequency tones have a continuing effect on those inhabiting such environments. Deep seismic shocks produced by earthquakes send strong infrasonic impulses to the surface of the earth. Animals are notoriously sensitive to such vibrations displaying erratic and anxious behavior well before any human perceives the impending chaos.

The explosive force of Krakatoa in August 26 —27 1883 produce massive intensities of low frequency sound and is in fact considered to be the loudest noise on earth in living memory. The apocalyptic blast was heard over nearly one — thirteenth of the entire surface of the globe at a distance of nearly 4500-Km.

Though these sounds are ever-present in the acoustic space that individuals inhabit on a day to day basis, their influence on the individuals psychological and most certainly physiological state are subdued when compared to the influence of machines.

The advent of the industrial revolution has promoted a flourish of diverse interest in acoustic ecology and the subsequent effects on society and the individual. This period has proved to be a truly unique era in acoustic ecology as sounds generated by machines powered by inhuman sources has meant that sounds readily exceed conventional human limits. Machines also have the unique properties to produce sounds that force human systems to resonate in inhuman ways.

Individuals exploring this area range from John Cage to Russulo and the Futurist Artists. Cage, generally renown for his interest in miniature sound also examined the nature of loud sounds. When asked in a 1977 interview for radio France whether there were any ‘poisonous’ sounds Cage responded "I haven’t heard any. And I have been searching. I even made the experience to hear a very loud sound". Cage refers to an incident whilst attending a concert of the Spanish group Zai. He "sat in front of the speaker for an hour turning first one ear and then the other towards it". When it stopped he states, "my ears were ringing. The ringing continued through the night, through the next day and through the next night".

Although society and the individual have embraced the machine and the industrial revolution and although utilized, it is indeed rare that a fondness for such sounds is present. Machine noise is responsible for the greatest intensity of sonic pollution present in society. Contrary to the aversions of society in general the Futurist musicians such as Russulo and Marinetti joyously embraced the noises of war. Building devices called Inonarumori to simulate these horrific sounds, musical works were constructed with these psychologically unpleasant noises.

Prior to this, in a musical context, loud sounds were traditionally "generated by the lungs and limbs of performers grouped together in massive numbers."Now however machines could be utilized as instruments. One such mechanical performance is highlighted in a disastrous rendition of George Antheil’s Ballet Mechanique in 1927.

"When the conductor Eugene Goosens gave the cue, the siren player cranked and then cranked
feverishly, but absolutely no sound was produced. The moment for the siren was now long past, and Goosens was turning to the last page of the score. Disgustedly the effect’s man stopped turning the crank, as the last bars of the ballet crashed out. And then in the silence that followed there came the unmistakable sounds of a fire siren gathering speed. Louder and louder it came as the last noted of the ballet died away, and as Goosens turned to bow to the audience and Antheil rose from the piano, it reached it’s full force. We had all of us completely forgotten the simple fact that a siren does not start making any sound until it has been energetically cranked for almost a full minute. And also we had forgotten that it does not stop shrieking simply because you stop cranking. We remembered both of these things now as the wail from the infernal red thing on the stage kept dinning in our ears, drowning out the applause of the audience, covering the sound of the people picking up their coats and hats and leaving the auditorium."

The performance highlights the all-encompassing and pervasive nature of industrial sound. Matt Heckert’s Mechanical Sound Orchestra provides a contemporary presence of mechanical sound art and acoustic emitters. Although Heckert’s work draws upon the futurist machine music it also explores notions of the body as an instrument. One group of orchestral devices known as the ‘resonators’ create sonic environments that interact with the audiences body. Consisting of Cannon like pipes they are pulsed via a mechanically actuated diaphragm. The work is ‘music for the body, not just for the ear or the mind’. Exhibited at Biomachines, the work encouraged the audience to sit in succulent chairs and be enveloped by the variety of modulated frequencies produced.

Similar concerns also extend to the work of Eric Hobjin with the Dante Organ. The Organ is an "installation consisting of 10 to 15 flame-throwers with pillars of fire 13 to 20 meters high, creating an environment dealing with the aesthetics of violence". The thunderous sounds produced by the pipes assault the viewer, forcing them to "abandon the pure artistic aspects of the piece to deal with the real and present danger."

The use of high intensity sound in such works creates unique sonic spaces in which, as Douglas Kahn states "any performance space could be turned into a resonant chamber, much like the body of a very large instrument in which humans are played"

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Acoustic Weapons

Infrasound has been used in the context of war since WW1, although at this stage it was related to sensitive devices used to measure infrasonic emissions and hence identify the location of artillery. Though there are references to assultive acoustic devices being created as early as WW2 it was not until the 1960’s that research in the area became more vibrant. Early references to such devices come only as fragments or hearsay. One such device is explained as follows

"... consisted of a parabolic reflector, 3.2 meters in diameter, having a short tube which was the combustion chamber or sound generator, extending to the rear from the vertex of the parabola. The chamber was fed at the rear by two coaxial nozzles, the outer nozzle emitting methane, and the central nozzle oxygen. The length of the chamber was one-quarter the wavelength of the sound in air. Upon initiation, the first shock wave was reflected back from the open-end of the chamber and initiated the second explosion. The frequency was from 800 to 1500 impulses per second. The main lobe of the sound intensity pattern had a 65-degree angle of opening, and at 60 meters' distance on the axis a pressure of 1000 microbars had been measured. No physiological experiments were conducted, but it was estimated that at such a pressure it would take from 30 to 40 seconds to kill a man. At greater ranges, perhaps up to 300 meters, the effect, although not lethal, would be very painful and would probably disable a man for an appreciable length of time. Vision would be affected, and low-level exposures would cause point sources of light to appear as lines."

Whether such a device was truly effective can never really be known however there are currently several organizations conducting research in area of acoustic weapons. Due to this continuing research in the area one can speculate that there has never been a truly successful device. Interestingly this is also reflected in recent statements by research groups such as Scientific Applications and Research Associates (SARA) who have apparently taken
previous allegations on face value when quoting the alleged effects of some of the impulse noise acoustic devices under construction. Despite such extensive inconsistencies in regards to the alleged effects of acoustic energy current research still flourishes in the area. A similar, albeit more compact device to the one described above, was outlined by Primex Physics International Company in 1998. Still relying on impulse noise technology, it achieved levels of 165dB at a distance of 50 feet and "appears to have very desirable risetime and pulsewidth characteristics that are essential for optimal acoustic-psychological coupling to targets.

The applications of this current research is predominantly based in the development of non-lethal acoustic devices for use in such circumstances as "embassies under siege, for crowd control, for barriers at perimeters or borders, for area denial or area attack, to incapacitate soldiers or workers." Regarding to the non — lethal properties of such devices, the purported effects with respect to humans seem extremely inappropriate for temporary incapacitation with no long term side effects.

The most recent alleged effects from SARA’s current research are stated as:

"Infrasound at 110-130 dB would cause intestinal pain and severe nausea. Extreme levels of annoyance or distraction would result from minutes of exposure to levels 90 to 120 dB at low frequencies (5 to 200Hz), strong physical trauma and damage to tissues at 140-150 dB, and instantaneous blastwave type trauma at above 170. At low frequencies resonance’s in the body would cause hemorrhage and spasms; in the mid-audio range (0.5-2.5 kHz) resonance’s in the air cavities of the body would cause nerve irritation, tissue trauma and heating; high audio and ultrasound frequencies (5 to 30 kHz) would cause heating up to lethal body temperatures, tissue burns, and dehydration; and at high frequencies or with short pulses, bubbles would form from cavitation and micro-lesions in tissue would evolve."

If would be interesting if such allegations prove to be plausible when backed up by experimental data in the future however at this juncture it does not seem to be the case.

There are several possible paths that can be taken regarding the design of a high acoustic output device suited to sonic violence. Conventional loudspeakers are
Soleilmavis September 28, 2011 at 8:36am

Acoustic Trauma : Bioeffects of Sound

Alex Davies BFA Honours

"…any unwanted sound, soft or loud, sweet or nasty, creates a multidimensional envelope that does more than intrude - it takes over not only your acoustic space, but your mind space as well. Acoustic intrusions reduce your freedom of thought. There is no escaping sound. It meets your body and forcibly enters your mind, not just through your ears but also via your bones, your flesh, and your body cavities."

The work is an investigation into the effects of low frequency sound and infrasound via the design and construction of experimental acoustic emitters. Once installed in a particular space the work will have a profound effect on the surrounding sonic environment and the physiology of human subjects present. This is achieved by the resonant interactions between the subject’s body and the acoustic space.

It is beyond the limited scope of this paper to explore the physicality of sound and psychoacoustics in its entirety due to the vast nature of the subject area. However, this paper will investigate various key facets of the field relating to the work.

Human Auditory Perception

It is important to give some technical insight into the nature of sound in order to gain an understanding of the concerns and issues raised in this paper.

It is generally accepted that sound is perceptible to humans in the range of 20hz to 20khz (1Hz is one complete cycle per second of a sinusoidal wave). Although this is the accepted human auditory range most people, depending on age and gender, cannot hear sound above 14 to 18Khz. Contrary to popular assumption, careful measurements have shown that hearing does not abruptly stop at 20 Hz but the ear is capable of registering infrasound as low as 1Hz if sound pressure is sufficient. Frequencies above 20 kHz are considered ultrasound whilst frequencies beneath 20Hz are considered infrasound.

The range of audible sound is also differentiated into 3 main categories. Subsonic or low frequency sound is defined in the range of 20Hz to about 500Hz. Midrange frequencies inhabit the realm of 500Hz to 6KHz (6000Hz) with high frequency sound defined in the remaining 6KHz to 20KHz. To give these figures some relevance to tangible notions of sound, the musical tone of Middle C is 261.6 Hz.

Although acoustic energy in all areas of both audible and non audible frequencies display intriguing biological effects, the particular regions of sound that the work focuses on is in the subsonic and infrasound region.

There are two other key aspects of low frequency sound and infrasound that are worth noting. The first is that low
frequency sound has a relatively long wavelength and low material absorption rate, hence has the ability to travel vast distances. These properties make it possible to achieve a profound effect on vast tracts of acoustic space with the production of high sound pressure level (SPL) acoustic waves. The second issue regarding low frequency sound is that it is very non directional in it’s propagation and therefore has the effect of enveloping the individual without any discernable localized source.

The opposite of these properties is characteristic of high frequency sound which can readily be absorbed by materials and is highly directional and as such has been an asset in the design of acoustic weapons.

The perceived loudness of a sound is measured in a unit called the decibel (dB). The decibel utilizes a logarithmic scale rather than a linear one, as the human ear perceives loudness in a similar manner. A 3dB increase equates to an actual doubling of the sound level. However, perceptively, a 10dB sound level increase is considered to be about twice as loud.Frequency and perceived loudness are intrinsically linked, with greater intensity sound being required at low frequencies to produce the same amount of perceived loudness.

All objects have a property known as resonant frequency. Resonance involves the "re-enforcement of vibrations of a receiving system due to a similarity to the frequencies of the source". One of the most famous examples of natural resonance is Tacoma Narrows Bridge at Puget Sound Washington. After being exposed to gusts of wind the bridge began to vibrate at its natural resonant frequency and subsequently began to swing wildly and finally shake itself to pieces.

In a similar manner sound may be exploited and tuned to particular resonant frequencies inherent in humans. It is this way that sound can be utilized to provide a diverse range of psychophysiological effects.

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Physiological Effects of Sound

Any severe extreme imposed on the sonic environment has a profoundly destabilizing effect on the individual. This becomes evident in both the areas of high intensity acoustic energy and also its complete absence. Anechoic chambers, which create an environment void of sound, have the ability to produce similar feelings of disorientation and disturbance that are evident with high intensity sound. The silence envelops the individual in a suffocating manner causing both psychological trauma and also physiological disturbance in the form of balance and other related body function.

It is clearly apparent that the human organism is in an extremely delicate state of equilibrium with the sonic environment and any profound disturbance of this system will have subsequent ramifications on the individual.

Although various facets of acoustic ecology have been examined there is little publicly available material on the effects of low frequency sound on humans. Thus, speculation and unsupported allegations related to the field have become prevalent. This lack of available research material is predominantly due to the fact that the Department Of Defense and related private research organizations conduct the majority of experimental research in this arena and hence the material is often of a restricted nature. Jürgen Altmann conducted the only extensive survey of the area in 1999 although this was of a purely theoretical nature without any experimental research.

What also becomes apparent after a survey of the literature is that much of the material available is conflicting in nature. This adds further to the general mystery and confusion surrounding the area and promotes the rapid spread of mythologies and misinformation on the subject, highlighting an obvious need for a current comprehensive experimental study to be undertaken.

References to sound as a violent entity date from the biblical trumpets that brought down the walls of Jericho to current trends in acoustic weapons research including the work conducted by organizations such as Scientific Applications And Research Associated Incorporated (SARA). Various musicians such as The Halfer Trio and Throbbing Gristle have utilized these assaultive sonic properties in live performances with alleged degrees of success. Entire musical compositions have been composed around the manipulative qualities of sound.

In a 1973 article in Crawdaddy ,William Burroughs discusses such notions with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame. He asked Page about the potential of using infrasound to enhance the musical experience and produce euphoric effects. However, the article tends to deliver broad and hazy allegations regarding low frequency sound
such as ‘he (Vladimir Gavreau) had an infrasound installation that he could turn on and kill everything within five miles. It can also knock down walls and break windows. But it kills by setting up vibrations within the body’. Such statements are typical of the alleged effects of low frequency and infrasound on the body. Where Burroughs obtained such a figure from is unknown as no reference was made to such a device or physiological effect in Gavreau’s own writings. Statements like the one above continue to propagate rumors, and in a similar manner to ‘Chinese whispers’ these are slowly distorted over time.

The pinnacle of sensational notions related to low frequency and particularly infrasound came after the publication of Gavreau’s findings in Science Journal in 1968. At this time a variety of unsubstantiated and sensational reports appeared in the media, such as the Miami Herald’s article relating to Gavreau’s work entitled ‘Sound Ray Developed as A Killer — French Working On A War Machine’ ,and the London Observer’s report on the 7^th January 1968 "Sound As a Weapon Of War". Perhaps the most sensational and absurd effects attributed to infrasound was reported in the Melbourne Sunday Press (7^th September 1973). Entitled "The Low Pitched Killer", the article is concerned with the lethal effects of infrasound generated by open car windows. This document, as well as "Does Infrasound Make Drivers Drunk" published in New Scientist 1972, claimed that infrasound generated by automotive travel is responsible for a variety of dubious physiological effects including ‘motorway madness’.

Typically sensational, the article states:

"But much more sinister are the unnoticed effects of infrasound at lower levels: in an ordinary car travelling at speed the infrasound noise is more than enough to mimic the effect of drunkenness in the driver. With the sense of euphoria that infrasound also induces, it may therefore be responsible for many inexplicable crashes."

It is no wonder that with absurd statements published in respected journals such as New Scientist, these ideas are evident within the population.Though these effects could perhaps be attributed to vibratory effects generated by automobiles, due to the large impedance mismatch, low frequency sound at such levels would have an insignificant impact at such levels.

Although there is no doubt that the sonic environment has considerable impact on the individual, it is quite evident with comprehensive theoretical analysis that the majority of claims in the area are sensational.

Audible Sound

Audio in the region of 20Hz-20Khz can create psychological disturbance in individuals at levels substantially below those required for bodily discomfort or trauma.

From the thunderous hypnotic drumming of Zulu warriors to riot police beating their batons on shields whilst marching towards confrontation, the psychological effects of sound have been used extensively throughout history as a warfare device. Noise has always been experienced as ‘destruction, disorder, dirt, pollution, and aggression’. All cultures associate noise with the idea of the weapon, blasphemy and plague. "Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle" (Jeremiah 19.3)". "When the drums of the resurrection sounded, they filled the ears with fear" (Al-Din Runir, Diavani, Shansi Tabriz).

Recently, psycho-acoustic warfare was allegedly used in the Waco siege at the Davidian compound in Texas, where it is said that the FBI used sounds of babies crying, dentist drills and a variety of other unpleasant sounds to mentally influence their opponents. The Waco compound was allegedly bombarded for long durations by these sounds via large public address systems.

Although this type of sonic assault can have a profound emotive effect on individuals, it relies heavily on the individuals particular experiences. This is where the actual physiological effects of sound are unique. Physiological changes in the body only start to occur at greater sound pressure levels. At about 120 dB discomfort begins in the ear and pain occurs when levels reach approximately 140dB.The eardrum subsequently ruptures at levels of about 160 dB. Pain becomes evident when the middle ear system is mechanically displaced beyond its normal operational limits

These acoustic effects are only apparent on the ear mechanism. The ear is a very easy structure to attack. Due to evolutionary processes the ear is particularly sensitive to midrange frequencies inherent in the human voice. Subsequently, all that is needed is an increased sound intensity at these frequencies for the threshold of pain to be readily reached. This is also related to the properties of the acoustic reflex in which a small muscle in the
middle ear pulls the stirrup back from the oval window and subsequently reduces the amount of acoustic energy transmitted to the middle ear. This however only has a significant impact at frequencies lower than about 1000 Hz so that frequencies between 500 to 4000 Hz, the range at which the auditory center is most sensitive, are largely unaffected.

The acoustic effects on the body are more complex. Research has concluded that with low frequency sound in the region of 50 — 100Hz at levels of 150dB or more, intolerable sensations in the chest and thoracic region can be produced–even with the ears protected.

Other physiological changes that occur include chest wall vibration and some respiratory-rhythm changes in human subjects, together with sensations of hypopharyngeal fullness (gagging). The frequency range between 50-100Hz also produces mild nausea and giddiness at levels of 150-155 dB, at which point subjective tolerance is reached. At 150 to 155 dB (0.63 to 1.1 kPa); respiration-related effects include subcostal discomfort, coughing, severe substernal pressure, choking respiration, and hypopharyngeal discomfort.

Vladimir Gavreau, who worked extensively with high SPL low frequency sound at the Centre National De La Recherché Scientific states, after being subjected for five minutes to an acoustic emitter producing 196Hz at levels of 160 dB, "we became aware of a painful resonance within our bodies-everything inside us seemed to vibrate when we spoke or moved." These feelings subsequently disappeared after a period of three hours.

At medium to high audio frequencies the pronounced visceral effects that are evident with low frequency vibration are absent. However, disturbance of the equilibrium can be achieved at levels above 140 dB for unprotected ears. At even higher levels, tickling sensations and heating may occur in air-filled cavities such as those of the nose and mouth and gaps between the fingers. A 7kHz acoustic beam at a level of 165 dB produced the sensation of strong heating between the fingers of the subject that were being held close together. This was due to the high degree of friction that was created although the effect vanished when the fingers were subsequently opened apart.

High audio frequencies (above 10 kHz) and ultrasound (above 20kHz) have no pronounced effect on the individual unless the level is in the range of 140dB with more prominent effects of heating of air cavities, hair and textiles becoming apparent at levels of 160dB. Various assaultive acoustic devices have been designed to operate within this audio region. Most of these devices utilize a sonic property called heterodyning in which 2 differing frequencies combine to form the sum and difference of the initial frequencies.For example, the frequencies of 16000 Hz and 16002 Hz can be combined in the ear to form 32000Hz and 2Hz. Devices operating in the ultrasonic region in this manner also have the added advantage of operating in a very directional and focussed manner at an imperceptible frequency region.

Infrasound

The threshold for infrasound is around 140dB at 20Hz increasing to about 162dB at 2 Hz and to 175-180dB for static pressure.Due to the ethical issues regarding testing human subjects, experiments on dogs were conducted at levels of 170dB at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. Curiously the dogs stopped breathing because of lung ventilation due to the high intensity pressure changes, although the 0.5 Hz frequency of the sound acted as an artificial respirator and the dogs showed no ill effects afterwards.Many of the most profound effects of sound are attributed to infrasound in the region of 7Hz. This corresponds with the median alpha-rhythm frequencies of the brain.It is also commonly alleged that this is the resonant frequency of the body’s organs and hence organ rupture and death can occur at high intensity exposures.

Impulse noise

Shock waves from explosive blasts produce varying and perhaps the most dramatic effects in the realm of acoustic devices. At moderately high levels in the region of 140 dB temporary hearing loss occurs, which can become permanent at higher values. At acoustic levels above 185 dB the tympanic membrane begins to rupture.

At acoustic levels of about 200 dB, lungs begin to rupture, and above about 210 dB some deaths will occur.

Sonic Violence

"Noise is violence: it disturbs. To make noise is to interrupt a transmission, to disconnect, to kill."

An acoustic attack works on several levels. The first is physiological changes that take place within the body. These vary and are directly relational to the frequency of the sound and the intensity. Next is the isolation of the individual from the environment. Not only would high intensity sound effectively mask all other sound thereby rendering the user deaf to the immediate environment, but it would also make him/her powerless in the realm of vocal communication. With the loss of effective speech comes feelings of helplessness and confusion. Humans are able to selectively filter various aspects of their immediate sonic environment to extract particular fragments from the soundscape. Such auditory filtering systems inherent in human sound perception would be rendered useless as the individual is enveloped by high intensity sound.

Low frequency sound and particularly infrasound have intrinsically mysterious effects as they generally bypass the ear mechanism and are predominantly felt and not heard. This coupling of sound directly to the body may be responsible for feelings of anxiety due to a lack of cognitive resolution within the individual.

Psychotropic Warfare

It is the human condition to try and find answers for inexplicable events or phenomena. Sonic weapons are often embraced in this capacity, as they are not only often imperceptible to the ear in their operation but also are capable of extensive physical and behavioural control. As a result sonic violence has also become a prevalent theme in the area of conspiracy theorists and ‘mind control’ victims. This has lead to the loss of credibility in an area that has an extremely significant impact on the human organism.

The aims of such systems are to influence and manipulate neural activity or to confuse or destroy the signals that normally keep the body in equilibrium. One such group of devices are silent communication systems in which non-aural carriers in the infrasound or ultrasound range are propagated acoustically or vibrationally for inducement into the brain.

They may be used to "artificially implant negative emotional states - feelings of fear, anxiety, despair and hopelessness."Such a device is outlined in the 1992 US Patent #5,159,703.

The American Defense news in 1993 describes "acoustic psycho-correction" experiments carried out by the Russians from the mid 1970’s which "could be used to suppress riots, control dissidents, demoralize or disable opposing forces". The device which operated by the "transmission of specific commands via static or white noise" showed "encouraging results after exposure of less than one minute" and operated without the upsetting of other intellectual functions.Operating as an infrasound device the acoustic psycho-correction message is transmitted via bone conduction. Due to this insidious facet, earplugs prove fruitless in protecting the individual, as whole body protection is needed. Further developments of such devices utilizing sonic communication directly to the temporal lobe may produce the most striking and profound acoustic attack. Literature by Silent Sounds, Inc. indicates that it is now possible to analyze human emotional EEG patterns and replicate them, then store these "emotion signal clusters" and, at will, "silently induce and change the emotional state in a human being".

Again, in much the same manner as the alleged effects of infrasound and low frequency sound, misinformation and sensationalism shroud data in this arena. Perhaps even more so in the case of psychological assaults, as notions of control over the will of other individuals has been sought since the dawn of humanity. One cannot help but think in the following statement that profound psychological disturbances are present when common individuals appear to be victims of extensive mind control harassment. It is apparent that the sensationalist public opinion regarding acoustic weapons and control devices is being readily drawn upon by individuals to justify and explain maladies and aberrations of the body and mind.

"Don't EVER let a psychiatrist tell you voices in your head must indicate mental illness any more! Voice to skull radio transmission is now a de-classified documented reality".

Psychotropic acoustic violence may not only work on direct speech /sound to skull transmissions but also on the manipulation of various brain functions. This psychophysical principle is called entrainment and acts on both subtle and pronounced ways. Entrainment is the foundation of music for dances, marches and work songs. Society often looks upon sound and the acoustic environment as a form of wallpaper yet rarely considers the myriad of psychophysiological influences always present. Trance inducing properties are evident at 60 beats per minute with a frequency of 72 Hz, corresponding to the frequency of human heartbeats. Frequencies corresponding to the Alpha, Beta and Theta brain rhythms have been utilized in similar manners to influence
neural activity. This is perhaps why the fabled infrasound frequency of 7 Hz is so notorious as it is the median frequency of the brain’s theta rhythms. This frequency is most prominently associated with moods concerned with fear and anger. Incidentally psychopaths have a general dominance of theta rhythms. It is also allegedly the average resonant frequency of the body’s organs and hence excitation would cause organ rupture and death.
Soleilmavis August 19, 2011 at 4:37pm

Binaural beats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats

Binaural beats or binaural tones are auditory processing artifacts, or apparent sounds, the perception of which arises in the brain for specific physical stimuli. This effect was discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, and earned greater public awareness in the late 20th century based on claims that binaural beats could help induce relaxation, meditation, creativity and other desirable mental states. The effect on the brainwaves depends on the difference in frequencies of each tone, for example, if 300 Hz was played in one ear and 310 in the other, then the Binaural beat would have a frequency of 10 Hz.^[1]^[2]

The brain produces a phenomenon resulting in low-frequency pulsations in the amplitude and sound localization of a perceived sound when two tones at slightly different frequencies are presented separately, one to each of a subject's ears, using stereo headphones. A beating tone will be perceived, as if the two tones mixed naturally, out of the brain. The frequencies of the tones must be below 1,000 hertz for the beating to be noticeable.^[3] The difference between the two frequencies must be small (less than or equal to 30 Hz) for the effect to occur; otherwise, the two tones will be heard separately and no beat will be perceived. An on-line sound example of a sound with binaural beats can be found here.

Binaural beats are of interest to neurophysiologists investigating the sense of hearing^[4]^[5]^[6].^[7]

Binaural beats reportedly influence the brain in more subtle ways through the entrainment of brainwaves^[3]^[8]^[9] and have been claimed to reduce anxiety^[10] and provide other health benefits such as control over pain.^[11]