after an utterly chaotic first encounter the earth and moon have been partners for over 4
billion years early after the earth moon collision they shared a powerful combined magnetosphere
which protected early life on our planet from dangerous high-energy radiation now the moon has
no magnetosphere but every full moon interesting electromagnetic phenomenon occurs some of which
can influence people with sensitive bioelectric systems and may explain the myth and legends
of the power of the full moon Hi i'm your host Stefan and welcome to my channel where I discuss
all things energy geophysics and electromagnetism in this video we explore earth moon dynamics
and lunar electromagnetism to come to a better understanding of how electromagnetic forces may
be responsible in causing certain biologic effects every full moon for more than 2000 years it's been
observed that the full moon has a power that penetrates all things and scientists have found
that lunar phasing influences factors as varied as plant and animal nutrient uptake and growth,
human reproductive cycles, epileptic seizures severity and mortality,
personality and depression, and cardiac health events if you've ever felt some effects from the
full moon please share your experiences in the comments below the three mechanisms most likely
to be able to cause biologic effects are lunar gravity lunar light and lunar electromagnetism
the non-circular orbit of the moon creates gravitational changes back on earth
but lunar gravitational forces are insignificant at human scale lunar light is also insufficient as
a mechanism in explaining the power of the full moon because lunar effects are still observed
when people are indoors or when the weather is cloudy and certain animals like deep sea fish
still display lunar curiosity in reproduction even under extremely low light to zero like conditions
if gravity and luminosity are insufficient in explaining the penetrating power of the full moon
could electromagnetic forces be what's responsible before further exploring lunar electromagnetism
a quick primer on the earth-moon system is required the moon orbits the earth elliptically
at a distance that varies from 355,000 to 405,000 kilometers with the average distance being 385,000
kilometers a full moon that occurs when closest to earth is known as a super moon appearing 14%
larger and 30% brighter than a full moon that occurs at its greatest distance away from earth
the same side of the moon always faces earth because the moon is tidally locked to our planet
completing one rotation around the earth and one rotation about its own axis at the
same speed shortly after the formation of the moon a few billion years ago
the moon was one third closer to the earth and possessed quite a strong magnetosphere
estimated to range from approximately 50,000 to a 120,000 nanotesla (nT) in strength
for reference the earth's magnetosphere right now driven by an internal dynamo at our core
has a field strength that varies in between 25,000 to 65,000 nanotesla (nT) the strong earth moon
combined magnetosphere of the pass efficiently rerouted highly charged particles and photons
from the sun and cosmos away from the two planets along their combined electromagnetic field lines
as the moon's internal dynamo froze the magnetic field dropped dramatically to what's now an
average strength of just around 10 nanotesla (nT) which has little effect on the constant
stream of energy that bombards the moon no longer possessing a magnetosphere the strongest magnetic
fields on the moon are now geologic in origin and were likely created from impact events some
of the moon's visibly distinct features like Reiner Gamma might owe their coloration due to
local magnetic fields rerouting charged particles along their field lines such that parts of the
lunar surface receive less radiation than others which over time creates contrast in color these
lunar electromagnetic fields are relatively small so how is it that lunar electromagnetic forces
affect biologic systems back on earth we turn our focus to earth's magnetosphere for the answer
the earth possesses a strong magnetosphere which redirects a lot of energy from the sun and cosmos
around and away from the planet's surface and the pressure from these charged particles causes
the earth's magnetosphere to stretch away from the earth in the downstream direction
forming what's known as a magnetotail because of the close proximity of the moon to the earth
every lunar rotation has the moon passing through the earth's magnetotail and this occurs as you
guessed it during the full moon as the sun earth and moon are in a linear arrangement at this time
about three days before the moon reaches its max luminosity it enters into earth's magnetotail and
it takes about six days to cross and exit to the other side while crossing the earth's magnetotail
the moon passes through huge volumes of highly charged particles known as plasma
the fourth state of matter the plasma contained in the earth's magnetotail is a very dynamic
structure that's constantly in motion and as the moon orbits through the magnetotail this
plasma sheet can sweep across the moon many times with encounters lasting from just minutes to days
the lightest and most mobile plasma ions are electrons and as the plasma of the
magnetotail sweeps over the moon electrons stream towards the barren surface causing
a negative charge to accumulate on the sunlit surface of the moon solar ultraviolet radiation
keeps the accumulated negative surface charge from the electrons relatively low but on the dark side
the lunar surface charge accumulates unimpeded being able to spike into the kilovolt (kV) range
in a magnetospheric feedback mechanism when the plasmas of the magnetotail sweep away
from the moon the ions accumulated by the lunar surface are pulled back into the earth's
magnetosphere and then travel to earth due to the downward electric field of the magnetotail
just as with the moon as these ions reach earth's surface at night they increase the earth's surface
electrical field and also increase its variability during a solar storm when more energy is flowing
into the earth's magnetosphere than normal the electromagnetic effects of the full moon in
the magnetotail are even greater about 10 to 20 percent of the population is biologically
sensitive to low level electromagnetic fields particularly when these fields deviate from normal
whether from electromagnetic field disturbances from the moon crossing earth's magnetotail
or elevated geomagnetic activity in general bioelectric effects for sensitive individuals
can manifest as headaches, increase alpha and beta brainwave rhythms, changes in heart rate
variability, increased inflammation, and circadian rhythm alterations even weak environmental
electromagnetic fields interact with the human bioelectrical system and can cause alterations
in the function of cellular ion channels, magnetosomes in the brain, and the release of
hormones like melatonin there is even evidence that elevated electromagnetic field strengths
increase the expression of immune, stress, and temperature response genes downstream from
these bioelectric changes comes the potential for behavioral alterations slight or large depending
on the sensitivity and current disposition of an individual everyone is as different on the inside
as they are on the outside and therefore everyone reacts to the geomagnetic environment differently
whether it's a full moon overhead or increased power in the Schumann resonances if you want to
learn more about the interactions between the human bioelectrical system and geomagnetism
subscribe to my channel and watch my introductory video on the Schumann resonances that's it for
today I hope you enjoyed the video thanks so much for watching and have a great day to the moon