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Q:
is there any relation between human mind and magnetism?
- vinod (age 21)
india
A:
Vinod-
The relations of magnetism to mental phenomena are not very strong
or direct. For example, you can put your head in a strong magnetic
field for an hour to have an MRI image taken without noticing any
mental effects. People are much more mentally affected by the boredom
and the noise than by the magnetic field.
However, that's not to say there are no relations at all.
Electrochemical currents flow when you think. These make magnetic
fields, which can be picked up by sensitive detectors, such as SQUIDS
(superconducting quantum interference devices). An array of SQUID
sensors can then be used to give a crude map of parts of the brain
active in various mental processes.
No doubt other such links can be found. However, the famous "animal
magnetism" involved in hypnotism has been known for 200 years not to
actually involve magnetism. If I remember right, Ben Franklin was on
the investigative committee that first showed that.
Mike W.
(published on 10/22/2007)
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