Nexus - 0704 - New Times Magazine-pages

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SOUNDS DEADLY GAVREAU'S WEAPON INFRASONIC Observations of the harmful effects of infrasonic vibrations led French robotics scientist Dr Vladimir Gavreau to develop infrasound detectors, weapons and shields. t was masterfully macabre: black foundations, blue pillars and rainbow ceilings; sound, rhythm and space. Ultra-chromatic chord frames rose like rock walls from the black depths, and immense stellar crystallisations radiated tonal perfumes through deep, black, radiant space. Lovely, lyrically swooping melodies reached up towards unknown depths of space. Each had its foundation in ultrabass tones of rooted depth. The basso profondo of Messiaen was the critical foundation, supporting the strong pillars of an immense architecture which extends beyond performance walls. Olivier Messiaen, the master composer, used the ground-thrumming tones of great Parisian cathedral organs to evoke sensations which may only be called otherworldly. He scoured the deep and unreachable roots of worlds to hold his musical cathedrals together. Such majesty and grandeur of sound! It was rich in the intelligence which flooded and made the world, the musical currents and the atmosphere of tones; fluidic music and meaning. Yet, the most fundamental signals which permeate this world are inaudible. They not only escape our hearing, but they undergird our being. Natural infrasounds rumble through our experience daily. Their manifestations are fortunately infrequent and incoher- ent. Infrasound is inaudible to human hearing, being of pitch below 15 cycles per sec- ond—the bottom human limit, the plinth, the foundation. Infrasound is not heard, it is felt. Infrasound holds a terrible secret in its silent roar. Infrasound produces varied physiological sensations which begin as vague "irritations". At a certain pitch, infrasound produces physical pressure; at specific low intensity, it pro- duces fear and disorientation. Nazi propaganda engineers methodically used infrasound to stir up the hostilities of crowds who were gathered to hear their madman. The results are historical nightmares. At a very specific pitch, infrasound explodes matter; organisms rupture in its blast. At other pitches, infrasound incapacitates and kills. Sea creatures use this power to stun and kill prey. The swelling bass tones of the cathedral seem as though they can burst the very pillars which uphold the vaults. Stained glass windows have been known to erupt in a shower of coloured fragments from the organ's basso profondo. Somewhere in the almost inaudible roll of these basement sounds, these impulsed ultrabass tones, this thunder, there was a devastating and fearful power. INFRASOUND GENERATED BY NATURAL PHENOMENA Natural phenomena—thunder, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ocean waves, waterfalls, winds and auroras—are prodigious generators of infrasound. The potent distal effects produced when natural explosions occur produce legendary effects. When Krakatoa exploded, windows were shattered hundred of miles away by the infrasonic wave. The "ringing" of both earth and atmosphere continued for hours. It is believed that infrasound actually formed the upper pitch of this natural volcanic explosion, tones unmeasurably deep forming the actual "central harmonic" of the event. The island of Krakatoa was literally lifted into orbit in the fatal blast. Analysts contend that infrasound is composed of a very broad band of pitches. These tones of immense pressure and duration "accommodate" themselves when encountering resonant cavities. All such resonant cavities are "found and destroyed" when the proper pressure waves flow into their resonances. Infrasound is the cruel tonal giant, tearing open whatever it finds in its path. Studies reveal that the sudden shock of an explosion propels a complex infrasonic by Gerry Vassilatos © 1996 from chapter 8 of his book LOST SCIENCE published in 1998 by Borderland Sciences Research Foundation PO Box 6250 Eureka, CA 95502, USA Website: www.borderlands.com from chapter 8 of his book LOST SCIENCE published in 1998 by Borderland Sciences Research Foundation PO Box 6250 Eureka, CA 95502, USA Website: www.borderlands.com JUNE — JULY 2000 NEXUS - 39 by Gerry Vassilatos © 1996