Human Perception of Illumination with Pulsed

Ultrahigh-Frequency Electromagnetic Energy

Abstract. A psychophysical study of the perception of “sound” induced by illumination with pulse-modulated, ultrahigh-frequency electromagnetic energy indicated that perception was primary dependent upon peak power and secondarily dependent upon pulse width. The average power did not significantly affect perception. Perceived characteristics of pitch and timbre appeared to be functions of modulation.

Field tests with radar indicate that humans and cats perceive low-power pulse-modulated, radio-frequency (rf) energy (1-3). Human subjects reported they perceived “sounds” that were in the nature of buzzes and hisses. The energy perceived was not acoustic energy; rather, it was electromagnetic (EM) energy in the ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) band of the spectrum. These findings can be related to other reports of sensory and behavioral phenomena associated with low-power rf energy. Analytical reviews of these and other reports and implications of the reviewed reports that bear on our understanding of…