~e; 6 February 1999

["lauf-s" <lauf-s@quondam.com>]

to: design-l@ lists.psu.edu
from: Stephen Lauf
re: electromagnetism in the body
date: 1999.02.06

The following is presented here as a parallel wave to Brian Carroll's
ongoing advocating investigation of electricity and architecture.

electromagnetism in the body

the human heart is effectively an electromagnet, and thus the area of
concentrated electromagnetism within the body.

we all know that the heart is a pump of blood, but rarely is it stated that
what the heart pumps is precisely what makes the heart pump. for this reason
alone the heart is the most perfect of all (electrical) machines.

compare the definitions of the heart and the definition of electromagnet in
Webster's Third International Dictionary and you will be struck by the
fundamental sameness.

so where exactly is the electricity and the magnetism within the heart?
where else but in the blood, the pumps fuel.

blood contains sodium chloride (salt) which is composed of sodium and
chloride ions, electrically charges atoms.

blood contains iron, a ferrous material whose properties include the ability
to spontaneously magnetize.

[no doubt, we each contain nature at its best.]

three practical examples:

strenuous labor, especially work under heated conditions, can cause
(so-called) sun stroke. the remedy for sun stroke is salt tablets, which
work simply because they replenish the electricity that pours from the body
when we sweat.

people with high blood pressure are advised to refrain from salt in their
diets. essentially it is dangerous to increase the corporal "charge" when
the pressure is already high.

women, through their menstrual periods, lose quantities of blood. women are
advised to take iron supplements as part of their diet. It is during their
periods that women lose a measurable (but still necessary) portion of their
magnetism.

Stephen Lauf

ps all of the above stems from my Timepiece of Humanity research/writing.




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