Implied in the discussion thus far is the assumption that witnesses heard the humming sound in the normal fashion, namely, by the pressure of sound waves on the eardrum being transmitted by the bony structure of the inner ear to stimulate the auditory nerve. Any possible alternatives should be taken into account. It was suggested previously that UFOs emit high frequency, electromagnetic radiation that, like radar, would have no effect upon the eardrum. However, medical experiments have shown that some people can hear modulated, radio-frequency energy that they interpret as a "buzzing or knocking" sound. All subjects felt that the sound originated behind their heads regard less of the actual location. Apparently, the pulsed energy by-passes the ear structure and induces signals directly in the auditory nerve. The physical reality of this mechanism was demonstrated when microelectrodes were inserted into a single nerve fiber with subsequent exposure to microwaves, electromagnetic energy in the range of 200 to 3,000 megacycles Electrical potentials from millivolts up to 0.10 volts were measured between the inside and outside of the surface membrane. As these tests were conducted with modulated microwaves it is obvious that the subjects were sensing the pulses of energy, not the carrier frequency. Pulse repetition rates as low as 160 per second are used on the FPS 16 radar at Jodrell Bank, England, and rates as low as 300 per second appear to be common. Thus the buzzing sound heard from UFOs may be stimulated directly within the head of the witnesses by high frequency radiation being pulsed at a low, audio rate.

In passing, it is noted that voice modulation of microwaves might be developed to communicate with totally deaf people whose ear structure has been destroyed but whose auditory nerve is still intact.

James McCampbell
UFOLOGY, 49