Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Electric Fields and Plant Life
Since we now understand that the air around us is naturally charged, we can form a
hypothesis that states that plants (and perhaps all surface life as well) require exposure
to electric fields in order to grow properly. This idea has been tested a number of times
throughout history.
Supporting this are a few studies that have shown that plants can have a difficult time
surviving when grown under a form of electro-magnetic shielding known as a
Faraday's
One early experiment was performed in 1898 by M. Grandeau, a French agricultural
chemist, and M. Leclerq who performed studies into the effect of atmospheric electricity
on plants. They discovered that shielding plants from the Earth's naturally-present electric
field using a grounded wire net had a detrimental effect on plant health, stating that the
better than the shielded plants. Furthermore, they found that flowering and fruiting
YouTube
thatshowshowplantssufferalossofchlorophyllcontentandotherabnormalities
whenplacedinawirecage.Inthisvideo,you'llseehowahouseplantisadverselyaffected
bythelackofatmosphericelectricity,asdemonstratedbyitsnearlytransparent,discolored,
smaller and somewhat deformed leaves.
Now that we can experimentally see that exposure to electric fields is essential, we can
also see that researchers have found other examples showing the coupling of biology to
electro-magnetic forces:
• Magnetic fields have been discovered as being used for the orientation of aquatic
• Telluric currents could play a role in the control of some fish.
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• Enhanced DNA synthesis has been reported for human fibroblasts exposed to
magnetic field fluctuations that correlate with frequencies and amplitudes similar
to geomagnetic occurrences.
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• Weak magnetic fields (e.g. those from solar storms or geomagnetic fields) may
affect how chemical reactions perform.
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