Following is a short discussion on EMF and FC (ferrocement) homes and more on lightning.
From: Bo Atkinson Subject: Re: [Ferro Cement] EMF and FC homes Cc: Bcc: X-Attachments: ......................................................................................But if you are in a grounded 'cage', what I believe is called a Faraday cage, much of this electromagnetic cacophony is channeled (ala the lightning bolt) down into the ground...... thus providing a EMF free space. Am I not correct?????? .........................Could those of you on the list who live in a FC structure, sensitives or not, comment on the 'feeling' of the structure while in it. I have heard that Earthships 'feel' massive, while Straw bales houses are 'lighter' in feel.
Here is my testimony: over 20 years in a translucent dome with Tesla's lightning protector and an FC mesh cage enclosing much of the ground floor. (Largely double exterior walls with poured insulation between, mesh second floor and mesh cellar... maybe less than a ton of steel?). Now when i started building this, i had not yet discovered Tesla's wonderful book: "Lectures*Patents*Articles", published in 1956, Beograd. Yugoslavia. But i had skimmed through the mathematician Ouspensky's "In Search of the Miraculous", and deeply read Gurdjieff's "Meetings With Remarkable Men", which actually mentioned use of electricity by that advanced "Brotherhood" who he claimed to have visited up there hidden away in the Himalayas. Anyway, i was most disappointed by Gurdjieff's long promised third series, published only in the late 70's which strangely failed to say more about that advanced brotherhood community, so fascinating it was. But Tesla's book is way more practical, here is the man who discovered and directly experimented with earth's resonant frequency near Pikes Peak, Colorado and ball lightning for that matter.
After reading Tesla, i wished i had electrically tied all my meshes, but did not regret for long. I've noted over the years that isolated mesh FC exhibits some sort of resistance or is it even reactance, (that's kinda like AC resistance). Whether it is moisture or due to hydraulic bond or due to the metal calcium. (BTW, pure calcium has a considerable electrical conductance of 3.9 compared to 9.7 for iron, 10-^8 ohms/m). (I added lime to my FC for adhesion along with a trace of polymer). Whatever the reasons, i find my isolated meshes do test with some continuity to each other, some isolated meshes at 1-200 ohms. That is sufficient to bleed off charge. So my down stairs has some Faraday cage effect, i'd say. The smaller cellar provides grounding because we generally have a high water table. The 100 ft well with submersible pump provides considerable grounding also. While we have strong lightning bolts in summer, it should be noted we have many trees which undoubtedly bleed off electrical charge and in effect do what Tesla sought to emulate in his protector. Never the less, when i disconnect my protector from ground, i can measure small currents, (one meter lead connected to the protector and the other to ground). Much more so during storms... As lightning approaches you can see the current spikes along with flashes, (to repeat one of Tesla's classic experiments). Conditions are always varied. We have had drought followed by lightning which was scary since the trees are obviously bleeding off less charge when dried from drought. The ground to sky charge can thus build stronger. The flash path for the bolt is forming somewhere... So far it has never chosen my 42 ft plastic dome, which has 20 aluminum, quarter round battens, electrically connected to ground. Since these are spread wide, the charge dissipates widely, offering no sharpened strike point. (Arcs "prefer" sharp points). I used to hold my breath as lightning approached, but not for long. Now i thank Tesla, in my mind one of the millennial benefactors to earth. His AC power system has done more good for mankind, saved more lives and lengthened them more than many others claimants who have tried to steal this honor. Now i like Franklin's lightning research, but i dare to say that i much prefer Tesla's more comprehensive research, even if Tesla's is not recognized by electrical codes, nor universities, etc... Now back to the question of what does it feel like. Indeed "feel" cannot be accurately quantified, but it is what we evolutionary beings rely on most for our decisions. Our home feels great, probably because it is home. The 42 ft Tesla protector effect is essentially unnoticeable to us, yet i suppose it has some relationship to a cage with wide spread bars. We also have an adjoining metal roof, also partially grounded. So we have partial Faraday effects here. Another guy worth mention is Wilhelm Reich and his Orgone Energy, since it relates somewhat to all this. His work could be interpreted to side against living in FC cages. While Reich offered some interesting ideas to the subject, i lost interest in him due to practical needs in my life outweighing the subtle ones and to his other baggage which further disinterested me. This is really an expansive subject. Another point i would raise is EMF quantitatively. The old saying was current kills, really pointing at wattage. The idea of fine tuning one's home life energies to EMF quietness, seems to me a lost cause if you live in a modern country. I can agree that attuning ourselves to more cosmic harmonies of energies may be desirable at a *higher* state of human evolution. IMO this jumps the gun in todays environment where we are so primitive by comparison to future evolution. We are relatively entrenched with much heavier issues of health than EMF fallout. To me it is penny wise but pound foolish, due to our state of evolution. Just the emotional--materialistic--subconscious pollution alone (of society) has so much more deleterious effect than the issues of this thread. Mastering one's emotions and overcoming the emotional habits of fear, that alone will be more than a 100 times more beneficial than living in EMF quietness. But i want to thank Johnny for getting me to think again about fiber glass through all these alternating contexts. Opposites like ideas are the fuel of energy, even mental energy. As a result of this thread, it occurred to me that fiber glass roving, (rope), might provide an easier way to make my reinforcement rings. Now i'll have think on which ring winding machine to use with roving, (pre chopped) and how to intersperse cement fines. I've used the non resistant type straight like rebar before, just for experiment. Well now, another morning is passing fast, time to get some things done...
Note on helix reinforcements and "buiding" atmospheric charge which stimulates lightning.
3D Helix Reinforcement
One concern with a house-size continuos metal helix is that they might be electrically grounded at one terminal end and act like a charged antenna, raised to a roof, at the opposite helix end... According to research by Nikola Tesla and others, a large electrical coil can store charges and stimulate lightning strikes. An electrical coil would essentially be cylindrical in overall shape. Flat spirals used in ringforcement are not cylindrical in shape. The 3D helical reinforcement is partially cylindrical but only marginally so. It might be advisable not to aim a large size 3D coil ,skyward in a building size structure reinforcement. Another remedy for such concerns might be to use fiberglass or other non-electrically-conductive tensile reinforcement, instead of steel helices. Independent metal rings for reinforcement are another approach highly unlikely to stimulate lightning. 3D helical reinforcement in structures smaller than houses are unlikely to raise this concern.
The content on this website, http://harmoniouspalette.com, is placed in the public domain only as a free exchange of ideas and as a "hard studied wish to serve life". The author assumes no responsibility for the improper use of the concepts in these web pages, as all relevant laws of life and local codes should be verified and observed before any building or experimentation proceeds. discussion is welcome, please write. Bo Atkinson