Recent experiments have shown that humans have the ability to sense changes in the Earth's magnetic field. The organs of magnetoreception, which are responsible for the ability to sense the magnetic field, are found in many animals. This helps migratory fish and birds to travel to wintering or spawning grounds. American geophysicist Joe Kirschvink of the California Institute of Technology has shown that humans can also sense the Earth's magnetic field.
The experiment was carried out in an underground laboratory. The subject was placed in a so-called Faraday cage, a room with aluminum walls providing magnetic shielding. There was also a system of three magnetic coils located perpendicular to each other (the Merritt system), creating a uniform magnetic field. The location of the coils made it possible to control the direction of the magnetic field in the room by changing the current strength. The brain's response to possible changes was determined using electroencephalography (EEG).
In the course of observations, it turned out that when the magnetic field rotates counterclockwise, the alpha waves emitted by the subject's brain were sharply weakened. The same thing happened if the strength of the magnetic field was weakened. Similar changes in brain activity occur when a person turns their head to the right or when they look up. This result clearly indicates that a person also has his own built-in "magnetic compass".
