Evening star., 1936-11-10
ON SUN
AFFECT HUMANS
Scientists Say They Have
Influence on Atmosphere,
Crops and Wild Life.
by THOMAS n. HENRY.


with is enormous spots on the
face of the sun-the greatest number
observed at one time for many years
the solor system il fast approaching
its period Of sun spot maximum.
These sunspots are great tempests,
Of miles in diameter, In the
suns gaseous atmosphere. They
have been considered for many years
as heralds Of war. famine and pesti-
lence. 1t Ia true that great tragedies
have attended these maxima, but ut
irregular intervals before and after.
The Smithsonian Institution, which
makes daily measurements Of the
Of the sun Ut four stations
from Mount st. Katherine in the
Sinai Peninsula to Mount Monte
zuma In Chile, Is concerned pri-
marily with the effects of the sun.
spot cycle on weather and refuses 10
associate 1t with psychological phe-
nomena. At the start Of the present
cycle. however. Or. Orestes Caldwell
of the Advisory Committee Of the
American Museum of Natural History
presented data which indicated that
predictions Of disaster sccompa ying
sunspot maxima may not be entirely
the results OF unfounded superstition.
Have Physical Effects.
The sun spots themselves, DR.. Csld-
well pointed out, are not in them
selves portents OF earthly events. but
they may have certain physical effects
in the earth's atmosphere which set
of sequences of events which eventu-
ally effect the human nervous system
and the human emotions.
SunSpot maxima, DR.. CaldwelrS
curves showed, have been associated
with wars and depressions. Whether
the relationship Is purely fortuitous
cannot be determined in the light Of
present knowledge.
Charts OF business activity In the
United States since the Civil War,
compared with the corresponding sun
spot cycle. show some curious re-
lationships. Each sunspot maximum
during that period was followed with
in 80 months by depression or panic.
The great market crash Of 1929
followed the solar maximum Of 1928.
The less marked 1921 slump came
after the solar peak OF 1918. The
1907 panic was the sequel Of the 1905
sunspOt maximum. The great panic
of 1893 followed the 1892 peak.
On the other hand low points in
the sunspot cycle usually have been
followed by periods OF business stabil-
ity and prosperity. Thus the eras Of
war prosperity. Coolidge prosperity,
etc. each followed on the heels Of q
sunspot minimum.
Effects Wild Life.
Why should the sun, $4,000, 900
miles away, have so notable an ef-
feet on human history?
In the first place, there Is the effect
on crops and. of perhaps even great
er significance. the effect on wild life.
The great drought Of the past Sum-
mer may have been, in some way not
clearly understood. related to the in
creasing activity of the sun. This Is
the most direct economic relation
ship.
But speculations have been ad-
vanced Of q much more direct effect
on human emotions. There is q
greater output of ultra violet radia ton
and hence q greater percentage in
sunlight of this invisible light which
is just beyond visible violet in the
spectrum. Now life on earth Is very
nicely adjusted to the amount of
ultraviolet reaching the earths sur
face If there were much more Of It
all living things would be poisoned.
II there were much less of It life
would be horribly stunted.
The earth's surface Is protected
from too much ultra violet BY 4 thick
blanket Of the rare gas ozone. . form
Of oxygen. which completely sur
rounds the planet ut an elevation of
about 20 miles During the Winter
this ozone blanket is built up to its
maximum OF thickness. with the re-
suit that in early Spring less ultra
violet is coming through than at any
other time Of the year.
Ozone Comes Through.
The theory has been advanced that
this phenomenon. together with the
warmth, Is responsible for
the great outburst Of life with the
melting SHOWS All Summer the ozone
blanket Is getting thinner until by
mid-Autumn the amount Of ultra
violet coming through is at It's max
mum, with the result that Nature
starts to die-almost regardless Of the
Human emotions vary with the sea-
sons. The hope and enthusiasm Of
Spring are followed by the melan-
choly Of Autumn. This is probably
primarily due to suggestion from the
changing states Of Nature. but there
may be some more direct effect on the
human nervous system.
Another important. but extremely
obscure factor Is the changed elec-
trical condition Of the atmosphere.
During . sunspot maximum the sun
Is sending enormous quantities of elec-
irons. or particles of negative elec-
tricity, into space and into the earth's
atmosphere. The human system Is an
electrical systenn and a1u,cst rarfa iulv