The discussion revolves around the visibility and measurement of intensity flicker in Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves, specifically focusing on the implications of using a hypothetical ELF laser pointer and a suitable camera. The scope includes theoretical considerations, technical explanations, and some experimental references.
Participants express differing views on the capabilities of the camera and the implications of coherent detection, indicating that multiple competing views remain and the discussion is unresolved.
Limitations include the camera's frequency sensitivity and the assumptions regarding coherent detection methods. The discussion also touches on the relationship between classical effects and quantum mechanics without resolving these complexities.
If the camera detects the instantaneous energy of the incoming wave, it will give 6 flashes per second on the viewfinder.greswd said:ELF electromagnetic radiation is in the range of 3 to 30 Hz.
If you had a 3Hz ELF laser pointer and you had a camera that could "see" ELF, would you be able to see the intensity of the beam "flicker" at 3Hz?
You get the frequency spectrum as Fourier transformation of the time (or space) distribution. If your time range is too small, your frequency range gets large. You can still see "there was something", but you cannot measure the frequency precisely. This can be treated as purely classical effect, but it is closely related to the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics.greswd said:Why could it not make more than one picture a second?
With coherent light, it will have 6 intensity maxima, yes.tech99 said:If the camera detects the instantaneous energy of the incoming wave, it will give 6 flashes per second on the viewfinder.
I would question whether coherent detection can be applied to random events. I am guessing what is meant is direct conversion to zero IF.Andy Resnick said:Slightly off-topic: Stephen McGreevy did great work- he recorded VLF/ELF events as sound:
http://www.auroralchorus.com/more.htm
http://www.auroralchorus.com/
He uses coherent detection, BTW.
tech99 said:I would question whether coherent detection can be applied to random events. I am guessing what is meant is direct conversion to zero IF.