Does the solar cycle (Sun) affect terrestrial organisms (like us)? You bet!

Did you know that geomagnetic disturbances can influence terrestrial organisms and humans “en mass”?

Does human unrest peak when solar activity peaks? It would seem so!

These questions come under the domain of Heliobiology, a branch of “Biophysics” that studies the influence of changes in solar activity on terrestrial organisms.

It is well documented that geomagnetic disturbances of high intensity have the potential to play havoc with electrical systems. But what about the possibility of “biological effects” resulting from geomagnetic disturbances?

Alexander Chizhevsky, Soviet biophysicist and father of Heliobiology, developed the theory that “periods of mass movement” — that is, periods when there are wars, revolutions, uprisings, large migrations, and so on — follow a regular cycle corresponding with that of the Sun.

Chizhevsky used historical research (historiometry) techniques to link the 11-year solar cycle, Earth’s climate, and the mass activity of people. Chizhevsky proposed that increased negative ionization in the atmosphere increased human mass excitability.

That geomagnetic storms not only affect such things as electric power grids, vehicles, and more, but they also affect human behavior and activity.

Chizhevsky analyzed sunspot records — a process known as historiometry — comparing them to riots, revolutions, battles and wars in Russia and 71 other countries for the period 500 BCE to 1922 CE. He found that a significant percent of what he classified as “the most important historical events involving large numbers of people” occurred around sunspot maximums.

Chizhevsky proposed that human history is influenced by the 11-year peaks in sunspot activity, triggering humans en masse to act upon existing grievances and complaints through revolts, revolutions, civil wars, and wars between nations. Hmmm . . . something to think about!

Repeat – Chizhevsky found that when Solar activity peaks, so too does mass unrest.

Sadly, Chizhevshy was a victim of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s ruthless dictatorial regime. In 1942, Stalin became aware of Chizhevsky’s research work and Chizhevsky was asked to retract his writings on solar cycles, which contradicted Soviet theories of the reasons for the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917.

Chizhevsky refused. He was arrested and spent eight years in a forced labor gulag in the Ural mountains.

On a more positive note, Heliobiology, for a long time eschewed by scientists outside the Soviet Union, has gained acceptance as a legal branch of science.