This discovery would have made Sheldon Cooper go crazy!
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More and more discoveries are being made around the Great Pyramid of Giza. After the recent discovery of two dwellings built at its foot 4,500 years ago, this time a surprising discovery was made at the heart of the monument itself. Researchers say that its internal chambers and base are capable of concentrating electromagnetic energy, a perplexing revelation that does hold concrete and pragmatic hopes within the scientific community. The scientists explained in their publication in the Journal of Applied Physics:
The application of modern approaches and methods of physics to the study of the properties of pyramids have been important and fruitful, which could allow us to make new discoveries or to obtain new information that will generate new interest in the pyramids.
In order to analyse the behaviour of the waves in the pyramid, the researchers first assessed how radio waves induced resonance phenomena within the structure of the monument. ‘We had to make some assumptions,’ admits Andrey Evlyukhin, from ITMO University in St. Petersburg, Russia. The scientist explains:
For example, we assumed that there was no undiscovered cavity inside, and that the building material which has the properties of ordinary limestone was evenly distributed inside and outside the pyramid.
Waves being tracked
Thanks to these considerations, the researchers were able to obtain a model of the electromagnetic response made by the Egyptian monument, and to estimate how the waves are diffused or absorbed within the pyramid. As a result, the electromagnetic fields were found to be concentrated at several points of the ancient structure, located at its base but also at the level of the rooms arranged at the heart of the structure.
Surprising as this may be, this discovery does not mean that the builders of the pyramid had already mastered the subtleties of electromagnetism. It is instead a happy coincidence that could lead to new discoveries.
Practical applications
Antonija Grubisic-Cabo, a physicist who did not participate in the work, at Monash University in Australia, said:
Although this study seems unconventional, modern approaches to physics have already been used to study the Great Pyramid of Giza, and have led to the discovery of a completely new structure. Since this study is completely theoretical, it is difficult to say where we are hoping it will lead us,’ says the specialist.
Beyond the archaeological interest, there is also a completely different field which could benefit from this discovery, that of nanoparticles. Polina Kapitainova, a physicist at ITMO University, said:
By choosing a material with appropriate electromagnetic properties, we could obtain pyramidal nanoparticles which would provide the promise of practical applications for nano-sensors and [more] efficient solar cells.
More efficient solar panels thanks to the Egyptian pyramids, proof that the powers of the sun god Ra are not merely a legend from Egyptian mythology!
