
photon
photon (fÖ´tòn´)
noun
1. The
quantum
of
electromagnetic
energy, generally regarded as a discrete particle having
zero
mass, no
electric
charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime.
2. A unit of retinal illumination,
equal to the amount of
light
that reaches the retina through 1 square millimeter of pupil area from
a surface having a brightness of 1 candela per square meter.
- photon´ic adjective
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Photon
Photon, small unit of light
energy or electromagnetic radiation.
Max
Planck and
Albert
Einstein, Nobel Prize winners in physics, discovered that light, which
usually travels in
waves,
sometimes behaves as if it were made up of a stream of small quantities,
or quanta, of energy. The energy, E, of a photon is calculated using the
equation E = h, where h is a universal constant (Planck's constant) and
is the
frequency
(number of vibrations per second) of the light.
photon (noun)
element: light quantum, photon,
phonon
radiation: photon
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Like the
axis
mundi of
shamanic
traditions,
DNA
has the form of a
twisted
ladder (or a vine ... ); according to my hypothesis, DNA was, like the axis
mundi, the source of shamanic knowledge and visions. To be sure of this I needed
to understand how DNA could transmit visual
information.
I knew that it emitted photons, which are
electromagnetic
waves, and I remembered what Carlos Perez Shuma had told me when he compared
the spirits to "radio waves": "Once you turn on the radio, you can pick them
up. It’s like that with souls; with ayahuasca ... you can see them and hear
them." So I looked into the literature on photons of biological origin, or "biophotons."
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In the early
1980s,
thanks to the development of a sophisticated measurement device, a team of scientists
demonstrated that the cells of all living beings emit photons at a rate of up
to approximately 100 units per second and per square centimeter of surface area.
They also showed that DNA was the source of this photon emission.
During my readings, I learned with astonishment that the wavelength at which DNA emits these photons corresponds exactly to the narrow band of visible light: Its spectral distribution ranges at least from infrared (at about 900 nanometers) to ultraviolet (up to about 200 nanometers).
This was a serious trail,
but I did not know how to follow it. There was no proof that the
light emitted by DNA was what
shamans
saw in their visions. Furthermore, there was a fundamental aspect
of this photon emission that I could not grasp. According to the
researchers who measured it, its weakness is such that it corresponds to
the
intensity
of a candle at a distance of about 10 kilometers, but i has a surprisingly
high degree of coherence, as compared to that of technical fields (laser).
How could an ultra-weak signal be highly coherent? How could a distant
candle be compared to a "laser"?
After thinking about it at length, I came to understand that the coherence of biophotons depended not so much on the intensity of their output as on its regularity. In a coherent source of light, the quantity of photons emitted may vary, but the emission intervals remain constant.
DNA emits photons with such regularity that researchers
compare the phenomenon to an "ultra-weak laser." I could understand
that much, but still could not see what it implied for my investigation.
I turned to my scientific journalist friend, who explained it
immediately:
"A coherent source of light, like a laser, gives the sensation of bright
colors, a luminescence, and an
impression
of holographic depth."
My friend's explanation provided
me with an essential element. The detailed descriptions of ayahuasca-based
hallucinatory experiences invariably mention bright color, and, according
to the authors of the
dimethyltryptamine
study: "Subjects described the colors as brighter, more intense,
and deeply saturated than those seen in normal awareness or
dreams:
'It was like the blue of a desert sky, but on another planet. The
colors were 10 to 100 times more saturated.'"
It was almost too good to be true. DNA's highly coherent photon emission accounted for the luminescence of hallucinatory images, as well as their three-dimensional, or holographic, aspect.
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One the basis of this connection, I could now conceive
of a neurological mechanism for my hypothesis. The molecules of nicotine
or dimethyltryptamine, contained in tobacco or ayahuasca, activate their
respective receptors, which set off a cascade of electrochemical reactions
inside the neurons, leading to the stimulation of DNA and, more particularly,
to its emission of visible waves, which shamans
perceive
as "hallucinations."
There I thought, is the source
of knowledge: DNA, living in
water
and emitting photons, like an aquatic
dragon
spitting fire.
- Jeremy Narby -
_The
Cosmic Serpent:
DNA
And The Origins Of Knowledge_
