Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
A group of researchers have looked at the physics of the Great Pyramid of Giza and discovered something absolutely peculiar – the shape is ideal for focusing certain electromagnetic waves. This theoretical approach will likely not give any insight into the Egyptian tomb, but it might lead to the creation of better nanotech.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The study, published in the Journal of Applied Physics, looked at how the shape of the pyramid would interact with resonant radio waves. Resonance is an important physical phenomenon, where small wave oscillations end up driving a system to oscillate with greater amplitude. Given the pyramid's size and shape, the resonant radio waves are expected to be between 200 and 600 meters (650 to 1,970 feet) in length.
That's roughly the wavelength variation used for high-speed wireless communication (LTE), but we doubt that while constructing this incredible monument the ancient Egyptians had delivering good Wi-Fi signals in mind. This study is about theoretical calculation and shouldn’t be taken as an explanation for some profound mystery surrounding the pyramid. And to be extra clear, the pyramid can't receive or send alien messages because the atmosphere is not transparent to the wavelengths.
The team constructed two models. In the first one, the pyramid was embedded in a uniform space with specific properties. In this condition, the electromagnetic waves were concentrated in the central region of the pyramid. In the real counterpart, that’s roughly equivalent to the location of the internal chambers, found at the center of the pyramid.
The other model is slightly more realistic. It has the pyramid located on top of a plane made of the same material. Resonance waves would, in that case, scatter and focus the waves below the pyramid's base. “Egyptian pyramids have always attracted great attention. We as scientists were interested in them as well, so we decided to look at the Great Pyramid as a particle dissipating radio waves resonantly,” senior author Dr Andrey Evlyukhin said in a statement.
“Due to the lack of information about the physical properties of the pyramid, we had to use some assumptions. For example, we assumed that there are no unknown cavities inside, and the building material with the properties of an ordinary limestone is evenly distributed in and out of the pyramid. With these assumptions made, we obtained interesting results that can find important practical applications.”
The team plans to exploit these properties of pyramid-shaped objects in nanostructures. They hope to use this focusing ability in sensors and solar cells, using materials better suited for these functions than the limestone used to build the Great Pyramid of Giza.
