1 EJovember 1956

Sote on Possible Physiological Effect of Cosmic Rays
Linus Pwling, 31. October 1956

    At 6 aa. today, a few minutes ago, I experienced
again a phenomenon that I have interpreted as possibly
caused bythe impact of acosmic raywith sane part of the
h-body.

    !5e phenmenon ie one that I have noticed a number
of times before - perhaps, in roughly similar form, a dozen
times before.  I was lying in bed, and was in the process
or llfakening.  I believe that I was consciousI and was think-
ing xx&or vaguely about the work of the coming day, but I
may have been having a little dream.  I began to turn my
head.  I then he& the sensation correspondi~~~, roughly to
the explosion of a revolver in front of me; that is, to a
mall explosion.  There seemed to be sane visualand sme
auditory eeneations connected with the phenooB8I1on, but
neither the auditory nor the visual was the more pronounced.
There was not a flash of light through the whole visual area
(my eye8 were closed); perhaps I had the sensation of a flash
of light in a restricted area, perhaps somewhat larger than
the apparent size of the moon,, but I LUP not sure of that.
I had the feeling that the explosion was seen only by my
right eye.  I felt also as though I had heard the explosion,
but there was no ringiug in the ears) and no concentration
of the sound in either ear-  I retained the memory of the
general pitch of the explosion, substautiating the auditory
asgect.

    %e whole experience was of very short duration,
essentially iu8tauteous - perhaps of the order of milli-
erec0nd.a.

     I remember that on earlier occasions, which have
come uuuallyas Iwas lying inbedquietly, eitherreadyto
go to sleep or reedy to waken, I have metimes had the im-
pression of greater auditory effect, and scmetimes of greater
visual effect, without auditory association at all.

    It seems to me that an experience of thir, sort may
be the result of an impact of a comic raywith apart of
the brain or the nervous system.  Anacltrr alternative is
that it is due to the rupture of an arteriole. I think
that it may be that the extremely short time inwhich the
experience occurs is an argument against the latter explaua-
tion.  The explosion occurs essentially instantaneously,
and there are no after phencmena of any sort.


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    I have also occasionally had PI experiencesof
another rrorli that seem to me possibly to be due to cosmic
w lsapact*  While lying quietly in bed, without moving at
all, I have XW experienced a sudden pain in sane psxt of
my body, perhags in my toe, my leg, or elsewhere.  It has
seemed to me that a resarona?U.e explanation for a sudden
stab of pain of this kind,while Iwaslyingperfectly still,
ie that a cosmic ray has struck a nerve and excited it.
Perhaps      of the probability that cosmic rays would
have such &effect.

LinusPauliIlg