The first studies on the electromagnetic precursors of earthquakes carried out in the early 1900s by a Franciscan friar brought an unexpected record to our country
Three documents by Father Atto Maccioni have been found, and for the first time translated into English, in which the hypothesis of electromagnetic signals as seismic precursors was proposed as early as the beginning of the 900th century.
A team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) recently published in the journal Seismological Research Letters, for the first time in the English language, the three hitherto unknown documents testifying carried out about a century ago by the Franciscan friar, director of an observatory at the Convent of the Friars Minor of the Observance of Siena.
The publication of the documents in an international journal made it possible to present throughout the world the fundamental scientific contribution of the Tuscan friar minor, whose works and studies had so far been limited to the national context due to their writing only in Italian. In 1909, as soon as technology made it possible, Father Atto Maccioni began to study the electromagnetic precursors of earthquakes. This means that the first observation of a possible phenomenon of this nature dates back to more than half a century earlier than previously believed.
The "precursors" are extremely different phenomena which, occasionally, can occur before a seismic event. Unfortunately up to now these phenomena cannot be correlated to earthquakes with criteria of systematicity and necessity, which is why they are not yet operationally valid for earthquake prediction.
Possible electromagnetic precursors have been studied since the mid-1960s but it was not clear, until today, who first discovered or at least hypothesized the phenomenon (or even why). The American radio astronomer Warwick observed a phenomenon in XNUMX, but only twenty years later he attributed its nature to the earthquake. Meanwhile, the Russian Gokhberg consciously observed several potential precursors, but it is not clear why he looked for them or who, in the USSR, theorized their existence.
The INGV team has found and studied the rare documents written by an almost unknown friar which bring with certainty the hypothesis of the existence of an electromagnetic precursor to the beginning of the century, as well as the first observation of a possible phenomenon, attributing to Italy a unexpected and hitherto unknown primacy.
More than a hundred years ago, Father Atto Maccioni in fact attempted to demonstrate the questionable hypothesis according to which cases of premonition in animals could be caused by their sensitivity to electromagnetic waves induced on the nervous system by telluric currents premonitory of the earthquake. In support of this thesis, he created a particular receiver which he called the "Dialer". This instrument employed a "coherer" like Marconi's radio, but suitably modified to be able to detect electromagnetic signals many minutes before the elastic waves detected by a seismograph and a tromometer (a mechanical sensor invented in Italy in 1868 to study microseismicity) used as a reference.
The mechanism of Father Maccioni's seismic alarm was simple: when an electromagnetic signal was picked up from the subsoil, a relay started a clock which was stopped at 12:00. In this way it was possible to read exactly the time elapsed from the 'warning' to the seismic event.
The recent publication in English of these documents offers international historians a further element of knowledge of the fundamental contribution of Italian scientists in seismological research.
Three documents by Father Atto Maccioni have been found, and for the first time translated into English, in which the hypothesis of electromagnetic signals as seismic precursors was proposed as early as the beginning of the 900th century.
A team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) recently published in the journal Seismological Research Letters, for the first time in the English language, the three hitherto unknown documents testifying carried out about a century ago by the Franciscan friar, director of an observatory at the Convent of the Friars Minor of the Observance of Siena.
The publication of the documents in an international journal made it possible to present throughout the world the fundamental scientific contribution of the Tuscan friar minor, whose works and studies had so far been limited to the national context due to their writing only in Italian. In 1909, as soon as technology made it possible, Father Atto Maccioni began to study the electromagnetic precursors of earthquakes. This means that the first observation of a possible phenomenon of this nature dates back to more than half a century earlier than previously believed.
The "precursors" are extremely different phenomena which, occasionally, can occur before a seismic event. Unfortunately up to now these phenomena cannot be correlated to earthquakes with criteria of systematicity and necessity, which is why they are not yet operationally valid for earthquake prediction.
Possible electromagnetic precursors have been studied since the mid-1960s but it was not clear, until today, who first discovered or at least hypothesized the phenomenon (or even why). The American radio astronomer Warwick observed a phenomenon in XNUMX, but only twenty years later he attributed its nature to the earthquake. Meanwhile, the Russian Gokhberg consciously observed several potential precursors, but it is not clear why he looked for them or who, in the USSR, theorized their existence.
The INGV team has found and studied the rare documents written by an almost unknown friar which bring with certainty the hypothesis of the existence of an electromagnetic precursor to the beginning of the century, as well as the first observation of a possible phenomenon, attributing to Italy a unexpected and hitherto unknown primacy.
More than a hundred years ago, Father Atto Maccioni in fact attempted to demonstrate the questionable hypothesis according to which cases of premonition in animals could be caused by their sensitivity to electromagnetic waves induced on the nervous system by telluric currents premonitory of the earthquake. In support of this thesis, he created a particular receiver which he called the "Dialer". This instrument employed a "coherer" like Marconi's radio, but suitably modified to be able to detect electromagnetic signals many minutes before the elastic waves detected by a seismograph and a tromometer (a mechanical sensor invented in Italy in 1868 to study microseismicity) used as a reference.
The mechanism of Father Maccioni's seismic alarm was simple: when an electromagnetic signal was picked up from the subsoil, a relay started a clock which was stopped at 12:00. In this way it was possible to read exactly the time elapsed from the 'warning' to the seismic event.
The recent publication in English of these documents offers international historians a further element of knowledge of the fundamental contribution of Italian scientists in seismological research.
