These extensive works indicated the general pattern in the phenomenon under consideration. The next step was the detailed analysis of daily statistical data. In one of our earlier investigations we noted the 27-day periodicity of certain statistical data coinciding with the synodic period of the Sun's rotations. On our recommendation, further statistical analysis was made of more than 200,000 deaths recorded over a period of many years, in the large cities of Western Europe, and caused by diseases of the brain, the nervous system, etc. All data were classified according to calendar dates with designation of the disease and cause of death, and were statistically analyzed by accurate methods and compared with the heliogeophysical index (B. and T. Dii11 /91, 92/).
Instrumental recording of geomagnetic activity follows the main solar phenomena with extraordinary accuracy, resulting in a correlation coefficient very close to unity. The course of magnetic perturbances (world total) was therefore selected as the heliogeophysical index. A modi fication of the "superposed-epoch method" which we proposed more than 40 years ago was adopted for the statistical analysis of the data. The principle of the method is as follows: the m ax i m um value for a given day of a certain period is recorded in the vertical ax i a 1 column. To the left of this, the values for several preceding days are entered, and to the right, the values for several subsequent days. Values for all the periods are obtained by summing up the vertical columns and averaging the numerical results. This method distinctly isolates the basic pattern eliminating noncharacteristic phenomena. Each entry in such a table cor responds to a certain calendar data, and also serves for recording other phenomena according to the calendar dates. The two resultant curves are compared and their correlation coefficient is calculated. These curves demonstrate a remarkable correlation of the phenomena under considera tion (Figures 9-13).
The time coincidence of the heliogeophysical and the pathological pheno mena undoubtedly indicates an exceptionally close relation ship between them, i. e., a certain heliogeophysical factor synchronously provokes a marked increase in mortality at various places on the planet. The correlation coefficient for some of these curves is very close to unity.
From the time distribution of mortality we may conclude that the num ber of deaths caused by certain diseases at a given moment depends mainly upon the frequency and intensity of the specific solar radiation.* It would
be erroneous to assume that the ailments or deaths were caused by these radiations. The latter may only provide the impetus , which, in the presence of suitable conditions in the organism, causes its death. Thus, the periods of high mortality are determined by the solar factor, whereas the number of deaths is determined by the susceptibility of the given or ganism to this factor. Consequently, distinction should be made between: (1) the presence at the given moment of the external factor; and (2) the tendency of the organism to react pathologically to this factor /19, 20, 42, 43, 47, 49, 50, 54/. Attention should be focused precisely on the action of these sudden bursts of Z-radiation, and perturbations of the electromagnetic field, at times arriving singly, and at others in rapid succession. These bursts may throw the physiological mechanism out of balance without giving them the time needed to recover, and the persistent unidirectional course of these bursts leads to the death of the ailing organism.
The sudden Z-radiations of the Sun kill the weak, worn-out, senile organisms, but not healthy people. Patients with serious disturbances of the nervous system and of its core— the brain— die most rapidly. Patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases die somewhat later. These are followed by deaths due to grave diseases of other internal organs. Thus, the Z-radiations first strike the central nervous system, which is the most sensitive to external influences and reacts most intensely to them. The life of a young patient with a serious infectious disease is endangered only in the critical days of the disease, whereas in old age the range of dangerous nosologic units expands. If a patient is protected against these radiations during the critical days of his disease, he may continue to live for many more years.
The struggle against premature death is the struggle for enriching mankind with major cultural and material values. The subject is usually closed with the remark "The heart has failed." The data presented in this paper shed new light on the problem of sudden, or premature death. This problem seems to be much more serious and complex than is currently thought.