Exploration of the electromagnetic environment

The electromagnetic environment is composed of electric and magnetic fields which result from man-made and natural sources. An elementary experiment is described to explore the electromagnetic environment by measuring electric fields in the frequency range from ~10 to 24 000 Hz. The equipment required to conduct the experiment consists of a laptop for the data acquisition and everyday items for the electric field antenna. Some measurements are presented for illustration, and the sensitivity of the recordings with respect to varying experimental set-ups is discussed. An intuitive understanding of the electromagnetic environment is facilitated by comparison of the electric field measurements with audio recordings to bridge the gap between the sensible and the non-sensible world