Glossary of biophotonic plasma & PEMF science.

An ultra-weak photon spontaneously emitted by living cells. Measured intensity: ~10 to ~1,000 photons / cm² / s. Spectral range: ~200 nm to ~800 nm (UV–visible–NIR). Decay kinetics: hyperbolic, not exponential. Photon-count statistics: sub-Poissonian, consistent with partial coherence.

First systematically measured by German biophysicist Fritz-Albert Popp in 1976. DNA is a major source — isolated DNA in solution also emits. The phenomenon is no longer in serious dispute; the mechanism is still actively researched. See our profile of Popp and Day 1 of the Journal.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy. FDA-cleared in 1979 for treating bone non-union fractures. Subsequently cleared for adjunctive use in depression, post-surgical pain, and several other indications.

Documented mechanisms: ion cyclotron resonance on calcium and magnesium ions, modulation of transmembrane voltage, adenosine receptor activation (especially A2A), and downstream effects on the Wnt/β-catenin and MAPK pathways. The Tesla BioLights pulsed EM field is generated by the same Tesla coil circuit that ionizes the noble gases. See Day 3 of the Journal.

The therapeutic use of red and near-infrared light in the 600–1100 nm window to stimulate cellular function. Primary molecular target: cytochrome c oxidase (Complex IV) of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Downstream effects: increased ATP synthesis, reduced oxidative stress, modulation of inflammation.

Hundreds of peer-reviewed clinical trials. FDA-cleared in multiple indications including wound healing, pain management, and certain forms of androgenic alopecia. The noble gas spectra in Tesla BioLights overlap meaningfully with the PBM window. See Day 2 of the Journal.

The therapeutic use of ionized gas — the fourth state of matter — for biological effect. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is an active field of peer-reviewed research, with documented antimicrobial, wound-healing, and selective-anti-tumor effects in vitro and in animal models as of the 2020s.

Plasma medicine encompasses three relevant phenomena: photon emission (the basis of PBM), reactive species generation, and electromagnetic field effects. Tesla BioLights operates in the photonic and EM domains; we do not produce reactive species in the CAP sense. The historical bridge between plasma physics and medicine includes Lakhovsky, Priore, and contemporary CAP research.

Subtle Energy Activation Device. The Tesla BioLights apparatus. Sealed glass tubes filled with noble gases (argon, krypton, xenon, neon) are excited by ultra-high-frequency electromagnetic energy generated by a Tesla coil circuit. This simultaneously produces (a) ionized plasma emitting photons across the UV-visible-NIR spectrum and (b) a pulsed electromagnetic field.

Standard session duration: 15 minutes. Non-contact: the light and field emit from arm's length. Positioned as wellness / experiential technology — not a medical device. No FDA clearance. No medical claims made by the company.

The six elements in Group 18 of the periodic table — helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon. Chemically inert, full outer electron shells. Each emits a characteristic spectrum of photons when ionized.

Tesla BioLights uses argon, neon, krypton, and xenon for their UV-visible-NIR emission lines that overlap mitochondrial absorption bands. Xenon and argon additionally have documented neuroprotective pharmacology in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and hypoxia-ischemia models (NMDA receptor antagonism; HIF-1 pathway activation). See Day 2 of the Journal.

A resonant high-voltage transformer patented by Nikola Tesla in 1891. Produces high-frequency alternating current at extreme voltages. The same fundamental circuit is still inside radio transmitters, MRI scanners, neon signs, and the S.E.A.D. System.

In 1898, Tesla published "High Frequency Oscillators for Electro-Therapeutic and Other Purposes" (PubMed PMID 29693867), explicitly describing therapeutic applications of his coil. He is the documented founder of the modern electromagnetic-medicine lineage. See Day 6 of the Journal.

A theoretical framework proposed by British theoretical physicist Herbert Fröhlich in 1968: that living systems should sustain coherent collective oscillations at biological temperatures — the way a laser does at high pumping intensities — if the right energetic conditions are met.

Fröhlich's framework is the interpretive lens for Popp's biophoton measurements: if Fröhlich is right, the sub-Poissonian photon statistics and hyperbolic decay kinetics Popp documented are exactly what you would expect at the emission level of a partially-coherent cellular field.

Term coined by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in 1994 to describe the endogenous electromagnetic field surrounding and permeating living organisms. The biofield encompasses three measurable components: bioelectric (membrane potentials and tissue voltages), biomagnetic (magnetocardiography, magnetoencephalography), and biophotonic (Popp's ultra-weak photon emission).

The biofield is an umbrella concept connecting otherwise siloed disciplines. Tesla BioLights operates across all three components simultaneously.

A physical phenomenon by which charged ions move in circular paths under the influence of a static magnetic field. The cyclotron frequency depends on the ion's mass-to-charge ratio. At biologically relevant frequencies (typically in the ELF range, 1–100 Hz), specific ions can be selectively driven by low-intensity oscillating magnetic fields.

ICR is a leading mechanistic explanation for how PEMF — including Earth-strength magnetic fields — produces measurable biological effects without thermal or ionizing damage. Calcium ICR in particular is implicated in PEMF-driven bone regeneration.

Complex IV of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. The terminal enzyme that transfers electrons to molecular oxygen. The primary cellular chromophore absorbing red and near-infrared light in the 600–1100 nm window.

Cytochrome c oxidase is the molecular target underlying photobiomodulation. Red/NIR photons displace inhibitory nitric oxide from the enzyme, restoring electron flow, driving ATP synthesis, and modulating cellular redox signaling. The mitochondrial mechanism behind hundreds of FDA-cleared PBM indications.

Term used by Michael Levin's lab at Tufts University for the system of transmembrane voltage gradients across cell membranes that encodes morphogenetic information. Voltage patterns across tissues determine where eyes form, which side of the body becomes left vs. right, and whether damaged tissue regenerates or scars.

Two decades of peer-reviewed work demonstrating that membrane voltage is a control variable for tissue regeneration, body-plan formation, and even tumor reversion. Levin's bioelectric findings vindicate the broader premise — that electromagnetic state matters at the cellular level — underlying the entire Tesla BioLights lineage. See Day 4 of the Journal.

IIB. A research network founded by Fritz-Albert Popp in 1996 in Neuss, Germany. At its peak it connected approximately 19 laboratories across 13 countries, coordinating multi-decade replication and refinement of biophoton measurements.

Notable IIB-affiliated researchers: Lev Beloussov (Moscow State), Roeland Van Wijk (Utrecht), Mae-Wan Ho (UK), Hugo Niggli (Switzerland), Janusz Sławiński (Poland), Yu Sun (China). The IIB held annual conferences and published collectively. The reason biophoton emission is no longer "fringe German finding" but a documented cross-laboratory phenomenon.

Documented neuroprotective effects of xenon and argon in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and hypoxia-ischemia models. Reviewed in Journal of Translational Medicine, 2026.

Mechanisms: NMDA receptor antagonism (xenon), HIF-1 pathway activation (argon), modulation of two-pore-domain potassium channels, and stabilization of mitochondrial bioenergetics under stress. The pharmacology of the same gases Tesla BioLights ionizes in its tubes — though our exposure is photonic and electromagnetic, not via inhalation.

An electromagnetic device built by Russian-French engineer Georges Lakhovsky in 1920s Paris. Delivered a broad spectrum of radio frequencies on the hypothesis — radical for its era, partially vindicated today — that cells are themselves resonant electrical circuits.

Used in Paris hospitals through the 1930s. Lakhovsky published his thesis in The Secret of Life (1925). Dismissed for fifty years; partial vindication came from Fröhlich coherence theory in the 1960s and Levin's bioelectric work in the 2000s–2020s. See Day 7 of the Journal.