The Pyramid Platform
I have a theory: The biggest reason why some people have successful results with their experiments with pyramids, and some do not, is because the ones who are successful have aligned their pyramids to either magnetic north or true north accurately enough for it to create significant results. The Great Pyramid is aligned to true north to within 1/15th of a degree. That is extremely accurate! Much more accurate than most people will be able to do with their own pyramids.
As of this writing, I have yet to create an experiment that consistently produces extremely significant results. This could be for a lot of reasons: I did not level my pyramid accurately enough, the size of the sample was too large for my particular pyramid, sunspot activity (or lack thereof), the moon was in the wrong phase...or perhaps aliens were messing with the results. When all else fails, blame it on aliens.
As a true scientist, I also cannot exclude the possibility that pyramid power simply doesn't exist. I don't believe that is true, but until I can create consistent experiments with extremely significant results, I cannot exclude that possibility.
So aside from aliens, I believe that the most likely culprit is that I simply have not aligned my pyramids accurately enough. Hence, the Pyramid Platform. It allows me to easily make micro alignment adjustments to within 0.1° using my steel ruler with 1/32” increments. And with my digital caliper, I can make adjustments that are accurate to within 0.01°, way more precise than even the Great Pyramid itself!
The idea is that one can only align a pyramid so accurately, especially if using a compass because so many different metals can throw it off, as well as electric currents. I discovered that in my last experiment, when I tried aligning the pyramid with a compass, as I slid it along one of the north-south sides, the needle shifted by 10 degrees! My best guess is that the metal in the table was throwing it off. There are many times where a compass will be fairly accurate, especially if your pyramid is outside (or not sitting on a table with metal in it), but in this case, it was not. So I used the Solar Alignment Method, but because I only had a south-facing window and it was in June, only a few weeks from the longest day of the year, the sun was extremely high, and therefore the shadow from the plumb line was relatively short. My measurement using this method was probably accurate to within one degree, but what if that isn't accurate enough? Remember, the Great Pyramid is aligned fifteen times more accurately than that.
So if my theory is correct, and the biggest reason for experiments with insignificant results is because the pyramid isn't aligned accurately enough, I will be able to test this theory using the Pyramid Platform—assuming there are not other hidden variables confounding the experiment (like aliens). So let's assume that there are not, and let's assume that in my first experiment, the pyramid is out of its ideal alignment by exactly 1°, and that that is enough to not produce any significant results. In my second experiment, I decide to rotate the top plate of my Pyramid Platform 1/8th of an inch, which for my sized platform, is equivalent to 0.424°.
In the picture above, I am rotating the top plate clockwise, which we will say in this hypothetical example that it actually makes the pyramid further out of alignment so that it is now 1.424° off from its ideal alignment. And therefore, in this second experiment, there are also not any significant results. For the third experiment, I rotate the top plate another 1/8” clockwise, now making it 1.848° out of alignment. Again, no significant results. Then I rotate it again another 1/8” in the same direction, making it 2.272° out of alignment for the fourth experiment with no significant results. I don't know that it is 2.272° out of alignment at this point. I only know that I have rotated the pyramid 1.272° clockwise from its original orientation, which was where I determined magnetic north to be using the Solar Alignment Method. I am pretty confident that the original orientation was no more than 1° off of magnetic north, so since I have gotten no significant results going clockwise, I rotate the top plate back to its original orientation and then rotate it 1/8” counterclockwise, which gets me 0.424° closer to its ideal orientation. Since it was 1° off originally, it is now only 0.576° off of its ideal orientation for this fifth experiment. The results are favorable. Let's say there is less mold on the yogurt sample inside the pyramid than there is in the one outside the pyramid, but not a whole lot of difference. For the sixth experiment, I rotate the top plate another 0.424° counterclockwise, making the pyramid only 0.152° out of its ideal alignment, and the results are statistically significant, with the yogurt inside the pyramid having almost no mold, while the yogurt outside the pyramid has a lot of mold on it. At this point, I would probably repeat the experiment exactly as it is and hopefully get a similar result, and if so, I would repeat the experiment several times to hopefully increase the statistical significance, because “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” But for this example, I decide instead to rotate the top plate another 1/8” counterclockwise for this seventh experiment. This puts the pyramid 0.272° out of alignment past its ideal orientation. The results are impressive, but not as good as the previous experiment. So for the eighth experiment, I rotate the top plate back in the other direction, clockwise, 1/16”, or 0.212°, which puts the pyramid only 0.06° out of its ideal alignment and the yogurt sample inside the pyramid has absolutely no mold on it while the sample outside the pyramid is covered in it.
So you can see from this hypothetical example that there is a bit of fumbling around with potentially a lot of hit and miss, but this would be the general process for trying to get a pyramid as close as possible to its ideal alignment. This is assuming there is an ideal alignment that makes a pyramid most effective, and there are no other hidden variables confounding the experiment. The above example could have easily been done with my 6” steel ruler with 1/64” increments, which is equivalent to about 1/20° for the size of my platform. If I was able to really hone in the alignment of a pyramid and I for some reason wanted to be even more accurate, I could use my digital caliper, which measures to 0.001”. The reality is, I am not going to be able to consistently get the same reading to that precision, but to 0.003” is reasonable if I am meticulous about it, which would be equivalent to making micro-adjustments to 0.01°. To make micro-adjustments with a digital caliper, I would first take the starting measurement, which could be when the top plate is aligned with the bottom plate, or after it has been rotated using my 6” steel ruler. Here is a picture taking a measurement with the top and bottom plate aligned together, which measures 0.564”:
And this is after the top plate has been rotated about 1/8”, as measured by my steel ruler:
It reads 0.698”, which if you subtract the original measurement of 0.564”, means that it was rotated 0.134”. Since 1/8” is equivalent to 0.125”, the digital caliper indicates that it was actually rotated slightly more than 1/8”. Using a digital caliper is probably unnecessary in most circumstances, but it could be a wonderful option to have if someone wanted to see how much of an impact it would have on the energy of a pyramid if it were aligned to within 1/100th of a degree of its theoretical ideal orientation.
There are other benefits the Pyramid Platform offers in conducting experiments, including making it easier to align the platform itself using a baseplate compass:
The diagonals also allow for the pyramid to be centered properly upon the platform and to be able to accurately place your sample in the very center of the pyramid:
It can also make it relatively easy to level the platform with shims if the table or counter top it is sitting upon is not. However, if possible, the table or counter top should be leveled instead; otherwise, if a lot of shimming were involved, the platform could sag slightly over an extended period of time.
So for you serious experimenters out there, I would encourage you to make one of these yourself, which is relatively easy to do.
How to Build a Pyramid Platform
The easiest way to make one of these is to buy two pre-cut 24” x 24” square panels. They can be out of plywood or MDF board. To make sure there is minimal warp, 1/2” thick is the thinnest you should get, and for most plywood, you should get 5/8” or even 3/4” thick. In my experience, places like Home Depot do not carry 24” x 24” panels in their stores, but you can easily order them and have them delivered to your nearest store, or even to your home. Here are some nice hardwood options available at reasonable prices. If you order something off of their website, definitely go for 3/4" thick so there will be minimal chance of them being warped. Another potential advantage to buying them this way is that (at least theoretically) they should be pretty close to square. And while full 4-foot by 8-foot sheets of plywood and MDF board usually have very square factory corners, there is no guarantee that these smaller sizes will. But even if that is the case, the Pyramid Platform will still work fabulously.
If you don't want to order through their website, another option is to buy a 2-foot by 4-foot panel of MDF board or plywood, which they usually carry in their stores, and then have them cut it in half with their panel saw. If you go this route, have them measure the exact width of the board (as it can be slightly off of 2 feet) and then cut one of the squares to that length, which will be the top panel for your platform and the other one, which will probably be either slightly longer or shorter, will be your bottom panel. For my Pyramid Platform, I got a 1/2” thick 2-foot by 4-foot MDF board, which was 24+1/4” wide. So while the top panel is 24+1/4” by 24+1/4”, the bottom panel is slightly shorter. Also, the only reason I went with 1/2” thick is because it wasn't warped; otherwise, I would have had to have gotten a thicker panel.
After you have your top and bottom panels, if they are not pre-cut perfect squares, orient each of them with the two best corners in the front. Use a speed square or other right angle tool to help you determine which ones are the closest to square. If you don't have any such tools, make your best guess and it will be just fine.
Next, mark two diagonal lines across the top square using a straightedge. I used a ball point pen for mine, but you can use whatever works best for you, as long as the lines are clearly visible, but not super thick.
Next, you will be making a small, 45° nub cut on the front right corner of both panels. First, line up the top and bottom squares so that the front edge and the two front corners are flush with each other and then lightly clamp that front edge with two clamps. If both of your panels are not completely square, as was the case with mine, then the back edges and corners won't perfectly line up with each other, which is OK. This nub cut is pretty small. Mine was about 5/8” wide. Anywhere from 1/2” to 1” wide is a good amount. If you have a miter saw, you can make the cut on that, as long as you make sure the two panels are fully supported underneath. Otherwise, you can make the cut with a handsaw, as it doesn't have to be perfect. In which case, mark a 45° line on the top panel with a speed square where you will make the cut. And if you don't have a speed square, then mark a straight line with a ruler making your best guess. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect.
Next, measure the distance from the center cross point on the top panel to where your cut is. This will allow you to know how much to rotate the top plate if you need to make a micro-adjustment, which I will explain at the end after you finish building your Pyramid Platform (so be sure to write it down!).
Next, glue two little blocks of wood onto the nub cuts, one for each plate. You want these two blocks about the same width as your nub cuts (5/8” in my case), and slightly thinner than the thickness of your panels (so a little less than 1/2” in my case). You can use either wood glue or a hot glue gun, which is my preference, as it is quicker. My method was to unclamp the two panels and slide the top one a little back and slip a small bit of wax paper between the two of them. Then I hot glued the top block onto the top nub cut:
Then I slid the top panel back to its original position flush with the front edge, the front left corner, and the nub cut of the bottom panel with the wax paper still in between, and hot glued the bottom block to the bottom nub cut while lightly pushing up against the bottom of the top block:
Notice that the wax paper extends past the nub cut to prevent the glue from sticking to the top plate, but it doesn't quite reach to the outer edges of the blocks. This allows me to feel them with my fingers while pushing the bottom block up against the nub cut and top block so that it is flush left-and-right with the top block. But if it is not perfect when you glue it on, don't worry about it.
After the two blocks are glued onto the nub cuts, re-clamp the two panels together, making sure that the front edge, left-front corner, and the right-front edge are flush.
The next step is to drill a hole through the very center of both panels where the two diagonals cross. Try to drill this hole as centered as possible. For this reason, I would recommend using a Brad Point drill bit which will make a clean hole at the top and has a point on the end of it to prevent the bit from moving off of the center point when you start the hole. If you only have regular drill bits, they can work, too, but I would first push or lightly tap a nail a tiny bit in at the cross point and then use a smaller 3/16” bit to get the hole started in the right place before using the full-sized bit. I recommend drilling a 1/2” wide hole, but you could also do a 3/8” hole if you don't have a 1/2” drill bit. It is very important to drill this hole as vertically as possible. I used four 2x4 blocks to help make sure my drill bit was vertical:
After your hole is drilled, you will need a dowel that is the same width. While a fluted dowel could probably work, I recommend using a smooth one, which means you will probably have to cut it to the right length. Since my hole is 1/2” wide, I cut a section off of a 1/2” dowel rod. The length should be a little shorter than the thickness of the platform, which, in my case, is 1”. I simply placed the dowel rod up against the platform, marked it with a pencil, and then cut it a little shorter than that mark.
I then placed it next to my platform to make sure it was shorter before inserting it into the hole.
Ideally, your dowel should fit snugly into the hole. If it is too loose, it could fall out. Mine was pretty tight, which is fine, as I just lightly tapped it in with a hammer. If your dowel so tight that you have hit it with a hammer really hard to get it in, then it is too tight and I recommend sanding the outer surface a little bit with rough sandpaper until you can tap it in relatively easily. The dowel should be slightly lower than the top surface of your top plate but not sticking out down below when you insert it, which if the platform is sitting on a flat surface, will prevent that from happening.
Congratulations! Your Pyramid Platform is complete. I recommend leveling the table or counter top that it will be sitting on, if possible. If not, then align the platform first following the instructions on my Alignment page, and then level the platform after it has been aligned. I also recommend marking at least two of the corners either with masking tape or a pencil so that if it accidentally gets bumped, you will be able to easily realign it to its original orientation. Then place your pyramid on the platform using the diagonals to match up the four corners.
There are two methods to determine how much to rotate your top platform if you need to make micro-adjustments. You can simply calculate how much your top platform is rotated for each given unit of length, or you can calculate how far to move it for a given fraction of a degree. In my case, the distance from the center of my top plate to the nub cut is 16+7/8” (or 16.875”). I find it easier to simply know how much it rotates for each 1/16”. To calculate this, I simply divide 1/16/16.875, which is a very small number (0.0037). I then take the inverse tangent of that number to find the degrees, which is 0.212°. You will need a scientific calculator for this. There are free apps for this if there isn't already one on your phone. The inverse tangent usually looks like either INV TAN or TAN(-1) on a calculator. Because my 6” steel ruler goes down to 1/64” increments, I could make even smaller adjustments than 0.212° without the need for a digital caliper. But 1/32” increments is more than enough for my needs, which would simply be half of that, or 0.106°.
The other method is to calculate exactly how much you need to rotate the top block away from the bottom block for a certain fraction of a degree. Let's say that I wanted to rotate my top panel exactly 0.5°. To calculate that, I would first take the tangent (TAN) of 0.5, which is 0.00873. I would then multiply that number by my measured distance on my platform (16.875”) to get 0.147”. This method works best if you are using a digital caliper.
As a final thought, I want to say that using the tangent and inverse tangent methods above do not provide an exact calculation of the angles. To do that, you would need to use the Law of Cosines, which is a much more complicated calculation. But if you are not rotating your top panel by more than 10° (which I don't recommend in most cases), then the calculations using the above methods is better than 99% accurate, which is plenty for this purpose.
Happy experimenting...and may the results be ever in your favor!