Posted by rod on February 1, 2004, at 10:27:13
In reply to Re: megahertz in your diet, posted by MegaFrank on January 31, 2004, at 23:17:59
There are many people who think the same way I do:
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may97/863469514.Ot.r.html
"...no good evidenced has been
produced that it is any better at predicting health than a simple guess..."
http://www.theness.com/pseudo.html"...A team of physicists and psychologists at Drexel University has spent some years studying the Kirlian effect, and has concluded that the major determinant in a Kirlian photograph is the amount of moisture present on the object or skin..."
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The New England Skeptical Society
Encyclopedia of Skepticism and the Paranormal
Kirlian photographyDescription
In 1961, Semyon Davidovitch Kirlian and Valentina Kirliana published a paper in the Russian Journal of Scientific and Applied Photography in which they described for the first time the process now known as Kirlian Photography. The method consists of placing an object or body part directly onto a piece of photographic paper and then passing a high voltage across the object (part of what makes the apparatus complicated, especially when using a human subject, is ensuring a high voltage with a low current). What the Kirlians discovered is that the photographic paper will become exposed and will show a glowing ‘aura’ around the object.Experimenters with Kirlian photography have created many colorful and beautiful images. The images are often associated with the objects’ ‘aura’, which is supposed to be a product of ‘bioenergy’ or ‘bioplasma.’ Kirlian photographers claim that different moods and levels of psychic power will show up in these photos. There are several examples of leaves from which a piece has been removed showing the ‘aura’ of the full leaf in a Kirlian photograph (the so-called phantom leaf effect). A great deal of research has been done by Dr. Thelma Moss of UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, and her former student, Kendall Johnson. Their conclusions are that Kirlian photography is a window onto the world of ‘bioenergy’, and they and others have linked Kirlian Photography to telepathy, orgone energy, N-rays, acupuncture, ancient eastern religions, and other paranormal phenomena. They also tout the possibility that Kirlian photography can provide early medical diagnoses of a variety of ailments. Moss and Johnson believe that the Kirlian photography actually depicts a heretofore invisible ‘astral body,’ while others believe that it is a merely an electrical effect that is somehow sensitive to psychic states.
The Skeptical Viewpont
There is no doubt that Kirlian photographs themselves are not fakes; they are photographing something, the question is exactly what are they capturing. The most likely explanation, one that is accepted even by many psychic believers, is that the effect is a kind of ‘Corona Discharge.’ Corona discharge is responsible for regular lightning, the sparks that come off your fingers after you walk on a carpet, and St. Elmo’s fire, among other effects. Nikola Tesla used to introduce new discoveries at presentations at which his body would glow and sparks would fly from his fingertips, using a similar technique.A team of physicists and psychologists at Drexel University has spent some years studying the Kirlian effect, and has concluded that the major determinant in a Kirlian photograph is the amount of moisture present on the object or skin. It is certainly plausible that different moods and stresses might create different amounts of moisture on the fingertips (for instance). This is the basis of the lie detector. Phantom leaf effects, on the other hand, are very rare – the Drexel team has never produced one, but they theorize a number of possibilities, including residue on the photographic plate and coincidence, not to mention the possibility of outright fraud in some cases.
Overall, although Kirlian photography is not perfectly understood, there is no evidence that variations in Kirlian photographs are due to any paranormal effects. The Drexel team has created a list of 25 factors that can effect a Kirlian photograph, including attributes of the skin, recent physical activity, and, yes, mental stress. All of them effect the amount of moisture on the skin. As for the medical possibilities of Kirlian photography, they are often overestimated. Variations have many causes, but it is very difficult to determine those causes from looking at a photograph – many of the known causes create exactly the same Kirlian variations.
References:
Davis, Mikol, and Lane, Earle, Rainbows of Life (Harper Colophon, 1978)
Moss, Dr. Thelma, The Probability of the Impossible (Plume, 1974)
Science and the Paranormal, edited by Barry Singer and George O. Abell, (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1981)
The Skeptic Dictionary - http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/btcarrol/skeptic/kirlian.html-------------------------------------
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/kirlian.html"...scientific investigators have shown that Kirlian effects depend on physical factors that are well understood..."
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Kirlian Photography
Stephen Barrett, M.D.Kirlian photography allegedly depicts the body's "aura," a so-called "human energy field" that is said to be not ordinarily visible. During the procedure, the object, such as a person's hand, is placed on a photographic emulsion within an apparatus that generates a high-voltage (15,000 to 100,000 volts), low-amperage, high-frequency electric current. The resulting photo shows a fuzzy glow surrounding the outline of the object. Proponents correlate these patterns with acupuncture meridians and claim that "auric" qualities reveal changes in health and emotional state. Kirlian photography has also been claimed useful for demonstrating changes before and after chiropractic spinal manipulation. However, scientific investigators have shown that Kirlian effects depend on physical factors that are well understood.
Kirlian photography is named after Semyon Davidovich Kirlian (1900-1980), a Russian electrician who observed that an electric spark can "take its own picture" as it passes through a photographic emulsion. This phenomenon had been well known to physicists and electrical engineers since the earliest days of photography. But in 1939, Kirlian proclaimed that he was photographing a supernatural human energy field.
The Kirlian photographic process requires a high-voltage, high-frequency, alternating current supply. The basic process -- a corona discharge phenomenon -- occurs when an electrically grounded object discharges sparks between itself and an electrode generating the electrical field [1]. Two set-ups can be used to take Kirlian photographs. In the first, one end of the circuit is attached to an electrode above a piece of film, the other to an identical electrode below the piece of film. The second method involves grounding one electrode of the power supply and placing a dielectric slab on the other. A piece of film is then placed on the slab. Any object placed between two films in the first method, or on the film in the second method, will produce a beautiful photograph as "streamers" of charged particles leave any "bumpy" features of the object and pass through the film [2].
Kirlian himself did not understand the involved science. To him, the "fuzzy" field surrounding any object was a photograph of its "aura." He was ignored by Russian scientists, but during the early 1960s the Russian press and popular magazines promoted him as a "great discoverer." American and European journalists and pseudoscientists flocked to see him and returned home ready to "study the aura" and "probe the bioenergy field."
Kirlian photography is alleged to detect all types of disease (even before physical signs appear) and emotional states. Many "energy healers," "clairvoyants," and other occult practitioners still rely on it today. "Supernaturally gifted" people are claimed to generate unusually dramatic photos. However, scientific investigation has found that the outcome depends on the type of film, the voltage, the skin resistance (which can be affected by perspiration and the amount of pressure of the finger on the film), how well the subject is electrically grounded, the humidity of the room, the exposure time, the photographic development time, and even the order of the photograph in a series [3,4]. Moreover, coins and water droplets can generate Kirlian "auras" as effectively as living things. In fact, at least 22 physical, chemical, and photochemical characteristics can influence the coronal discharges seen in Kirlian photos.
References1. Guiley RE. Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience. San Francisco: Harper, 1991, pp 313-315.
2. Coker G. Kirlian photography and the "aura." ASTOP fact sheet, 1983.
3. Watkins AJ, Bickel WS. A study of the Kirlian effect. The Skeptical Inquirer 10:244-257, 1986.
4. Watkins AJ, Bickel WS. The Kirlian technique: Controlling the wild cards. The Skeptical Inquirer 13:172-184, 1989.
------------------------------------------These were just the first 2 pages of my google search.
> By the way, in case you aren't really sure what you're talking about:Hey, I am sure what I am talking about. Since I study at university that has someting to do with electricity and physics. I just believe in facts, not fiction.
greetings
Roland
poster:rod
thread:305294
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040110/msgs/308077.html