LIGHT FROM THE EDGE OF SCIENCE: THE STRANGE WORLD OF KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2014
• Sequence Number: 86
• Publication Date: September 29, 1973
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

.;) P W
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
er,
b d4) II16
tr14, ifek:611ii
Advances in quake prediction
Shift in world climate
End of longest space mission
se
?-e.
ia
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
Science focuses on
5
Mankind Research Unlimited
Light radiating from a fingertip.
William A. Tiller
corona discharge.
Miller: Radiation
202
Richard A. Miller
is gas emission.
a 'light of life'
Kirlian photography, controversial and poorly understood,
nevertheless could become a valuable diagnostic tool
by Lisa J. Shawver
"It May be a discovery as important
as Einstein's theory or it may be noth-
ing."
"Medicine, dentistry, criminology, geol-
ogy, agriculture, archaeology, forensic
medicine might all benefit from the
breakthrough."
"It may be a long time before we
understand the phenomenon revealed
but the promise is rich . . . we may
learn much about the invisible bio-
energy of organisms."
"The subject is unworthy of serious
investigation."
"It is a new frontier for investigation."
This wide range of comment con-
cerns a novel photographic process now
stirring controversy among American
scientists. Kirlian photography, invented
in 1939 by Russian researchers Semyon
and Valentina Kirlian and introduced
to the United States three years ago,
produces startling photographs of pul-
sating, multicolored lights streaming
from the human body and from plants.
Psychologists, psychiatrists, biologists
and physicists, as well as investigators
of psychic phenomena, are looking into
Kirlian photography (also known as
radiation-field photography) as a new
way of observing energy fields associ-
ated with living organisms.
Unusual experiments are being per-
formed throughout the United States
and Russia with remarkable claims be-
ing made?many based on little infor-
mation and attained under loosely con-
trolled experimental conditions. How-
ever, reputable American scientists are
now attempting to improve testing con-
ditions to better evaluate the phenom-
cm involved.
The subject poses frustrating pitfalls
for anyone attempting an objective, in-
dependent evaluation. Little of the re-
search has been published in the tradi-
tional scientific literature. Only a rela-
tively small number of scientists have
firsthand knowledge of it. Those who
are experimenting often seem to dis-
agree on even the most basic points.
And a certain amount of verbal gobble-
dygook ?by some of those who have
described experiments or presented
?theories has made it difficult to sort out
the legitimate scientific aspects from
more metaphysical matters. Neverthe-
less, there seems to be enough to the
subject to merit same serious attention.
The Kirlians report that their elec-
trophotographs show certain points on
the human body radiating light flares
more forcibly than the areas around
them and that these points correspond
exactly to the 741 acupuncture points
mapped out by the ancient Chinese.
It is also reported that they have pro-
duced photographs showing that a plant
is diseased before the physical symp-
toms of the disease appear.
Soviet investigator Victor Adamenko,
who has worked with the Kirlians for
many years, claims that he has been,
able to cut off as much as 10 percent
of a leaf and still produce a photograph
that shows light emanating not only
from the portion of the leaf remaining
but also from the missing section.
Adamenko suggests there are so many
energy sources in a leaf that cutting a
small section away does not significantly
reduce the ability of the leaf to main-
tain its energy pattern. American scien-
tists have been unable to obtain the
same result.
science news, vol. 104
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
_
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09 : CIA-R-DP79-00999A000200010086-1
t
? --4:C
rrs.'44 -
?
?-?'?.
;
*VP
?.9
Kirlian photo-
graph of leaf
taken with a
prolonged elec-
trical pulse.
Milner and Smart
In the United States, material scien-
tist William A. Tiller of Stanford Uni-
versity and medical psychologist Thelma
Moss of the University of California
in Los Angeles have produced photo-
graphs of freshly plucked leaves reveal-
ing light patterns surrounding the leaves
that become distorted if the leaves are
mutilated and gradually disappear as
the leaves die. They speculate that this
emanation may be a direct measure
of the life processes occurring within
a living organism.
Repeated experiments suggest that
light emanations around fingertips vary
with the emotional, physiological and
psychic state of the person being photo-
graphed. Moss has photographed the
fingertips .of a medical student btfore,
during and after the consumption of
17 ounces of bourbon. The emanations
around his fingertips became increasing-
ly brighter and rosier after each con-
secutive drink until he became "all lit
up" and, shortly thereafter, ill. This
experiment has been repeated by Tiller
and psychiatrist Gerald G. Jampolsky
of the Child Center in Kentfield, Calif.;
their results corroborate those of Moss.
More puzzling are photographs taken
of fingers of "faith healers"?persons
who claim they can cure illness by
touching others. Often the person being
treated by a healer reports a "heat"
sensation in the area of the body
touched. Pictures taken by Moss show
that the glow around the healer's fingers
is smaller than before healing, while
the patient's emanations increase in
size and intensity after healing. "It
should be emphasized," she says, "that
this phenemonon does not demonstrate
healing; it simply seems to reveal a
transfer of energy from healer to pa-
tient."
This is but a small sample of Kirlian
photography experiments going on in
the United States, Russia, and to a
lesser degree, in England and South
America. The simplicity and inexpen-
siveness of the Kirlian apparatus has
encouraged experimentation by bona
fide and amateur scientists alike.
In general, the American photo-
graphic *devices are modeled after the
Russian ones but differ from one an-
other in power source and experimental
range of voltage and frequency used.
In the simplest Kirlian device, the
object to be photographed is placed
on film between two metal plates to
which voltage is applied. For taking
pictures of a portion of the human
body only one electrode (metal plate)
RF PULSE
GENERATOR
ELECTRODES
50y. SPACE
DIELECTRIC SHEET
( exposed photographic film)
MECHANICAL
CLAMP
FILM (emulsion side
to object)
William A. Tille
In typical simple Kirlian device, the object is placed between two electrodes.
september 29, 1973
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09:
is needed since the body acts as a
ground. In other cases, a transparent
electrode is used, and the film is placed
outside the apparatus in a camera.
Often a Tesla coil is used with the
device; it is plugged into an electrical
outlet and in turn rigged to the metal
plates. The Tesla coil multiplies the.
voltage and the frequency of the elec-
tric field. If the current is of high
frequency, it travels over the surface
of objects rather than through them
and is thus safer to work with. The
exposure time depends on the film
speed and the strength of the discharge
current. When the current is turned
on, in a darkened room, rays of light
are readily seen issuing from the ob-
ject's edges. The light is recorded by
the film.
Radiation-field photography is not a
new discovery. It dates as far back as
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), the inventor
of the Tesla coil. With the coil, he
made photographs showing sparks
emanating from various parts of his
body. At the turn of the century, an
American and a Czech physicist also
experimented with electrography. Again
in the 1930's, American physicists
studied corona discharge. However,
little attention was paid to these photo-
graphs until the Kirlians accidently re-
discovered the process. Most earlier
scientists felt that they were dealing
purely with a corona discharge; the
Kirlians were the first to consider the
patterns of illuminescences as "life
activities."
"In living things," the Kirlians wrote,
"we see the signals of the inner state
of the organism reflected in the bright-
ness, dimness and color of the flares.
The inner life activities of the human
being are written in these 'light' hiero-
203
CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved
write these hieroglyphs. n to read
- -
them we're going to need71S1p."
American interest in radiation pho-
tography was triggered three years ago
by the appearance of the book "Psychic
Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain"
by Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroe-
der. Several American scientists (among
them Tiller; Moss; lawyer and inventor
Kendall L. Johnson; psychiatrist Mon-
tague Ullman, director of the Mai-
monidies Mental Health Center in
Brooklyn; and psychiatrist Stanley
Krippner, director of the Maimonidies
Dream Laboratory) found the accounts
of Russian psychic research interesting
enough to visit the Soviet Union and
observe at firsthand what was going
on. While there, they were given sche-
matic diagrams of the Kirlian apparatus
but were not allowed to actually see
one in operation. Upon their return to
the United States, several such devices
were built.
Also leading to the interest in radia-
tion photography is the current sym-
pathy in some quarters toward subjects
outside the areas of traditional science.
The discovery of the apparent validity
of ancient practices such as meditation
and acupuncture has opened many
minds to new ideas and broadened the
perspectives of scientific research. But
as to .the exact nature of the phenome-
non taking place in Kirlian photography
there is little agreement among scien-
tists.
Some ardent proponents of Kirlian
photography feel that the emanations
are none other than what ancient
theosophical 'teachings call the "astral
body," "energy body" or "aura" that
surrounds the physical body.
A Russian physicist and investigator
of Kirlian photography, Viktor In-
yushin, explains the phenomenon in
vitalistic terms. He believes the photo-
graphs reveal the "bioplasma body" of
an organism?a previously overlooked
state of matter made up of electrons
and other subatomic particles that sur-
round and intepenetrate living orga-
nisms. He states that it has specific
spatial organization, is polarized and
determines the form of the organism it
penetrates. He associates bioplasmic
energy with psychokinesis, acupuncture
and similar phenomena still unex-
plained.
Jane H. Hu, electrophysiologist and
director of research and education at
the Acupuncture Institute and Research
Center in Washington, says she is "very
interested" in Kirlian photography. "It
is direct evidence that shows the energy
circulation in the body that coincides
with the theories behind acupuncture
and meridians. Whether or not this is
an electrical or nonelectrical energy we
do not know."
Other investigators are attempting to
204
for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1
point of traditional Western scit...?,g.
Tiller says there is a "specific physi-
cal explanation called the streamer phe-
nomenon of corona discharge that can
account for all the observations made
to date."
Electrons, emitted from the object,
move to the positively charged plate.
By collison, they ionize the air mole-
cules. When the density of positive ions
is great enough, they attract the elec-
trons back to the positive ion cloud,
producing recombination events that
lead to the emitting of radiation. Nitro-
gen recombination gives rise to the
emission of light in the blue and ultra-
violet range. The light patterns thus
produced, vary with the distribution of
the electrical field which is in turn
influenced by the physiological state of
the person being photographed. The
physiological state is governed by the
emotional state. But he adds that al-
though there is a physical explanation
this does not mean that some unknown
type of energy may not be intimately
involved.
Richard Miller, a physicist and direc-
tor of research at the department of
paraphysics and parapsychology at the
Experimental College in Seattle, is not
convinced air ionization is the main
process involved in Kirlian photog-
raphy. He thinks the radiations are
related to the normal discharge of gases
from living organisms.
With photospectrometry, Miller and
his colleagues have looked at the emis-
sion lines coming off the human body
and have identified them as gases related
to the phenomenon of pheromones
(gases that contain communication sig-
nals, like odors). "Much human emo-
tional interaction could depend on the
exchange of pheromones," says Miller.
"Of course, this goes on at a subliminal
level?below the level of conscious
awareness."
"Gas emissions are functions of the
emotional state and are potential clues
to what goes on inside the head, and
may lead to accurate measure of human
responses and health state. The Kirlian
process gives us a handle to measure
these states," concludes Miller.
Both he and Tiller agree that careful
experimentation under well-controlled
conditions is needed to evaluate the
significance of the phenomenon. Says
Tiller: "We have not been sufficiently
careful experimentally in the past."
Though scientists do not clearly un-
derstand the phenomenon taking place
in Kirlian photography, many are ex-
cited about its applications.
"Whatever it is," Moss says, "I'm
interested in it because it reveals enor-
mous differences in energy states in
individuals and thus may have practical
applications for treating disea?es, alco-
holics, for psychotherapy and for study-
the
discovery of Kirlian photography to be
"as important as the invention of the
X-ray machine. X-rays show what goes
on inside the human body, Kirlian
photography reveals what goes on out-
side the body."
Jampolsky is planning to take photo-
graphs of ,fingertips of children to see
if he can determine when a child is
daydreaming or actually concentrating
on his books. He is also planning to
do some work with dying patients to
find how long emanations continue
after death and if the photographs will
reveal when a patient makes the un-
conscious decision to stop living. "Kri-
lian studies of persons in a hypnotic
state show that unconscious decisions
do affect the aura," he says.
Researchers James Hickman and
Larry Amos of Sonoma State College
in New Mexico are planning to take
photographs of fingertips of normal and
abnormal persons at a nearby mental
hospital. Preliminary studies with Kir-
lian photography, Hickman says, indi-
cate that it is possible to detect emo-
tid'hal disturbances.
Says Moss: "At this moment in time,
it is impossible to draw any conclusions
about this research, except one. What-
ever these pictures reveal?corona dis-
charge or bioplasma?the changes
which have been observed to occur in
organic materials demonstrate that a
most interesting, still undeciphered story
is being told. And there lies the chal-
lenge." 0
. . . earthquakes
lieve that the number of 'false alarms'
in predicting earthquakes may well be
small."
The elaborate theory may not be
precisely accurate, but, says one seis-
mologist, "even if it is wrong it is valu-
able. It gives us something to measure."
One factor in prediction will cer-
tainly be the amount of available in-
strumentation, particularly if there is
to be a practical prediction network
covering most of the seismically haz-
ardous areas in the United States, to
say nothing of other countries. The
only area now instrumented for any
appreciable number of precursors, says
Scholz, is Garm, which is equipped ?to
monitor pressure-wave velocity, local
seismicity, crustal uplifting and electri-
cal resistivity.
Among the most important tech-
niques now being developed to help
catch quakes napping, according to
Eaton, are ways of directly measuring
the general level of stress deep in the
rock. One approach, called pressure
packing, has already been used at the
Rangeley oil field in Colorado. A layer
of a plastic material is placed around
a hollow sleeve which is then inserted
science news, vol. 104
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010086-1