Kirlian photography

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Kirlian photography refers to a form of contact print photography, theoretically associated with high-voltage. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who in 1939 accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is subjected to a strong electric field, an image is created on the plate.

Kirlian's work, from 1939 onward, involved an independent rediscovery of a phenomenon and technique variously called "electrography," "electrophotography," and "corona discharge photography." The underlying physics (which makes xerographic copying possible) was explored as early as 1777 by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Later workers in the field included Nikola Tesla; various other individuals explored the effect in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Yet Kirlian took the development of the effect further than any of his predecessors.

In controversial metaphysical contexts, Kirlian photography, Kirlian energy, and so on, are sometimes referred to as just "Kirlian." Kirlian made controversial claims that his method showed proof of supernatural auras, said to resemble a rough outline of the object like a colorful halo. One of the more striking aspects of Kirlian photography is its reputed ability to illuminate the acupuncture points of the human body. An experiment advanced as evidence of energy fields generated by living entities involves taking Kirlian contact photographs of a picked leaf at set periods, its gradual withering being said to correspond with a decline in the strength of the aura.

1 Research
2 Explanations
3 In popular culture
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Research

Kirlian proposed and promoted the idea that the resulting images of living objects were a physical proof of the life force or aura which allegedly surrounds all living beings. This claim was said to be supported by experiments by the Kirlians that involved cutting part of a leaf off —the Kirlian images of such leaves, it was said, still showed the leaves as whole, as though the cutting had never happened.

Researchers at Drexel University, however, have claimed that they were unable to reproduce the effect when the glass used to capture the original leaf was replaced with new glass before the freshly cut leaf was photographed, leading them to conclude that the "cut leaf" phenomenon was caused by microscopic etching in the surface of the glass which occurred during preparing the images of the uncut leaf. They also reported on a number of demonstrable causes such as surface moisture and pressure which can account for much of the variations in color, shape, and size of the resulting image.

In addition to living material, inanimate objects such as coins will also produce images on the film in a Kirlian photograph setup.

In the United states, Dr. Thelma Moss of UCLA devoted much time and energy to the study of Kirlian photography when she led the parapsychology laboratory at UCLA in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Polish scientist K. Wrona applied Kirlian photography in forensics, specifically dactyloscopy.

[edit] Explanations

The accepted explanation amongst scientists is that the images produced are those typically caused by a high voltage corona effect, similar to those seen from other high voltage sources such as the Van de Graaff generator or Tesla coil. In a darkened room, this is visible as a faint glow; but because of the high voltages, the film is affected in a slightly different way than usual. Color photographic film is calibrated to faithfully produce colors when exposed to normal light. The corona discharge has a somewhat different effect on the different layers of dye used to accomplish this result, resulting in various colors depending on the local intensity of the discharge.

Skeptics of the paranormal have long disputed the claims made concerning auras and Kirlian photography.

One of the most disputed studies was actually funded by the US army. During this study, scientist Joe Slate took Kirlian Photographs of the fingertips of both people claiming to be psychic vampires and those identified as their victims. Once the photographs developed they showed the "vampire's" auras to be large and fiery red, while those of their "victims" were smaller and mellow blue. Needless to say, this study is consistently contested.

[edit] In popular culture

One famous use of Kirlian photography in popular culture is a picture resembling a hand print in the title sequence of the U.S. science fiction TV series The X-Files.

The singer David Bowie revealed an interest in Kirlian photography in the mid-1970s. The concert programme from his 1976 Station to Station tour featured some results of the technique, and in 1975 Bowie claimed to have achieved markedly different results, using his fingertip and his crucifix, before and after he took cocaine.

In the movie Omen IV, Delia's babysitter, Jo, takes Delia to a psychic carnival where she and Delia had their picture taken with a Kirlian camera. The picture came out with Delia's dark and evil aura overtaking Jo's lighter, greenish aura.

The musical artist Benn Jordan's eighth album is titled Kirlian Selections, in reference to his electric-influenced music style.

In the comic book The Authority, team member Apollo is said to have a "Kirlian aura."

Illinois musician, Brandon Strong, has a song called Kirlian Electrography.

Kirlia, a species of psychic-type Pokémon, is named after Semyon Kirlian.