Kirlian photography: Encyclopedia - Kirlian photography

Kirlian photography

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.

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.

Kirlian photography - 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.

Kirlian photography - Notables

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

See also

• Aetherometry
• Aura
• Qi
• Qigong

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Kirlian photography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki