Astro Hacker News - Kirlian Photography: Building Your Own Equipment

arjie |next [-]

The company is quite old! They have some old YouTube videos depicting how their stuff is used[0].

Some of their videos allude to kickstarter which made check! Kickstarter is 17 years old. Man, I remember the early days of it. Boy!

0: https://youtu.be/rAGSStsMuy4?is=fK-qhiPT4ITcbTld

gus_massa |root |parent [-]

I like this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX-rGLNSoFM more technical details in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRKIGhOJ5Ew

UI_at_80x24 |next |previous [-]

IIRC this was debunked as ...The plate/glass was not thoroughly cleaned between photos...

I.E. the leaf left residue on the glass.

Eridanus2 |root |parent |next [-]

It appears to be a form of DBD (dielectric breakdown discharge). Setting aside the para-physical claims, that aspect of it seems reproducible, as a fun science demo, at least.

gus_massa |root |parent [-]

I agree, the Kirian photography is real, but the GP is taking about the paranormal claims, in particular the torn leaf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirlian_photography#Torn_leaf_...

(Are the original photographs available somewhere? I found only bad modern photoshoped versions, and even a guy that made a debunking video and then his photos were repeated as confirmation evidence.)

Eridanus2 |root |parent [-]

Replications are available online, can't seem to spot any of the original material as of now. http://exo-science.com/phantomleaf.html (!!Woo-woo warning, just take what you need and exit stage!!).

Reverse search off above leads to "The Phantom Leaf Effect: A Replication, Part 1" "https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2013.0182". I have not had the time to examine the claims therein.

dvfjsdhgfv |root |parent |next |previous [-]

This is specifically addressed in the article, at length.

47282847 |root |parent |previous [-]

I consider it a given that any living organism radiates (heat) energy: there is constant energy and matter exchange with its surroundings; a foundational aspect of life. I consider it at least a possibility that by looking at this radiation, you can find correlations between balanced “health” (new age speak: intact Aura), and potential imbalances, and thus that it may work as a diagnostic tool.

jstanley |root |parent [-]

You can measure someone's temperature to find out if they have a fever, is that the kind of thing you're suggesting?

47282847 |root |parent [-]

Did you ever touch a human body and noticed that its temperature feels different in different regions? Even, say, down one arm? That’s what I was referring to; not core temperature.

_Microft |root |parent |next [-]

They do that for professional athletes but they use thermal cameras for that and look for asymmetries in the left and right side of the body. That seems to give a clue about inflammations. They look for differences as low as 0.1°C iirc. Take all that with a grain of salt because I heard very little about it.

buildsjets |root |parent |previous [-]

As a sufferer of psoriatic arthritis, I am painfully aware of this phenomenon.

47282847 |root |parent [-]

Out of curiosity: did you ever try a craniosacral biodynamics treatment session, and if yes, how was it for you?

visiohex |next |previous [-]

[flagged]

JKCalhoun |previous [-]

"Kirlian's work was first made known to the general public in this country by a book published in 1970 by Shelia Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder titled "Psychic discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain""

Ha ha, the psychic 70's. And U.F.O.s, biorhythms…

(Loved the 1970's)

2b3a51 |root |parent |next [-]

And Rupert Sheldrake later in that decade with his theory of morphic resonance.

His son Merlin Sheldrake has written a book about fungi called Entangled Life which is quite sensible and doing very well. I noticed that the book was very carefully referenced with detailed end-notes, some like mini-essays with references to papers by a wide range of authors. These notes comprise about a third of the word count of the book. Unusual in a popsci book of this kind. I can't help thinking that this approach might be a reaction to Sheldrake senior's writings and the reaction to them.

OA is a nice Web site with practical information on what could be an interesting art-practice.

JSR_FDED |root |parent |next |previous [-]

The book Superlearning (also by Shelia Ostrander) made a big impression on me as a high schooler. The idea of using rhythms, music, relaxation to shift one’s brain into a highly receptive state to learn and memorize was super compelling.

Eridanus2 |root |parent |previous [-]

(Loved the 1970's) I concur, Sir.

An aside: Arthur C. Doyle toured US to sumptuous throngs lecturing on consciousness, the spirit realm and seances in 1920s-ish, iirc. Someone alive in 1970 might have had recollections of that coverage/seen ACD in person and would be in a position to pass on the whiff of ether to an younger generation: hungry for transcendence and shedding of burdens.