In its
original form, Kirlian photography was a form of contact print
photography associated with a high-voltage coronal discharge
however; in recent years Kirlian video and CCD photos have evolved
from the old-school contact print method. Kirlian photography
allegedly depicts the aura surrounding the human body or parts of
the body. This bioelectric field is not ordinarily visible to most
people unless they are some of the genuine few who have the psychic
gift to see auras.
The photographic technique is
named after the man who discovered it: Semyon Davidovich Kirlian
(1898- 1979). In 1939 Kirlian made the accidental discovery that
when an object on a photographic plate is subjected to a strong
electric field, an image is created on the plate. After many more
experiments he and his wife Valentina made claims that his method of
high-voltage photography showed proof of the human auras which they
described as resembling a rough outline of the object in the form of
colorful “electric streamers.”
It may have been that Kirlian,
an electrical engineer by trade, could have been inspired by and
taken interest in the study of unusual natural phenomena when Nikola
Tesla (July 9, 1856 – January 7, 1943) held a university lecture in
Yekaterinodar in 1917 just before the Bolshevik revolution in that
same year. No matter what the source of his inspiration may have
been, Kirlian believed he was on to something big.
How Does It Work?
The principle of Kirlian
photography is to capture the coronal discharge phenomenon that
takes place when an electrically grounded object discharges current
between itself and an electrode generating an electrical field. When
this discharge is captured on film it gives the appearance of an
electrostatic discharge. The Kirlian photographic process requires a
high-voltage, high-frequency, alternating current supply, such as a
Tesla coil, to work properly. During the photographic procedure, an
object or body part, such as a person's hand, is placed on
photographic paper or film in an apparatus that generates a
high-voltage, low-amperage, high-frequency electric current.
The resulting photo shows an electrical discharge or “halo” that
surrounds the outline of the object. The intensity of these “halos”
can be affected by temperature, moisture, pressure, or other
environmental factors.
The Kirlian Effect
The Kirlian Effect, made
visible by Kirlian photography, is the electro-photonic glow of an
object in response to a pulsed electrical field. The magnitude of
the excitation in the field is adjusted to induce the “avalanche
effect” in the gas surrounding the object. The avalanche effect
amplifies the response of the object so that it can be observed as a
visible glow. This effect had been observed by Nicola Tesla and
other scientists late in 19th century, but it was named after Semyon
Kirlian who brought to the fore in 1939. The Kirlian effect, also
known as Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV), dates back to 1777 when
G.C. Lihtenberg in Germany recorded electrical discharges in the
dust created by static electricity. Later, this effect called
“electrical streamer phenomenon” or
“coronal discharge” would be studied and understood as a Meissner
field.
The basic idea of GDV is about
the same as Kirlian’s and can be explained in the same way. The
purpose of GDV is to create an electromagnetic field using a high
voltage, high frequency, low amperage generator. After the threshold
voltage is exceeded the ionization of the gases around the object
takes place and the side effect is a quanta of light where photons
are emitted. The process is similar to the one which occurs in
nature when electrical conditions in the atmosphere produce
electroluminescent auras such as St. Elmo's fire.
A Form of Trickery?
At nearly every New Age
festival you can find commercially minded people who will ask you to
pay for a “photo of your Aura.” Unfortunately most of so-called
“aura cameras” use a photographic trick called a photo-montage to
create an illusion of the Aura. These cameras have light source(s)
inside, which illuminate the film indirectly. The internal lights
are controlled by a simple measurement of skin resistance. Although
skin resistance is directly related to our emotional state it has
nothing to do with an image of an aura vibration or discharge. Any
camera that produces overexposed images that are being called
“auras” is a pure FAKE. Unfortunately, most crooks call it “Kirlian”
in spite of the fact that such photos have absolutely noting to do
with the Kirlian effect.
True Kirlian photos are real
and the accepted explanation amongst most scientists is that the
images that are produced are those which are typically caused by a
high voltage coronal 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 effect is visible as a faint glow on the
surface of the skin or object being photographed; but because of the
high voltages that are involved; the film being used in the camera
is affected in a slightly different way than usual. Color
photographic film is calibrated to faithfully produce colors and
images when exposed to the normal spectrum of visible light,
however, the coronal discharge of the Kirlian Effect has a somewhat
different effect on the layers of dye in the film, which would
explain the various colors in the photo. The visible coronal
discharge effect of the photograph is directly related to the local
intensity of the electrons being discharged by the object being
photographed.
