III: Bioelectric fields, Auras and Kirlian photography

An Introduction

In this entry we will discuss our body's electromagnetic field and how it can be disturbed by external interactions and even photographed using Kirlain photography. I will also discuss the idea of an aura, its manifestation and people's apparent ability to register these auras with the human eye. This will be the final entry in the series. If you have heard or read them all i hope you have gained something from them, and I hope you will go into the world with an open mind.

The Human nervous system

Our nervous system contains two types of cells, the neurons and the glial cells. Neurons allow the transmission of electrical and chemical signals to various parts of the body and glial cells maintain homeostasis (so basically they act like glue). So what does this have to do with the bioelectric field? Well when electricity is passed through a conductive wire it creates a magnetic field. Similarly, when the neuron passes an electrical signal to another cell it also creates a magnetic field. Our brains contain approximately 100 billion neurons, all generating magnetic fields as they pass electrical signals through the body. Take a multimeter and place it across any two points on the body; you will read an electric potential, this means there is the potential for energy to move across the surface of the skin. I'm not saying these interactions or the electric potential of the skin is proof of auras but there is certainly evidence of a net effect of these electrical interactions on the exterior of the body that I feel merits further investigation.

Kirlian photography

This leads me to my next topic which is that of Kirlain photography. Semyon Kirlain was a Russian inventor and researcher who stumbled on a set of techniques now known as Kirlain photography. In one such technique he found that by placing an object on a photographic plate with a high frequency electric potential he could create images of the objects on the plates from their inherent coronal discharges. For many years people believed Kirlain had the ability to observe the human aura and even photograph the human soul, however in his remarkably long life of 80 years Kirlain never produced suitable evidence to support such claims.

The aura

An aura is defined as a radiant glow emanating from all living things. It is believed in some circles that certain individuals have the ability to see auras with the human eye. Many would dismiss this as pure nonsense but there is some evidence supporting such claims. In my first entry we spoke about the photo-receptor cells of the eye. These cells are divided into two categories: The rods, which control night vision and peripheral vision and the cones which control colour. We are all born with 3 types of cones, one for red, one for blue and one for green which represent the primary colours of the light spectrum. (Yellow is not a primary colour in science because it can be made up of green and red light). However, some people are born with a forth type of cone. These cones are capable of registering a large portion of the ultraviolet spectrum with the brain assigning a colour to each new shade of Ultraviolet. So one explanation for these so called auras could be that some individuals simply have the tools of reason required to comprehend what lies outside the realm of comprehension for a normal person. This mutation is called Tetrachromacy and has been well documented among the scientific community. Below is a picture of the wavelengths of light which are absorbed by the cones of an eye with the mutation.

Absorbance vs wavelength for an eye with Tetrachromacy

Conclusion

To quote William Butler Yeats "The world is full of magic things, waiting patiently for our senses to grow sharper" I hope you enjoyed these pieces and I hope you have taken something away from them. The world truly is a wondrous place and a denizen would do well to remember that reality is subject to interpretation and the prevailing interpretation is not always one of truth but one of power.