Kirlian photography

Kirlian photography is a collection of photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharges. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who, in 1939, accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a high-voltage source, an image is produced on the photographic plate.The technique has been variously known as'electrography','electrophotography','corona discharge photography' (CDP),'bioelectrography','gas discharge visualization (GDV)','electrophotonic imaging (EPI)', and, in Russian literature, 'Kirlianography'. Kirlian photography is a collection of photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharges. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who, in 1939, accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a high-voltage source, an image is produced on the photographic plate.The technique has been variously known as'electrography','electrophotography','corona discharge photography' (CDP),'bioelectrography','gas discharge visualization (GDV)','electrophotonic imaging (EPI)', and, in Russian literature, 'Kirlianography'. Kirlian photography has been the subject of scientific research, parapsychology research and art. Paranormal claims have been made about Kirlian photography, but these claims are unsupported by the scientific community. To a large extent, it has been used in alternative medicine research. In 1889, Czech B. Navratil coined the word 'electrography'. Seven years later in 1896, a French experimenter, H. Baraduc, created electrographs of hands and leaves. In 1898, Polish-Belarusian engineer Jakub Jodko-Narkiewicz demonstrated electrography at the fifth exhibition of the Russian Technical Society. In 1939, two Czechs, S. Pratt and J. Schlemmer published photographs showing a glow around leaves. The same year, Russian electrical engineer Semyon Kirlian and his wife Valentina developed Kirlian photography after observing a patient in Krasnodar hospital who was receiving medical treatment from a high-frequency electrical generator. They had noticed that when the electrodes were brought near the patient's skin, there was a glow similar to that of a neon discharge tube.