Kirlian photography is a high voltage, contact print process named after Semyon Davidovich Kirlian and his wife Valentina, who began their work in 1939. The field traces its roots to late 1700s researchers like Georg Christoph Lichtenberg and Nikola Tesla. While often associated with paranormal claims, such as detecting illness or the "phantom leaf" effect where cut leaf portions appear as ghostly apparitions, most observable phenomena have scientific explanations.
Stress and galvanic skin resistance changes, for instance, affect corona discharge visible in images without invoking metaphysical properties. The process requires sheet film and a metal plate; the object is placed on the film with a ground connection. High voltage is applied momentarily to record the discharge.
Although Soviet researchers reported successful phantom leaf results, reproducibility remains inconsistent. The technique can be adapted using a transparent electrode and standard camera, though the core process remains a contact print method without lenses. The article details equipment building and experimental observations regarding the controversial bio-plasma claims.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing