Strange! Humans Glow in Visible Light

[Kadie]

Strange! Humans Glow in Visible Light

Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.com charles Q. Choi
special To Livescience
livescience.com – Wed Jul 22, 10:32 am ET

The human body literally glows, emitting a visible light in extremely small quantities at levels that rise and fall with the day, scientists now reveal.

Past research has shown that the body emits visible light, 1,000 times less intense than the levels to which our naked eyes are sensitive. In fact, virtually all living creatures emit very weak light, which is thought to be a byproduct of biochemical reactions involving free radicals.

(This visible light differs from the infrared radiation - an invisible form of light - that comes from body heat.)

To learn more about this faint visible light, scientists in Japan employed extraordinarily sensitive cameras capable of detecting single photons. Five healthy male volunteers in their 20s were placed bare-chested in front of the cameras in complete darkness in light-tight rooms for 20 minutes every three hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for three days.

The researchers found the body glow rose and fell over the day, with its lowest point at 10 a.m. and its peak at 4 p.m., dropping gradually after that. These findings suggest there is light emission linked to our body clocks, most likely due to how our metabolic rhythms fluctuate over the course of the day.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090722/sc_livescience/strangehumansglowinvisiblelight

[NOW tense]

1. Soul Shine n/t

[FSogol]

2. Dude! Have you ever really looked at your hands?

:crazy:

[zipplewrath]

3. Auras

So are these the auras that some psychics claim to "see"?

[redqueen]

6. Same thing I was wondering. (nt)

[napoleon_in_rags]

10. What if there are internal states that dramatically increase the effect?

Kinda makes you wonder....


edit: notice the majority of photons coming from the head in the OP pictures...

[omega minimo]

15. Why did you say "see"?

[zipplewrath]

27. Vague expression

The expression "to see" has variable definitions based upon the context. Not everyone claims to sense the auras with their eyes necessarily, or at least with out some sort of aid.

[Seldona]

25. Unless their eyes are 1000 times more sensitive than the typical human,

it is unlikely.

[zipplewrath]

28. Alternately sensitive

I'd guess it would be more a case of being sensitive to levels and wavelengths that the rest of us have no sensitivity at all.

[omega minimo]

31. Even a sensitivity that can vary at times in the individual and/or be developed.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Uh, natural consequence of blackbody radiation, anyone?

:shrug:

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. Doesn't look like it

because the emission varies considerably, and the minute variation in skin temperature wouldn't be able to have that much effect. It says "this is not infrared radiation from body heat", and I think the scientists would have thought of the short wavelength tail of any blackbody radiation - and so would the editors and reviewers.

[BlooInBloo]

5. (shrug) I missed what's strange about this...

We emit infrared light. It's not surprising that we would also emit light of other frequencies, at other intensities.

That's what spectrum analyzers are for.


EDIT: Here's what WOULD be surprising: if people emitted light at ONLY one EXACT frequency, and at no others. That would be very strange.

[kenfrequed]

29. Uhm...

The article was stating that we emit absolutely minute quantities of visible light, NOT infared radiation. Emit or generate amounts of light which is not the same as reflecting light.

Now as to an explanation it is probably related a chemical interraction produced by body heat. Free radicals or some kind of rogue oxydization seems likely.

[SoCalDem]

7. Whew.. I thought Boehner might have bought the Krylon Fluorescent spray tan, by mistake

:rofl:

[billyoc]

8. wha-

:spray: :rofl:

[catbyte]

9. WOW!

That looks just like me when I get a hot flash!! :rofl:

Diane

Anishnabe and Proud

FREE LEONARD PELTIER

[TahitiNut]

11. We've known this for a long time. It was even shown in the movie 'Predator.'

:dunce:

[Joe the Liberal]

12. Except for Cheney.....

Who emits a dark evil aura that sucks in light like a vacuum.

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Kirlian photography

The underlying physics (which makes xerographic copying possible) was explored as early as 1777 by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (see Lichtenberg figures). Later workers in the field included Nikola Tesla; various other individuals explored the effect in the later 19th and early 20th centuries.




achieved with kirlian photography

interesting post

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

14. George Bush previously conducted these experiments - when he set his farts on fire

at frat parties. He emitted lots of light.

[optimal-tomato]

16. This is awesome...

...but what's with all the posts trying to connect this to psychic/religious nonsense? It's a thousand times dimmer than a human can see. Damn! Stop trying to twist legitimate science into something it isn't.

[Norrin Radd]

18. Lighten up.

Ahahahahahahh!

[omega minimo]

19. Humans can see it. The measurements are miniscule. Doesn't mean the light is.

[Why Syzygy]

20. :rofl:

:rofl: So that's the ticket! I have wondered how skeptics will deal when science finally catches up with what mystics have always known. You showed me! :rofl:

Psst: We live in a quantum universe too!

[Forkboy]

17. Chernobyl not included.

[Sirveri]

22. Actually Chernobyl would be included.

All humans have trace ammounts of radioactive material in their body, all of it emits energy on varying spectrums.

[Forkboy]

24. Nothing ruins a joke like a science geek.

;)

[omega minimo]

30. We are electromagnetic beings. How do some scientists overlook this?

[Papa Boule]

21. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. n/t

[wroberts189]

23. very interesting nt