Invention and Engineering

Kirlian photography

Kirlian photography is a collection of photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharges. It is named after Soviet inventor and researcher of Armenian descent 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(l) 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 rejected by the scientific community. To a large extent, it has been used in alternative medicine research.

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See also

• ▸Education in the Soviet Union
• ▸Cinema Arts Centre
• ▸GWR No. 12

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