Retooling Paranormal Technology
Monday March 31, 2008 8:13 AM
Very few tools of the ghost-hunter's trade were made expressly for sensing the presence of spirits. As with gauss meters and thermographic cameras, the vast majority of gadgets that are currently used in the paranormal field were developed for much more mundane work. One of the biggest reasons for this is the experimental nature of paranormal work. In addition, although most ghost-hunters agree that spirits are comprised of energy, no one has yet hit upon a specific frequency where they show up the best.
This situation presents an amazing opportunity for the inventive ghost-hunter. New technology is being produced every year by individuals with backgrounds in electronics or other sciences. But why break with tradition by completely reinventing the wheel? There are a vast number of ready-made sensing devices that, like the standard EMF reader, are already being used to pick up fluctuations in heat, light, pressure, and other atmospheric variables. It simply remains for someone to apply them to the field of paranormal research in order to see if spirits and other phenomenon can influence these fine-tuned instruments as well.
One example of possible para-tech is the scintillometer. Have you ever seen the shimmer of heat on a distant patch of road on a hot summer's day? This device reads that shimmer, called a scintillation. The effect is caused by variations in temperature, humidity and pressure between the surface of the earth and the air directly above it. The device also enables scientists to measure something known as "sensible heat" — the transfer of heat that occurs between the atmosphere and the earth's surface. This is not an indoor device — the scintillometer measures atmospheric fluctuations over miles — but the data it collects may nevertheless have paranormal applications.
Given the influence that spirits have been known to have upon ambient temperature, most notably in the form of cold spots, this device could have an application within the paranormal field. What sort of anomalous readings might a scintillometer be capable of picking up if its target area included a haunted battlefield or even the reported landing site of a UFO? Only those willing to explore the very cutting edge of paranormal technology — and freely pillage tech from other disciplines — may ever know.
