Experiment Name: The Balloon Experiment

Experimenter(s): Uncle Abdul

Date(s) Performed: June, 1999 and subsequent demos

Location(s) Performed: Mountain View, California; San Francisco, California; TES-30, New Jersey; San Jose, California; Charlotte, North Carolina

Experiment Purpose: To provide a simple to perform experiment demonstrating whether current from a Violet Wand travels over the surface of a body or through it. This directly addresses the "Skin Effect" claim of some players, i.e., the claim that Violet Wand currents travel over the surface of a body.

Theory: There are actually two conflicting Violet Wand current theories to be examined in this experiment.

The first theory¾ often called "Skin Effect" by its proponents¾ states that Violet Wand currents travel over the surface of a human body. Thus Violet Wands¾ the proponents claim¾ are 'safe' to use 'above the waist' because no current can travel through the heart. The basis of these proponents' claims is one of the following:

1. That Violet Wand operation is really an electrostatic generator. Hence all the electrons stay on the periphery of the body.
2. That electric power companies employ something called "Skin Effect" in high power transmission lines, so it must also exist in Violet Wand currents over the body.
3. That Violet Wands are high frequency devices that operate in the radio frequency (RF) range, and as such operate like antennas or microwave waveguides. Hence such RF currents travel over the surface of the body.

The second competing theory that I propose is that Violet Wand currents do indeed travel through a human body. (I'll address the 'through-the-heart' safety issue in the discussion on this experiment.) My basis is that the previous theoretical bases do not square with the physics and physiology for the Wand/Body interaction (see my article, "'Skin Effect': It doesn't apply in Violet Wands", on this website). The system is more like a capacitor (see JUICE, pages 55 to 61) wherein the body's insulating skin layer surrounding a conductive medium plus the intervening space to the ground plane (see JUICE, pages 46 to 48) is like a capacitor. The 'path of least resistance' to that ground plane must be through the body's conducting medium, i.e., through the body.

If I approximate a condition wherein an insulating surface surrounds a large interior void and then look at what happens if that void were filled with different media, then the competing theories can be compared. If the first theory were true, then a spark would jump from a Violet Wand to the insulating surface to ground regardless of what media was in the void. If there is a difference in whether a spark will jump dependent on the media within the void, then the second theory must be true.

Experimental Setup: This experiment requires some sort of grounding plane, insulated bags, a conductive media, and a properly working Violet Wand. First a bag is filled with just air, sealed, set on the ground plane, and have a Violet Wand bulb aimed toward the bag. The results would be recorded. This procedure is repeated this time with a bag filled with conducting medium.

Equipment Used:

1. 2 - plastic food storage ZipLock ä bags of 1-gallon capacity
2. 1 - metal cooking pot or fry pan.
3. 1 - properly operating Violet Wand
4. 1 - Violet Wand bulb
5. a/r - water (approximately 3 quarts)
6. 1/2 cup - table salt
7. a/r - spoons, mixing bowls, and measuring cups to mix and measure saline solution
8. a/r - paper or other toweling

Experimental Procedure:

1. With the Violet Wand unplugged or turned off insert a bulb. Turn the control up to maximum. Then turn on the Violet Wand. When you approach the pan or pot with the bulb, a spark should jump to the pan. Then turn the Violet Wand off.
2. Take one of the ZipLockä bags and inflate it by breathing into it. When fully inflated, seal the bag. Then place it into the pot or pan.
3. Turn on the Violet Wand and move the bulb towards the middle of the bag. The point you aim to on the bag should be sufficiently above the pan edge so that any spark jumps to the bag rather than the pan. Record the results. Turn off the Wand.
4. Remove the inflated bag from the pan. Prepare the second ZipLockä bag by placing the table salt into it. Then add water (approximately 3 quarts). Seal the bag and shake it so that the water dissolves the salt (thereby making a conductive solution). Wipe the outer surface of the bag so that the outer surface is dry. When so dried, place the bag into the pan.
5. Turn on the Violet Wand and move the bulb towards the middle of the bag. The point you aim to on the bag should be sufficiently above the pan edge yet below the water surface in the bag so that any spark jumps to the bag rather than the pan. Record the results. Turn off the Wand.

Experimental Results: When the experiment was performed using the procedures above, it was found that:

1. For the air inflated bag (see Step C above), no spark was observed.
2. For the salt water filled bag (see Step E above), a spark was observed.

Interpretation of Experimental Results: In accordance with the Theory section above, the following statement is the key to this interpretation:

Based on this statement and the results observed above, it can only be concluded that the second theory, i.e.,

has been demonstrated.

Discussion of Experimental Results: Looking at the conditions of the experiment, we can note the following:

1. The one gallon ZipLockä bag¾ when inflated or filled with a salt water solution¾ is approximately the size of the human head. Therefore it is a good dimensional approximation in the event part 3 of the first theory held true.
2. While the resistances of the ZipLockä bags are not the same as human skin, they are consistent within the parameters of the experiment.
3. The only difference between the two ZipLockä bags is the content.

Noting the observed results and considering point 3 above, even if the resistance of the ZipLockä bag is different from that of human skin, as long as we use the same type of container in parts C and E of the experiment, the resistance difference is nullified. The only difference remaining then is the contents of the bag.

Further amplification on the 'resistance difference' argument seems to beg the question. Why should the resistance of the insulating bag have any effect on the observed results? True if the bag's surface resistance was more conductive (made of say metal), the spark would jump to the bag. A conductive bag would then present the 'path of least resistance' to the Violet Wand current (spark). But the skin of a human body acts more like an insulator rather than a conductor. It also surrounds a conductive media. True it's not as conductive as an idealized salt water approximation, but it's conductive nonetheless. Thus the salt water filled ZipLockä bag is a good first approximation of a human body. And the results are dramatic enough that an insulating/conductive experimental setup more closely approximating that of a human body would not be expected to markedly affect the results.

Thus we can only conclude that the 'path of least resistance' in this experimental setup and hence for a human body that it approximates is through the conductive media, not around the insulating bag.

The Safety Issue¾ Violet Wand Current Through the Heart: With this demonstration that Violet Wand currents go through the body rather that over the surface of the skin, the immediate question is, "If that's the case, then does that mean that there may be a dangerous current going through the heart?"

This is indeed a good question. Unfortunately there is no pat or scientifically demonstrable answer. We can draw some inferences from related studies:

1. The magnitude of the current through the heart depends on the point of application of the spark and the main path through the body to the point(s) of egress. You can get some idea of what that means by looking at my experiment entitled, "Two Dimensional Modeling of Currents Within a Conducting Medium". It should be noted that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between that experiment and the actual situation where a Violet Wand is used on a human body.
2. While a Violet Wand probably doesn't generate a large enough signal in the Radio Frequency (RF) range, it does have higher frequency components possibly in the Audio Frequency (AF) range. In studies by Dalziel as to the frequency dependent sensitivities of body currents, it was generally found that the body is most sensitive to electric currents in the range of 25 to 100 Hz¾ the most often found power line frequencies. As there is a frequency distribution associated with the Violet Wand current, it can be presumed that the portion of the current within this sensitive frequency range is far lower that the total current magnitude.
3. Even though a Violet Wand generates voltages in excess of 100,000 volts AC, there is a whole series string of high resistances between that voltage source and the interior of a grounded human body. These resistances would include (but not be limited to) the following:

1. the plasma discharge in the bulb
2. the vacuum in the bulb
3. the glass of the bulb
4. the intervening air gap that the spark must jump across
5. the high resistance of the skin

What can be inferred here is that there may be some saving graces in Violet Wand play. While this has yet to be more adequately demonstrated scientifically, these considerations plus the anecdotal evidence that there aren't any reported instances of injury or death should point to the relative safety of Violet Wand play.

© by Uncle Abdul, 2001. No copies--hardcopy or electronic--may be made without expressed, written permission of the author. This material is presented for informational purposes only. In the nature of a textbook the author requests comments on omissions and errors that a reader may find contained herein. The author can be contacted at UncleAbdul@gMail.com.