Corona Glow of Kilrian Photography

To evaluate the above statement, we should briefly review the knowledge about corona glow and compare this physical process with the Kirlian effect.

Corona glow is a discharge phenomenon caused by the movement of electrons. This phenomenon occurs on a small scale when a high-intensity electric field exists in the gas. Light appears during this discharge, but is not necessarily accompanied by sparks. The cause of discharge is that some atoms or molecules that make up the gas are ionized, that is, the atoms or molecules are deprived of one or several electrons. When ionization occurs, free electrons are created, which flow through the gas creating an electric current; this electric current usually follows the path of highest conductivity (least resistance). If these free electrons collide with the atoms that make up the gas, they will share their energy with them and excite them. The excited atoms will then radiate the energy in the form of light quanta, forming a visible glow.

In the physical world, such discharges accompanied by glow or sparks include: lightning, St. Elma's Fire (a strange light group that appears on the top of a ship's mast and is occasionally seen by sailors), high voltage The corona that sometimes appears around power lines, the neon lights, the sparks that appear when you walk across a carpet to touch a metal doorknob on a dry winter day, to name a few.

As a physical process, corona glow has been known for many years, although there is still some way to fully understand it. Until now, research on the Kirlian effect has been conducted with the help of techniques that generate corona glow by applying a high voltage between the object being photographed (the subject) and an electrode.

It can be seen from the circuit diagram in Figure 13. When performing Kirlian photography, an experimental object (such as a fingertip) is connected to one end of the open part of the circuit to form an electrode; an insulator is placed between the other electrode - a metal plate - and the photographic plate. Usually a piece of glass about half an inch thick. The subject (fingertip) is positioned above the negative.

When a brief current (a series of electrical pulses lasting nearly one second) is input into the circuit, an electric field is generated near the fingertip acting as an electrode, and the arc of the electric field changes with the The distance between the finger and the film decreases rapidly as the distance between the finger and the film increases. The electric field ionizes the gas around the fingertip.