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Quest for Dicyanin
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Kilnascrene aura goggles, made by Harry Boddington, circa 1937 What's the Deal with Dicyanin & Dr. Kilner?Dr. Walter Kilner was a distinguished British physician in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who became one of the first radiologists in practice. In 1911, he published The Human Atmosphere, a book about his experiences and observations using a certain coal tar dye to enhance the ability to see the human aura. The book was reissued in 1921, shortly after his death, as The Human Aura, and remains today one of the best collections of detailed, candid observations of the aura available in the West. Seeing the aura & techniques on how to enhance that ability are near to my own heart, as I can see the auric field around people and magical objects to a certain degree. It is clear to anyone who is an experienced Witch, Magician, or Occultist, that being able to sense what we call the aura is a vital ability, whether those sensations are interpreted by the brain and mind as visual or otherwise. This ability allows one to deal with the Inner forces directly, with no intermediaries or reflectors (such as Tarot cards, Rune sticks, etc.) Beyond that audience, if it were possible to offer definite, physical, reproducible proof of the existence of the human aura, there would be a revolution in scientific thinking about our own nature, the nature of the Universe, and our place within it. Not only that (as if that weren't enough!,) there would be vast areas of research and understanding open to us that are now closed. What good is seeing the aura? What good is a microscope? So I have been seized with a powerful desire to reproduce, at least in part, the experiments of Dr. Kilner, and see for myself if the use of his materials can indeed improve or induce auric vision. To start, we must positively identify the materials the Dr. Kilner used, and then work on obtaining samples of the same, if they exist. Research TopicsThese items must all be solved or answered to fully explore the problem of using dye screens to see the human aura. Dye CandidatesKilner referred to the dye he used in his aura experiments as "Dicyanin". Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the actual name of the material; more likely, it was a commercial trade name under which the dye was sold.Color dyes are described by the International Colour Index, published by the Society of Dyers and Colourists , a surprisingly closely held book. Apparently, the New York Public Library has one, but the Boston Public Library does not. It is possible to subscribe to an online version of this today, but it is quite costly, being 285 pounds / year, or 500 pounds flat fee for the Heritage Edition (DVD.) Boston University's Mugar Library has one, as does M.I.T's Barker Library.Luckily, I was able to obtain a 1924 copy (the inaugural edition) by using ABEbooks . This worked well, as Kilner's original book on The Human Aura was published in 1911, so the nomenclature in the 1924 ICI should apply.Doing web searches, I suspected that Kilner's material was really called Dicyanine A, which is available today as a biological stain and photographic material. Using the 1924 ICI, I was able to quickly verify that Dicyanine A is listed as dyestuff #811. Another material mentioned in the Forward to Kilner's book, Pinacyanol, is listed as dyestuff #808. The 1924 ICI also has a Trade Name Index. Using this, I verified that "Dicyanine" was registered as a trade name for Dicyanine A; however there is no entry for "Dicyanin"; it is probably pedantic to object overmuch to the dropped "e". I have found no evidence that a Dicyanine B was ever produced, despite Mr. Bagnall's statement to the contrary, [Bagnall, Human Aura, pg 49.] The ICI of 1924 does not list the B isomer. Neither does it appear in any article in the reports archive of the Society of Dyers and Colourists , although Dicyanine A does. There is no entry for Dicyanine B in ChemExper, but there is for Dicyanine A; indeed, a search using "dicyanin" in ChemExper only yields the A isomer. ChemExper rocks!SolventsAlthough I was convinced that the most likely solvent that Dr. Kilner used was surgical (ethyl) alcohol, it now appears that methyl alcohol is significantly better. At least, pinacyanol bromide solves very well in methyl alcohol, giving colors which match (thus far) those in antique aura goggles. Therefore pinacyanol bromide solved in methyl alcohol is the basis of the first complete public formulation for working aura goggles, (please see below.) See this page for the complete saga of the search for solvents. Whether Dr. Kilner used methyl alcohol to solve dicyanine A is a separate question. Future research may answer that question. Viewing CellA practical viewing cell is essential for working with dye mixtures. The best ready-made solution I have found is the Starna Cell 35-PX-10 pyrex spectrophotometry cell. They are circular, 10mm thick, 50mm across, spout with stopper, polished sides. They are wonderful jewel-like mini glass tanks. They are not cheap, however, @ $140 each, you have two eyes, so you need two.An practical frame can be made from an inexpensive pair of welder's goggles. Look for a pair that are made from reasonably thick black plastic, to better exclude the light. The Hobart 770096 Oxy / Acetylene Goggle is a good choice. This goggle has a 50mm lens with a screw-on retainer. The Hobart goggle comes with a #5 Welder's shade and a plastic filter that cuts UV at 390nm.Remove the welder's shade, and retain the plastic UV filter, replacing the screw-on retainer. Carefully tape the spectro cells over each plastic UV filter. Using removable tape is recommended. Make sure the spouts are up. Solid Viewing CellIt is possible to combine these aura dyes with some modern plastics, although this is a finicky process. An optically acceptable and very inexpensive experimental plastic lens can be cast in plastic disposable petri dishes. Some petri dishes are created with attention to the quality of the view through the bottom surface. These are the ones to get. Avoid glass petri dishes, as they tend to have very uneven bottoms that severely degrade the optical quality. Recent ProgressOver the past Spring and Summer (2009) I have made quite a lot of progress. Liquid Lens Aura GogglesBack in May, I was able to create a a classic old-style liquid-lens aura goggle using spectrophotometry cells as viewing screens. The details of construction are posted below (Aura Goggle Recipe #1.) We had a workshop where we tested these aura goggles, and found that they actually work very well. They are a true nuisance to deal with, and tend to leak blue fluid pretty easily. They are also quite costly, with the basic spectrophotometry cells costing $280 / goggle. They also consume a large amount of costly dye, perhaps $30 or so. In our trial, 3 of 4 people felt they were the best aura goggles of three types that we tested. That's a small sample, but I'll take what data I can get. Epoxy Lens Aura GogglesOver the Summer, I was able to solve the problem of how to combine pinacyanol with epoxy dye to form a reasonably stable optical plastic. The bandpass characteristics have a higher peak blue wavelength than the antique aura goggles, but have very similar extinction points for the blue and red bandpasses. These aura goggles do work, although they are not as effective as the liquid lens version. A terrific advantage of this style of aura goggle is cost. It costs approximately $6 to construct both filters for a pair of pinacyanol bromide epoxy based aura goggles. Contrast this with $310 / goggle total cost for a pair of liquid lens goggles, strictly homebrew. There are problems, however. The dyed epoxy is sensitive to light. If exposed directly to sunlight, the lenses will show visible signs of damage within 30 days. Even if merely exposed to room light, the lenses can degrade after approximately 90 days. These issues may be overcome, either by avoiding exposure to light, or by slightly altering the epoxy composition. Glass Lens Aura GogglesVery recently, I revisited the glass transmission data from the various makers, such as Kopp, Corning, and Hoya. This combined with the work analyzing pinacyanol and antique aura goggles over the Summer, have changed all this data from a jumble of obscure graphs into an alphabet out of which it is possible to spell many desired spectra. After a brief but intense spell of creative trance, I found some candidate combination glasses that I evaluated. So at this time I have a three piece glass and plastic aura filter that appears to have good performance and moderate cost. I have been evaluating these goggles for the past few weeks, and found that they are able to induce aura vision even in those who have never seen the aura before. This filter works well, and fits successfully inside the Hobart goggle frame. I am working to bring this goggle to market at this time. I have already created a small lot of sample units, and am ready to scale up to pilot manufacturing. Check back in a month. Aura Goggle FormulasHere are several complete formulas for constructing working aura goggles. Each of these gives a complete parts list, including proportions of ingredients, quantities, cost estimate, and other technical information. Some information is proprietary, and available only to members of the website.
Aura Goggle PrinciplesAura Goggle TaxonomyAura goggles can be classed according to the chief operating principle, such as:
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