Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java. This animated sequence is very instructive, my finger is behind a special type of transparent electrode called ECT When the HV generator is turned on the corona appears ...	FastCounter by bCentral

First of all, let's make one thing clear: although I've called this page Kirlian Photography Page the technical name is Electrophotography. In fact there's no Kirlian Photography at all, what we may see in an electrophotography is the Kirlian Effect : the modification of the electric discharge around the object due to biological alterations of the electrical parameters of the specimen.

Also the luminous halo around the object has nothing to do with the AURA, it's just a particular type of electrical discharge... so: no AURA please!!!

What is this bright luminous halo produced around the objects? Well, the discharge we were talking about it's called corona discharge and happens to appear when there's a high surface charge density in specific points over the object. From this points the accumulated charges (either excess or lack of them) interact with the surrounding atmosphere.

Why the underlining? Because, what produces the bright halo, are the atmosphere's molecules interacting with the accelerated charges in those "specific" points we've mentioned before. In fact the gas is being ionized, therefore the color (light's wavelength) produced is related to the type of gas present in the surrounding atmosphere...

Bluish halos? Well, the main component of the air we breath is Nitrogen, it tends to emit bluish light...

And what if we replace nitrogen for neon? Yes... you know the answer, reddish halos then... (sorry esoteric folks... the color of the emitted light is related to the gaseous atmosphere. Also, the colors registered on the film, depend on even additional parameters...

Now comes the main question: If emitted light (luminous halo) appears due to highly charged areas, how do we increase this surface charge density?

The answer is quite simple:

• Increase the electric field (means: use High Voltage).
• Introduce a dielectric (means: increase charge)
• Keep pumping charges after the introduction of the dielectric (means: use a         generator).

Why all this? Perhaps you don't know, but the introduction of a dielectric while keeping the electrical field constant produces a charge current and increases the surface charge density by a value equal to the dielectric constant of the medium introduced...


With the elements mentioned above we have now all that's needed to produce discharges around objects... what lead us to the HIGH VOLTAGE GENERATORS & CONDENSER ELECTRODES...

Electrophotography is made with High Voltage machines. In this link you'll find the information about how to build these machines.
(click on HVFB / HVCD to see electronic plans)

• HV Flyback Generator & HV Capacitive Discharge Generator

Condenser electrodes are one special kind of electrodes specifically designed for Kirlian Photography. But they were very common in electrotherapy machines used around 1900...
In these links you'll find the theory of the condenser electrodes and information about how to build them.
(click on the links for full info)

If you want more technical info you may take a look at my research:
(click on the links for full info)

Perhaps you're thinking... okay this stuff is cool but, where are the photos? I know, I know, let's go to the main issue... The Photo Gallery

So here they are! Real Kirlian Photographs, top quality, with full descriptions and parameters! (click on the links for full info)

In this page I've selected some books and articles I've read. They are related to Kirlian Photography in different ways. Almost all reference are in English, Spanish or Portuguese, very few in French.
(click on the links for full info)

You may take a look at other pages I have somehow related to Kirlian Photography: Tesla Coils, High Voltage, Electronics, Mathematics and so on...
(click on the links for full info)