METAL FRACTURE PHYSICS USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND THE THEORY OF TELENEURAL INTERACTIONS

(NOTE – many equations to be added in this chapter)
METAL FRACTURE PHYSICS USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND THE THEORY OF TELENEURAL INTERACTIONS
by Wilbur Franklin, Ph.D., Department of Physics,
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
Published for the first time with the permission of the author.
Introductory Background
The recent investigations of neuronal functions utilizing network theory,(1-5) stochastic models of neuroelectric activity,(6) and a tunneling model to describe a neural state vector(7) have provided substantial new insights into the complexities of the functioning of the central nervous system. The question as to whether the comprehensive function of the mind is greater than the measurable sum of the neural interactions that constitute the total brain function has been raised, in part, by Delgado.(8) In his book, Physical Control of the Mind, he says, “The mind should not be considered identical with its supporting organ, the brain . . . The mind is related not only to the structure of neurons but also to their spatial-temporal relations and to important extracerebral factors.”

Science dwells, in general, on physically measurable quantities. If some of the functions of the mind depend, in part, on fields or influences that are not physically measurable at the present time with contemporary techniques, then sophisticated methods of interpretation of the results of these influences may be needed in order for one to infer the properties of the unknown influence function. Material results of certain altered states of consciousness have been observed; their causal fields have evidently not been measured or isolated in the laboratory. In addition, teleneural interactions between a human being and material objects have been reported with no evidence for an interaction field.(9) In the expansive literatures (most of which is popular in vein) dealing with parapsychology, there is no satisfactory explanation or theory of teleneural phenomena, such as bioinformation transfer or retrieval from both living and inanimate objects or teleneural interaction with matter, that correlates theory with experimental observations. This, perhaps, is the prima facie reason for the historical rejection by many scientists of most of the observations in the field of parapsychology; the desire for a reasonable explanation seemingly governs, to a certain extent, one’s belief. Another reason, to be sure, is the fact that certain of the experimental observations and techniques have been of questionable validity.(11) The points to be made from a review of both the experimental and theoretical work that has been done in the past are that results of a definitive nature have been lacking, for the most part, and that the evidence for teleneural interactions, particularly with matter, has often not been convincing.
In November and December of 1972, laboratory-controlled experiments were conducted at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) with a young Israeli, Mr. Uri Geller.(12) The author took part in a portion of those experiments. (For the full set of experiments see pages 61-66.)

The SRI results with Mr. Geller were recorded on film and video tape and included the following results of laboratory-controlled experiments: telepathy; reproducing, reasonably well, simple sketches enclosed inside two opaque envelopes; producing a magnetometer reading of approximately 1/2 gauss without touching the probe; correctly choosing, without touching any of the cans, which of ten small metal cans held an object (twelve correct, two abstain, and zero wrong, giving a chance probability of 1 in 10 to the power 12); telling which side of a die faced upward after the die had been shaken inside a closed opaque box (eight correct, zero wrong, giving a chance probability of 1 in 1.68 x 10 to the power 6); and causing a real or an apparent change of weight in a dynamic balance enclosed in a bell jar. The results of the latter experiment were recorded on a strip chart recorder. Certain of the results obtained with Mr. Geller, namely, the latter two experiments, have no apparent means of explanation within the accepted framework of theoretical physics. For this reason it is important to consider carefully these experiments and the metallurgical results(13) that are reported here. It will be of equal importance to perform similar experiments in other laboratories with different subjects and to investigate their theoretical implications. It is the author’s opinion, based on the observations that have already been made, that theoretical constructs need not await further experimental results to corroborate and extend the SRI experiments, but that the formulation of theoretical models is, in fact, one of the most important considerations in the constructive development of this field. Without the contributions of physicists, engineers, and others in the “hard sciences” who understand physical laws, the field of teleneural phenomena will not become understandable scientifically, but will remain on the fringes of quasi-scientific endeavor, where a large domain of potential usefulness to society may remain dormant.
The material reported here is both theoretical and experimental in perspective. The new theory given is, for the most part, generally applicable regardless of the type of interaction involved. In this sense, it seems wise, at this stage of the development of the field, to find theoretical paradigms that have general applicability, and are not dependent on the type of field or interaction involved, until the nature of the interaction or interactions in certain teleneural phenomena can be ascertained. Known electromagnetic theory is, of course, applicable to certain types of teleneural interactions that are known with reasonable certainty to be electromagnetic in nature. Some electromagnetic aspects will be discussed below.

The experimental investigations that are reported are made up of metallurgical studies of two metal objects that were broken by Mr. Uri Geller. These results are reported in more detail elsewhere.(13) A scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of the fracture surfaces and rnicrohardness test results on one of the specimens are reported. While some of the experimental evidence reported here is principally metallurgical in nature, the photographic evidence, which stems from scanning electron microscopy, is, we feel, clear even to the nonspecialist. The metallurgical analysis that has been performed is not as complete as possible. Metallurgical testing of the specimens prior to, and concurrent with, fracture was not performed. One of the reasons for this deficiency is that insufficient funds were available for a complete investigations However, enough evidence was obtained through the use of the SEM at SRI and through donated services to give the results reported here.(15)
The fracture surfaces studied were those of two common household items, specifically, a stainless steel spoon and a platinum alloy ring. The following section, Fracture Conditions, is a brief statement about the conditions under which fracture was observed to occur.(16) The next section deals with the SEM analysis of the fracture surfaces, and includes fracture photographs of the specimens and their controls. In the theoretical section that follows, some new theoretical constructs are presented, together with a discussion of electromagnetic effects. Finally, a brief summary and conclusions are given.

Regarding the nature of the process or processes involved in the fractures reported on here, the possibilities that have been proposed from the outset of our work with, and observation of, Mr. Geller include the following: (1) magic trickery, (2) perpetrated fraud, (3) group hypnosis of the investigators, (4) self-hypnosis or self-
control by the subject in order to facilitate fracture of the specimens, and (5) a real event. From the SEM analysis of the fracture surfaces of two out of four fractures investigated in three different specimens,(17) it was concluded that (1) and (4) are not reasonable possibilities as an explanation of the observations without the inclusion of (2), (3), or (5). In the SRI experiments, which involved manifestations of teleneural interactions other than metallurgical fractures, it was considered highly unlikely that (2.) or (3) could have occurred since both film and video-tape records were made of the experiments and since security measures were followed in the processing and storage of the films. Also, the SRI experiments were monitored visually by observers outside the laboratory using direct TV transmission to a neighboring room. Important additional evidence that (2) or (3) is not involved in the fractures induced by Mr. Geller is a movie from which the pertinent frames have been published.(18) It shows a metallic specimen in the process of being fractured with no apparent force being applied by Mr. Geller. (See Plate 18.)

Fracture Condition
The nature of the energy fields of subjects with special teleneural powers has not been determined except for those categories that are classifiable with reasonable certainty as being within the framework of known electromagnetic theory. The conditions for fracture that are described in this section do not appear to be within the domain of known theoretical physics. Therefore, it is important to consider the conditions under which fracture occurred as well as the analysis of the fractures themselves. However, it must be stated again that the results that are reported here for the fractured specimens deal with the unusual nature of the metallurgical observations and not with the subject of experimental methodology.(16)

The specimens were fractured in a room-temperature setting and were observed by the author and others during the process of deformation and fracture. The spoon was broken with no apparent strain by Mr. Geller, who bent it back and forth for three cycles or less to angles of approximately forty-five degrees from the vertical. (Another spoon from the same set of tableware was also seen to be broken by Geller without bending.) The author tested another spoon from the same set and found it impossible permanently to deform the handle manually by more than about ten degrees.(19) The spoon was made of work-hardened ferritic stainless steel with an ultimate tensile strength of approximately 110,000 Psi (estimated from hardness measurements) and was 1/16-inch thick and 3/16-inch wide at the point in the shank where fracture occurred.

The platinum ring was fractured as it was held gently by an associate of the author’s in the proximity of Mr. Geller. After the appearance of the first fracture, Mr. Geller held the ring and gently bent a segment outward until a second fracture occurred. The surface of the second break appeared to be ductile fracture distorted by shear. The surface of the first fracture was not characteristic of ductile failure, fatigue, or shear, and is described in the next section.

Metallurgical Analysis
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is especially useful in the examination of fracture surfaces since it has good depth of field, the natural “as broken” surfaces can be examined directly without replication, and since both low and high magnifications can he utilised easily. The possibility of surface distortion, dissolution, or the removal of loose segments was minimized by examining the “as fractured” surfaces with no cleaning of any sort. The Cambridge Stereoscan Mark 2A SEM at SRI was used and all the photographs were taken between, November 9 and 2.2, 1972. In the following paragraphs the nature of the fracture surfaces of the stainless steers spoon and its control and of the platinum ring is described.
The locations of the fracture surfaces of the two breaks in the stainless steel spoon, one of which was induced by Geller and the other made in, the laboratory by bending, are shown in Figure 1.(20) The comparison fracture surfaces, shown in Plates 8 and 9, are quite similar in nature and portray a dimpled pattern that is typical in the metallurgical literature, of ductile failure. It is not known whether the slight differences between Plates 8 and 9 are significant.

Fig. 1. A common household spoon showing the location of the fracture produced by Geller. In addition, the locations of the laboratory fracture and cuts from the cut-off wheel are shown. Microhardness measurements were made on the three small pieces.
A striking difference from usual room-temperature fractures caused by tension or bending can be seen in Plates 10 and 11, which show a progression of increasing magnification. The shank of the spoon in the foreground of Plate 10 shows a crack along the left vertical edge, which is magnified in the next two figures. The profile of the upper and lower edges of the crack match reasonably well. This, together with the upward displacement of material, indicate that the crack was caused by separation (pulling apart) rather than by a piece’s falling out. The bottom of the crack, as shown in Plates 11 and 12, displays an unusual viscous appearance that is not typical of ductile failure from tensile or bending loads at room temperature.
The fracture surface of the first break in the platinum ring was very different from that in the spoon. Plate 13 shows an overview of the fracture surface. There was essentially no evidence of necking down, as is expected in a ductile metal under tensile failure, or of bending. In Plate 13 the higher regions of the fracture surface, especially the left side and the upper right corner, appeared to have been distorted by shear. This may have occurred when the opposing faces of the broken ring, which were in contact, were rubbed, since the ring spread open after the crack was formed.

Plate 14 shows the lower right quarter of the fracture surface and Plates 15-17 show regions taken from the field of view of Plate 14 at a higher magnification. Small rounded-over protuberances are characteristic of the region around the depression shown in Plate 15, which is taken from the upper left corner of Plate 14. Plates 16 and 17 are taken from the lower right corner of Plate 14 and show a terraced structure with distinct geometrical forms that are close to hexagonal in symmetry. The latter are inclusions and/or cavities, which reflect the symmetry of the face-centered-cubic structure of platinum. The fields of view in and around those displayed in Plates 15-17 are unusual in nature, particularly when the possible types of room-temperature fracture are considered. Ductile failure in platinum alloys, such as that caused by tension, results in microstructures similar to those shown in Plates 8 and 9. Usually necking down on a visually macroscopic scale occurs in tension and lateral cracking in bend failure in a metal of this sort. If the fracture occurred by shear, then macroscopic shear deformation should appear adjacent to the fracture surface. The flat terraced surfaces with the included geometrical shapes are difficult to explain as a result of room-temperature fracture. Geometrical shapes of the type shown can occur in high-temperature creep specimens that have had sufficient time for the formation of vacancy clusters and/or inclusions. The flat terraced surfaces have the appearance of low- temperature (liquid nitrogen) cleavage.

Microhardness measurements were made with an 800-gm load on the pieces adjacent to the Geller and laboratory fractures in the spoon. The average of twenty impressions in the matrix material gave an average Knoop hardness of 240, which corresponds to an ultimate tensile strength of 109,000 Psi ñ 5%. The measured values for hardness immediately adjacent to the Geller and laboratory fractures were 254 and 2.53, respectively, which correspond to an ultimate tensile strength of 113,000 Psi. This is less than 4% higher than the hardness of the matrix material. No change of hardness with respect to that of the matrix occurred at the cuts made with the cut-off wheel. Metallographs of the microstructure of the spoon and Microhardness measurements with a lighter load (200 gms) indicated that small (approx. 10 micro) hard inclusions – probably carbides – were present. There were, however, no regions of significant softening. The steel was a ferritic stainless, which is easier to fracture than one of the austenitic type, but had, nonetheless, a high ultimate tensile strength. The minimum bending load required to bend the spoon by mechanical means was probably greater than sixty pounds. Assuming a 6o-pound load, a total bend distance (in three cycles of motion) of six inches, and a time of ten seconds, the minimum required power was roughly 3 to 4 watts. This power is within the capacity of human biomechanics; humans burn energy at the rate of approximately 100 watts (approx. 10 watts for the brain alone) when at rest and 1000 watts in heavy work. From our work with Mr. Geller an upper limit to the diameter of an object that can be bent or broken and the fracture speed (in first Pt fracture) has not been established.
Theoretical Constructs
This section will include some introductory theoretical approaches to the physical understanding of teleneural phenomena that may be applied to interactions between living systems and matter. First an effective stress due to teleneural causes is introduced and is added to the electromagnetic stress-energy tensor. The next section deals with field and information theory concepts. This is followed by a brief presentation of some electromagnetic effects and models of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with a living system.

Effective Stress-Energy Tensor
If the specimens were fractured with less than the mechanical stress
for failure required for fractures to occur by normal means, then we can postulate the existence of a force or influence field, exerted by the subject (or due to the presence of the subject), that produces an effective stress PE in the specimen. An effective stress is postulated since the nature of the interaction between subject and specimen is unknown. Let us define a total stress-energy tensor by:
Tuv = Muv + Suv + Puve
where M, S, and Pe are the stress-energy tensor densities for matter, electromagnetic interactions, and non-electromagnetic teleneural interactions, respectively. We postulate that the gradients of these densities are given by:

(partial derivatives go here) (2)
where f and X, are the separate but, perhaps, coupled electromagnetic and teleneural force densities, respectively. Then
(partial derivatives go here) (3)
L
Following Robertson and Noonan,(21) an equation that represents the conservation of energy in an isotropic fluid (22) is obtained; it is given by:
(equation goes here) (4)
where u is the u component of the world velocity, c is the velocity of light, po is the pressure, and p = p,, + p,,/c’ where P, is the total proper energy density (including the rest, thermal, nuclear, and teleneural energies). The equation for the force density can also be derived, and is, following Robertson and Noonan,(21) given by:
(equation goes here) (5)
where xxx is the Minkowski metric tensor. In the above argument xxx represents the effective force. In our case, it is postulated that was applied to the metallic specimens and produced the portion of the deformation not produced by electromagnetic or mechanical forces.

it is apparent from the argument given here that the addition of a new effective stress-energy tensor for teleneural phenomena leads to conservation and force equations in which an interchange can occur between the electromagnetic and teleneural types of interaction. This is appealing because if the normal operation of the neural system of a subject is assumed to be electromagnetic in nature then the teleneural mode of operation might then involve the creation of PE from S. This raises the question as to whether PE arises from some special electromagnetic origin such as a new effect due to strong nonlinearities, or from a new type of influence that differs from the usual gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear forces, or other new construct.

Field and Information Theory Concepts
We will postulate, following the suggestion of other authors(10) in the field of teleneural phenomena, that a field, psi, for teleneural interactions exists and propagates with a velocity that will be assumed to be finite. (We must note, however, that action-at-a-distance is also a possibility to be considered and tested). If the field is characterized by space and time dependence, then psi = psi(r,t) where r = rR – rS, and t = tR – tS, where R and S denote receiver and source, respectively. We will also postulate that the strength of the field (or number of particles, if the field is quantized) is characterized not only by space and time, but by two subjective quantities – the “psychological factors,” phi, and the amount of information, HR, known by the subject about the object or receiver. Then n=n( equation goes here). The quantity psi includes effects of other living systems, climactic factors, geomagnetic disturbances, physiological factors, state of mental consciousness, etc. on the ability of the subject to emit the psi field. HR represents the quantity of information received consciously or subliminally by the subject about the object or receiver with which interaction occurs. Certain aspects of a teleneural field theory can probably be developed following traditional field theories for known interactions. Geometrization of the field might also lead to fruitful results.

Now a general theoretical construct, which applies to fields of any type, namely, information theory, will be considered briefly. One role of information theory in the process of bioinformation transfer has been shown, assuming an electromagnetic model, by Kogan.(23) In terms of bits, a telepathic percipient receives H bits of information for a particular situation in which there are N possibilities to choose from (all of equal probability) and a choice is made n times. This stems from the information theory equation for equal probabilities, which is given by H = n ln2N.

The question of whether information theory plays an important role in teleneural interaction with matter arises from a consideration of the information content in a material object and the role of object perception in the interaction. If cognitive or subliminal perception is important in teleneural interaction with matter, then the information in the object may be stored by the subject. We do not consider here the mechanism of teleneural interaction with matter; rather, we deal with the object of interaction as a quantity of information. This raises the question of the amount of information stored in an object or a segment of an object. If we consider that a mass of 1 gm has approximately 10 to the power 22 atoms, then we find that the information content for the identification of each atom and nuclear state and for assigning all the degrees of freedom individually is a very large number – greater than 10 to the power 22 bits.(24) If we consider the bit rates that have been measured in bioinformation transfer experiments, we find that it is too large a number for a subject to receive and store in a reasonable time. (Bit rates from 1 to 10 to the power -3 bit/see appear to be typical of short- to long-range information transfer.(23,25)) In addition, an upper limit assumed for long-term memory is approximately 10 to the power 20 bits for a person thirty years old, since each neuron transmits approximately ten digital impressions per second, there are about 10^10 neurons, and thirty years is 10^9 seconds. Smaller upper limits of 10^13 – 10^14 bits in a lifetime have been estimated; they include effects of various loss mechanisms. Thus, if the information transfer rate in a subject’s teleneural perception of matter is similar to that in bioinformation transfer and does not greatly exceed neural information capacities, we can make an important observation regarding teleneural interaction with matter: either the information is not stored by the subject, or the information stored is a macroscopic rather than a microscopic description of the object. If it is stored by the subject and the interaction is macroscopic, then the quantity of information about the fracture surfaces in the ring (and needle – see Reference 13) falls within the amount that could be received and stored by a subject in a reasonable amount of time. For example, if a subject is capable of receiving and storing 0.1 bit/see for ten minutes, this amounts to 60 bits of information, which is more than adequate to describe a simple geometrical object in macroscopic terms. Thus, the storage of information in atomistic detail in macroscopic effects such as fractures appears to be outside the domain of possible teleneural interactions unless a very high degree of symmetry and purity exists in the objects. This observation does not imply, however, that atomistic teleneural events are impossible if the event does not require a prohibitively high bit rate. We should also note that the upper limits on storage capacity of the central nervous system and of the bioinformation transfer rate may be substantially higher than postulated previously.

Electromagnetic Interactions
Bioinformation transfer by electromagnetic radiation has been considered theoretically by Kogan(23) from the standpoint of the information theory. The relationship for the bit rate, C, in terms of the band width, W, and the source and noise powers, Ps and Pn, respectively, is given by
C–W In @(6)
The band width is 1/tau where tau is the time required for information transfer per bit. The noise power is assumed to be kT/tau, and the critical signal power required to send a certain critical bit rate, C, is given by

p* 47rr2 kT (2c*7. – l)e&r r S(r – h) + S(h – r (7)
where r, SA, T, and alpha are the distance, antenna area, temperature,
and attenuation coefficient, respectively. The wave-guide effects of the ionosphere are accounted for crudely by the square brackets in which h is the height of the ionosphere and S(r – h) is the step function. The requisite biocurrent for generation of P’ is obtained from P’ = (I’)^2*R where R is the antenna resistance. The resulting biocurrents calculated using Equation (7), together with elementary antenna theory, give typical values of 10^-10 amps or less for distances of a few meters and for typical conditions in bioinformation transfer experiments in which there are a small number of possible choices, N. This theory assumes no power losses except for the attenuation factor exp(alpha*r), which is very small except for distances greater than a few hundred miles. It represents, therefore, the optimum information transfer conditions, assuming an r^-2 fall-off for r < h and an r^-1 decrease of power for r > h. If losses are low, the electromagnetic theory seems reasonable for communication for small r and even for large r if tau is also large. However, interference of the signal caused by electronic noise is a very significant factor in interactions with the electromagnetic mechanism and, in addition, living organisms are not known to generate power levels sufficient for intermediate- to long-range communication.
The transfer of information by biological systems through the use of electromagnetic sources and sensors has been studied or considered by many authors.(23,26-33) In recent reviews, Bullock(26) and Hopkins(27) have summarized work on sensory mechanisms for low-frequency electromagnetic radiation in sharks and other fish, certain species of which have thresholds for electric field sensation in water as low as 1 micro Volt/m. Nelson(28) and Callahan(29) have considered direct electromagnetic reception of various frequency ranges by insects. The effects of electromagnetic fields in the radio range on the electroencephalogram of humans has been reported by Presman(30) in a good review of Russian work concerning electromagnetic radiation fields and living systems. Aceto, Tibias, and Silver(31) have recently reviewed the theories of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and of static magnetic fields with living systems. The biological effects of magnetic fields have been reviewed by Kolin.(34) Changes in reaction time of human beings by exposure to 0.2 Hz magnetic fields of approximately 5-17 gauss have been observed by Friedman, Becker, and Bachman,(35) whereas static and 0.1 Hz fields produced no significant effect. Bawin et al.(36) reported large behavior changes in monkeys exposed to 147 MHz modulated by 0-30 Hz.
The measurement of electric and magnetic fields of and around human bodies have been reported, respectively, by Burr(37) and Cohen.(38) Magnetic fields Of 5 X 10^-6 and 5 X 10^-9 gauss around contracting muscles and cranial regions, respectively, were measured.(38) There are reports of indications that certain people with special capabilities of self-control are able consciously to control and produce magnetic fields of much higher magnitudes.(9) Electric fields were found to be a function of emotional state or state of consciousness in humans.(32,37) A theory of the generation of electromagnetic fields from neuronal activity has been given by Anninos.(39)
The possible mechanisms of interaction of biological systems with electromagnetic radiation include molecular vibration, rotation, and conformation states, and electronic and nuclear states in frequency ranges extending from the upper-microwave to the X-ray region. At frequencies in the microwave region and less, collective modes of molecular clusters and cellular structures become significant. The possibility of interaction of extremely low frequencies with the Larmor precession frequency of protons in biological materials in the earth’s magnetic field has been considered.(40) The Larmor frequency for protons in the earth’s field is approximately 2000 Hz. A possibility may also exist for quasi-
resonance interactions of extremely low frequencies with antiferromagnetic modes in cell membranes.(41)
The above review of electromagnetic interactions with living systems reveals that bioinformation transfer occurs at frequencies down to less than 1 Hz.(26,36) At extremely low frequencies the attenuation of a Faraday cage is low. In this regard it is interesting to note that Puharich(42) and Puthoff and Targ(9) have done bioinformation transfer experiments with human subjects with the source or receiver in a Faraday cage. Further tests of bioinformation transfer are needed in which bit rates are measured as a function of distance both inside and outside a very good Faraday cage and in a “mu” metal cage.

It is interesting to compare biological communication in the ELF, regime with that developed for submarine applications in a program called Project Sanguine.(43-45) Frequencies less than 100 Hz and antenna powers of 1-2 MW were utilised in the Sanguine communication project. The transmitter antenna covers 30-50 square miles, giving about 100 W/acre of power, and the receiving antenna is approximately 100 m long.(45) The bit rate is low; approximately one bit per 60 cycles is evidently possible.(45) The radiated power is less than the antenna power because of radiation resistance, but it is still several orders of magnitude larger than the maximum possible power radiated from a human being in the ELF regime. Historically, it is interesting to note that Nikola Tesla, in 1899, proposed using the ELF regime for a world-wide communication system. His huge spark-gap transmitter drained the power supply of the city of Colorado Springs! The point of these observations is that the power levels and antenna systems required for ELF electromagnetic communication are several orders of magnitude larger than those required for bioinformation transfer between humans. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that mental telepathy can be propagated at great distances by biosystems in the ELF electromagnetic regime.(46)

Summary and Conclusions
The detailed metallurgical analysis of three fracture surfaces in two metallic specimens broken by, or in the presence of, Mr. Uri Geller revealed two distinct types of fracture-surface microstructure in the SEM photographs. One type appeared quite similar to normal room-temperature ductile failure caused by mechanical loading, except for a viscous appearance at the bottom of a small lateral crack (see Plates 10 and 11).

In the second type of fracture surface, the predominant microstructures were not typical of ductile failure, fatigue, stress-corrosion, or shear failure, nor of room- temperature cleavage. In the platinum specimen, which exemplified the second type of fracture, locaised regions of two types were observed on the same fracture surface only 0.02 cm apart. One region looked like ductile failure in an area that had been heated to the point of incipient melting (see Plate 15; the melting point of platinum is 1773 degrees C). The second region looked like low-temperature cleavage, with inclusions or vacancy clusters also appearing in the field of view (see Plates 16 and 17). These observations, which are not typical of SEM fractographs of failures by mechanical loading, indicate that the cause of fracture was not mechanical in nature nor was it a result of usual mechanical methods of fracture. In fact, the possible methods of, reconstruction of the fracture surface in the platinum ring by known techniques seem to require procedures such as partial cleavage at liquid nitrogen temperature (- 195 degrees C) followed by ductile failure of the noncleaved portion and subsequent exposure of this portion to a small beam from a powerful laser in selected regions and a shear force in other regions. Such a project would not only be difficult to carry out, but could not, in fact, be conducted unless a number of people actually perpetrated fraud. Consequently, it is not considered as a reasonable possibility. In view of the nature of the fracture surfaces, especially those of the platinum ring, it is concluded that the specimens were not broken by techniques known to induce laboratory fractures. The evidence, based on metallurgical analysis of the fracture surfaces, indicates that a paranormal influence must have been operative in the formation of the fractures.

Since the metallurgical analysis of the fractured specimens was completed, a number of reports of other subjects who can bend and/or fracture metal objects have been published. Taylor,(47) in his recent book, has given detailed reports of many children in England as well as people with paranormal teleneural capabilities who could bend and fracture metals. At the international conference on the Physics of Paranormal Phenomena, Taylor, Hasted, Byrd, Owen, and Franklin(48) reported results of metal-bending and fracture studies, These included, in the work of Owen, Price, and Taylor, studies of subjects other than Geller. In addition, there have been many reports in the popular press of metal bending that may or may not have been accomplished by paranormal means. The fork that was filmed during fracture(18) is presently being investigated by the author, as is a 2-mm-thick key fractured by Matthew Manning in the presence of Dr. A. R. G. Owen(49) and two items bent by children in the Akron, Ohio, area. In a historical perspective, it would be interesting to analyze the knife that fractured in the presence of Carl Jung;(50) an attempt is being made to obtain this specimen for metallurgical examination.

Effects, either direct or indirect, or electromagnetic fields of frequencies less than those of the microwave regime have been observed on the central nervous systems of living organisms. It appears, therefore, that there will be a new area of research concerned with the mechanisms of communication of information and biological effects by low-frequency electromagnetic radiation interacting with living organisms. Information transfer has been observed in sharks and other fish(26,27) at frequencies in the range 0.3-30 Hz. Hence, further consideration should be given to low-frequency biocommunication in other living organisms, both animal and plant. It is known that information transfer rates, measured by the bit rate in information theory, are small for low frequencies. Therefore, reasonably long periods of time (in comparison to verbal or telegraphic communication rates, for example) are required for the transfer of low-frequency information. Frequencies in the radio range have been shown to affect electroencephalographs.(30) Also, a magnetic field oscillating at the ELF of 0.2 Hz was found to reduce reaction rates in human subjects.(35) The major portion of the power spectrum of human brain waves lies in the ELF range from 0-30 Hz and most of this power is at less than a few Hz.(51) Also, the peaks of the frequency spectra of contracting muscles usually occur at less than 100 Hz.(38) Higher body frequencies have, however, also been noted.(39) Since the power levels of brain waves and contracting muscles are orders of magnitude less than that required for electromagnetic stimulation of known effects on humans and still less than that required for the weakening or fracture of metal objects, it would seem to be important to consider non-electromagnetic theories as well as the new aspects of ELF communication.

Whether there exists a channel of bioinformation transfer other than electromagnetic fields and other known channels is an important question, especially when the experimental results with unusual and with normal subjects, which have been reported recently, are considered. In the Geller experiments at SRI the side of a die facing upward inside an opaque container, after being shaken, was guessed or sensed correctly eight times in a row.(9) The transfer of information in this experiment could not have been electromagnetic in nature, assuming known electromagnetic theory (unless some extremely sensitive unknown mechanism exists). In addition to information transfer, which does not appear to be electromagnetic in nature, the apparent change of mass in the dynamic balance experiment at SRI and the unusual fracture surfaces of the metal specimens reported here give evidence that requires further investigation outside known theoretical constructs. Then, too, there is a question regarding the modality of communication in teleneural information transfer between living organisms, especially at large distances.(23) If more than one channel of teleneural interaction exists then it is possible that electromagnetic radiation may either interfere with or enhance the second type of interaction mechanism.

The development of theoretical paradigms that deal constructively with the observations in unexplained teleneural phenomena will demand new insights into the fundamentals of physical laws. Mehra(52) has recently considered the role of the observer in quantum mechanical measurements and the difference between a complete and a quantum mechanical representation. Bohm has also discussed new aspects of the role of the observer and, in addition, the implications of a holographic concept of quantum states. The generality of information theory is appealing for use in teleneural theory since objects can be described as quantities of information regardless of the types of force or influence they are subjected to. The statement of Eigen,(54) regarding organization in biological systems – “We need organization in a different ‘space,’ which one may call information space” – may apply, in a broader sense, to teleneural phenomena as well. The recent work of Prigogine(55), regarding the evolutionary origin of the organization in living systems may be significant in its contribution to new methods of treating many phenomena, including those of a teleneural nature, in living systems. It is interesting to compare the questions being asked by paraphysicists and parapsychologists with those being asked in another field in which there seem to be more questions than there are answers: astrophysics. In a recent article the noted astrophysicist John Wheeler questions, “In what way, if any, is the universe, the observed, affected by man, the observer? Is the universe deprived of all meaningful existence in the absence of the mind? . . . In brief, are life and mind irrelevant to the structure of the universe – or are they central to it?” Questions of this nature have been asked recently by physicists who have observed and considered the nature of paranormal events.

REFERENCES
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