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The Coil / ORAC Effect

Experimental Observations

by Nicholas A. Reiter

INTRODUCTION

During the months of December 1988 and January 1989, I conducted a series of experiments which yielded results that I believe may add to the existing body of physical orgonomy, or at least may confirm and extrapolate upon certain littler recognized orgonotic phenomena.

The experiments this report will deal with were a direct offshoot from a search for electronic of electro-mechanical OR instrumentation. As the reader will see, it was by sheer chance that I stumbled across the effects described in the following sections.

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of other experimenters duplicating my observations. It must be done. Yet, because a large part of the observed phenomena was dependant upon a singular and rather antique piece of instrumentation, it may be difficult to reproduce my procedures and results verbatim. However, I will try to give as much information as possible to the reader so that he/she may be able to improvise equipment and follow through with experimentation.

THE INITIAL EXPERIMENT

Leading up to what I consider to be the first of my series of experiments, I had been observing the operation of different electronic components inside an ORAC. After observing some interesting charge/discharge phenomena with a capacitor, I thought that it might prove worthwhile to try a coil inside the ORAC. The piece I used was an antenna base coil from a marine radio set. It consisted of 90 turns of bare silvered 18 ga. copper wire wound air core on plastic strips. The windings were spaced. The coil was about 6 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide. The coil was connected via clip leads to an old (pre-1940s) but perfectly functional galvanometer. I then placed the coil inside my ORAC. (7"×7"×7" ten layer sheet steel/fiber sheet box).

Upon inserting the coil, I observed a slow, steadily increasing deflection of the galvanometer’s needle. After about 20 seconds, the meter reached a maximum reading, and remained steady. Removing the coil from the ORAC caused the needle to drop slowly back to zero. Later calibration of the galvanometer (hereafter referred to as the GV) with a millivolt source and a precision resistor revealed that the level of deflection I witnessed was equal to about 30 microamperes (uA). Yet the behavior of the GV indicated a rather un-electrical nature of the current.

I then tried positioning the coil in different configurations within the ORAC, whereupon I made the following observations:

  1. The strongest meter deflection occurred when the coil was placed upright along an inner wall or corner of the ORAC.
  2. Flipping the coil end for end would always cause the polarity of the meter deflection to reverse. This reversal was, however, a slow movement as opposed to a quick reversal which one would expect from an electrical current.
  3. The polarity seemed to be due to the position of the coil relative to the ORAC. A later experiment using a slightly shorter coil showed that when the coil is positioned horizontally within the ORAC, the current drops to nearly zero.
  4. Positioning the coil immediately outside of the ORAC gave similar, though weaker, indications. As the coil was moved further away from the ORAC, the effect diminished further. The effect was no longer noticeable at distances greater than about 3 inches from the ORAC.

At this point, I felt that what I was seeing would have to be divided into 3 different components for any effective analysis:

  1. The nature of the current and its coupling or induction into the coil.
  2. The characteristics of the conduction of the current.
  3. The mechanics of the deflection of the d’Arsonval movement of the GV.

Focusing on one section of my initial set-up at a time, I conducted a series of experiments that included trying various coils, different materials, different meters, etc. The following three sections of this report are a compilation of all of my observations.

COIL / ORAC COUPLING

A number of different coils were tried in place of the original one.

  1. Loosely wound helixes of copper wire, with no insulation, and of large diameter, gave best results.
  2. The number of turns in a coil did not seem to be as large an influence as other factors. In fact, a single wire loop, or a bare strip of copper worked, though poorly.
  3. The polarity effect noticed in the first experiment was observable only with coils. With single loops or metal strips, the polarity seemed almost random.
  4. Coils wound on an iron core gave no indication at all.
  5. Coils wound on plastic or paper gave slight current indications.
  6. Coils with no core or coil form gave best indications.
  7. Wire insulation, in all cases, seemed to interfere with the production of the current.

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Different ORACs were tried.

  1. A 2 layer wood/steel box ORAC, a 6 layer plastic/steel wool cylinder ORAC, and a 10 layer aluminum/fibre sheet cylinder ORAC were used in lieu of the original box ORAC. All gave similar results, though the aluminum/fibre sheet ORAC caused some erratic movement of the GV needle.
  2. Flipping ORACs on their sides, or placing them upside down did not seem to make any difference. Current polarity seemed to be totally dependent on the coil position relative to the ORAC.
  3. When water in a tin cup was brought near the ORAC, the current reading would drop minutely. Dunking one end of a spare clip lead into the water, and draping the other end into the ORAC, would cause the current to drop faster, usually to zero. I consider this to be a key observation.
  4. Number 3 was repeated with a ceramic cup. The same results followed. Upon removal of the water and the clip lead, the current would very slowly come back up.
  5. Laying hands upon the ORAC would cause the current to increase, though sometimes only slightly.
  6. Moving the coil inside the ORAC, in any direction, would cause the current to momentarily jump and then settle out at a slightly higher level.
  7. The highest readings attained with any combination were in the vicinity of 60uA.

CONDUCTION OF THE CURRENT

A number of different conductors were tried besides the original clip leads.

  1. Bare single or multi-strand conductors worked best.
  2. Soldered connections gave the same results as slip leads. However, old clip leads with the cadmium plating worn off of the clips gave erratic readings.
  3. All connections had to be clean and tight.
  4. Again, wire insulation seemed to damped the effect.
  5. Crossing wires, even when insulated, would sometimes damped the effect.
  6. Copper, tinned copper, silver, gold, and lead all conducted the current with equal results.
  7. Aluminum, steel, and iron wire seemed to block the current entirely.

Standard carbon resistors of different values were put into the circuit.

  1. Resistors put in series would damped the current, though a high ohmage resistor did not seem to cut back the current any more than a low valued one.
  2. Resistors put in parallel with the coil or GV would not decrease the measured current, but sometimes did reverse the polarity of the current!

THE GALVANOMETER REACTION

Here lies the portion of my experiments which is the most difficult to explain or present. Quite simply put, I was unable to read any of the aforementioned current effects on any instrument except my antique galvanometer! As I mentioned earlier in this report, the GV was, and is, electrically functional. Using a calibrated millivolt source and a 1.105K ohm resistor, I was able to calibrate the GV, which is unmarked, except for a numerical scale. The meter works.

I have not been able to find any other meter, D’Arsonval or otherwise which will read the currents I observed with the GV. I have tried over 10 different brands of micro-ampere range D’Arsonval style meters with no success. I was also unable to read the currents with either a Fluke or a Simpson digital multi-meter.

After discovering this paradox, my next step was to take the cover off of my GV and examine its construction. Not surprisingly, I found the GV to have a simple, un-shunted, magnet deflected D’arsonval movement almost identical to any of the other meters I tried. I did find one difference, however. The coil of the GVs meter movement is wound without a frame or support, and apparently is held together by its own shellac coating. On all of the other, modern meters I tried, the movement coils are wound on tiny aluminum frames! I believe that it is this aluminum frame which prevents any modern meter from reading the currents I observed.

SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS

From these experimental observations, I have drawn the following conclusions:

  1. When a helix or loop of copper is placed in or near an ORAC, a current of seemingly un-electrical characteristics is generated or induced within said helix or loop.
  2. Upon reaching a given level for a given coil arrangement, the current seems to be a steady state flow with only minor, very slow fluctuations.
  3. The current is conducted by soft, diamagnetic metals, and is resisted of blocked by para or ferro-magnetic metals.
  4. Organic material, in the form of insulation or carbon resistors, appears to hinder, absorb, or damped the current.
  5. The un-electrical current is able to develop a reaction force with a magnetic field, and cause a deflection of certain un-shielded D’arsonval meter movements.
  6. The level of current induced or generated within the helix or loop varies with the responses of the enclosing ORAC to classical external orgonotic stimuli.

CONCLUSION

It is obvious that the experimenter will have to use some ingenuity in duplicating my observations. The old galvanometer I used has no nameplate or manufacturers data on it. There are probably a number of similar units “out there”, though. One could possibly find a responsive GV at an electronics surplus store, or an antique shop. Another option would be to build a coil/magnet arrangement based on a D’arsonval meter movement. A design that I believe might work is shown in figure A. I have not yet tried it though.

I believe that these observations may give some insight into two areas of orgonomy which have apparently been somewhat neglected:

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  1. The development of accurate OR instrumentation.
  2. The re-development of the OR driven motor.

It is my hope that those who read this report will be able to duplicate my observations and carry out further investigations in this area of orgonomy.


UPDATE ON THE COIL / ORAC EFFECT

(24 April 1990)

  1. The COIL / ORAC EFFECT device was tried out in February 1989 and did indeed work, although the deflection was quite small. Several other variations of this device were tired, however none of them have indications of current which were any better than the original.
  2. Around March of 1989, the Coil / ORAC effect began to diminish, and eventually “went dead”. Different ORACs were tried, along with variations in wiring. Nothing seemed to make a difference. However, around November of 1989, I tried out the coil and galvanometer arrangement with a newly constructed 20 fold steel and fiber sheet box ORAC. The Effect was once again present, and back to levels of current readings corresponding to those observed originally. The Effect is currently active, and further experimental work with it is continuing as time permits.
  3. The main thrust of my experimental work is currently in the area of amplifying the Coil / ORAC Effect to higher, more useful levels. Sadly, I have had no real success so far. More reports will eventually be generated regarding these experiments.
  4. There is no doubt, at least to this experimenter, that the Coil / ORAC Effect is the Orgone Motor Effect of Wilhelm Reich. However, without a means of amplification, which would functionally correspond to Reich’s “Y” factor, the effect remains a subtle, marginally measurable entity.

* Currently no further experimentation is being carried on. This information is being released for other experimenters to work with.

(FIGURE A) 1. Wind approx. 50 turns of #30 magnet wire around a cardboard tube wrapped with wax paper. 2. Coat coil with white glue and let dry. 3. When dry, slip out cardboard tube, then peel away wax paper leaving a rigid air core coil. 4. Glue coil upright to a wooden base. A cork with a needle through it is glued inside coil. A magnetized steel pointer is fashioned and then balanced on top of the needle point. 5. The pointer, acting as a compass, will align itself N and S. position the base of the unit so that the windings of the coil are parallel to the pointer. The leads of the coil are then connected to the experimental coil/ORAC assembly. Any current reaching the "meter" coil should result in a deviation or deflection from N-S alignment.

For more information on orgone energy and orgone accumulators, contact:

James DeMeo
Natural Energy Works
P.O. Box 864
El Cerrito, CA 94530

Natural Energy publishes The Orgone Accumulator Handbook by James DeMeo, an excellent experimental guide to the subject. Many related titles.

The Wilhelm Reich Museum
P.O. Box 687
Rangley, ME 04970

Source of Dr. Reich's works on the discovery of orgone energy. They sell plans for a basic accumulator, as well as reprints of many of Reich's experimental papers and journals.



References

  1. DeMeo, James. The Orgone Accumulator Handbook: Construction Plans, Experimental Use, and Protection against Toxic Energy. El Cerrito, CA: Natural Energy Works, 1989. Print. [Re-ed., 2010: <0980231639>]