Invisibility Technology Source: The Esoteric Physics Homepage An Optical and Radar Invisibility Technique Deduced from
the World War II "Philadelphia Experiment" Legend
Copyright Alexander Strang Fraser INTRODUCTION
What has become known as the "Philadelphia Experiment"
originated with a letter written by Carl M. Allen (alias Carlos Miguel
Allende) to Dr. Morris K. Jessup. This together with additional
information and speculation has led to the growth of an intriguing
legend which includes the invisibility and teleportation of the US
Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge (DE 173) in October 1943 on the US
east coast. Furthermore, these phenomenal results were supposedly
achieved by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) through the use of a
Unified Field Theory (UFT) by Einstein, and strong magnetic fields. In
addition, severe side effects were to have been experienced by the
crew.
The Navy has denied that the ONR has ever performed any
invisibility investigations (1,2). This appears to be technically
correct with respect to the "Philadelphia Experiment" (PX) -- but what
of any possible applicable activities of the Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL), D.C.? (Table 1, Map 1 [not reproduced here])
This report shows that various aspects of PX are
consistent with a technology that can make a ship invisible. Although
this is not direct evidence of realities behind the legend, the
coincidence is notable.
TABLE 1
PX HISTORICAL SETTING 1923- July 2-- US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
opened-- D.C. (3) PX DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE RECONSTRUCTION
Naval forces saw a transition during WWII in which the
aircraft carrier had, by 1943, superseded the battleship as the
preeminent fleet vessel. (37) One way of dealing with Imperial
Japanese carriers was obviously by way of submarine attack. However,
US submarine success was severely limited during the first part of the
war by Mark 14 torpedo problems, all of which were not rectified until
late 1943 (Table 1).(22) During this period alternative systems would
have been attractive.
The loss in importane of the battleship was an example
of the bypassing of an established system through a fundamental
advance (the use of aircraft to significantly extend naval range) to
gain military advantage. After the idea of an invisible ship was
advanced (4), the concept of an invisible destroyer (a fast, stealthy,
raiding vessel to sink carriers) to bypass the submarine should have
become apparent.
Any enthusiasm for such a concept would likely not have
been dampened until the success of, or the reasonable prospect of the
success of, US subs in 1944 (Table 1) with fully functional Mark 14's
and the new electric Mark 18 and acoustical Mark 27 torpedoes. (38)
THE FIELD
The central feature in PX appears to have been some kind
of field (39). It has been suggested that degaussing was involved (40)
and that this type of equipment was used to form a strong magnetic
field (41). C.M. Allen inferred that an Einsteinian Unified Field
Theory (UFT) was involved (42).
Any circumstances that would produce space-time warps so
as to cause teleportation (and thus apparent invisibility) would
exhibit enormous gravitational anomalies. Such anomalies are absent
from PX. Apart from a UFT magnetism-warp connection, the supposed
magnetic fields would have no invisibility implications. Magnetic
fields and a UFT would therefore seem to be parts of the legend
irrelevant to invisibility.
The nature of the field, however, is discernible from
empirical descriptions. C.M. Allen used the term "scorch" (43) and
referred to fire (44) and optical wavering like that seen through
heated air (45). The field therefore appears to have had a substantial
heat component and will here be dubbed the 'thermal field'.
OPTICAL INVISIBILITY
The most obvious connection between heat and altered
visibility is the variety of mirage phenomena. Indeed, the idea of
applying a mirage to make US Navy ships invisible was submitted by
illusionist? Joseph Dunninger early in the Pacific War (Table 1) (4).
To make a ship invisible a mirage effect called 'sinking' (46) is
applicable.
If one ignores differences in perspective, an idea of
'sinking' can be achieved by visualizing a ship sailing away. As the
ship follows the curvature of the earth it appears to sink into the
horizon with only the top of the mast visible before it finally
disappears.
In mirage "sinking', rather than moving the ship on a
curved surface, the relative height of the ship with respect to the
interveneing surface can in effect be lowered by curving the path of
the light from the ship. If the temperature of the air around the ship
decreases (i.e., density & refractive index increases) with height,
the light rays are bent upwards (Fig. I, not shown here)(47). As the
temperature gradient increases in magnitude the ship will appear to
sink into a "vanishing line" (48) near the surface of the sea until,
with sufficient magnitude, it disappears entirely (Fig. II, not shown
here). At this point the image of the ship can only be seen if one is
above the line-of-sight of the observer, who would be in the
Image-Free Zone of Figure I.
The inverted image in Figure II is not essential to the
invisibility situation but is simply typical of the 'inferior' mirage
(49) conditions during which 'sinking' can occur (50).
The technique of artificial mirage-related ship
invisibility is paralleled by the probable natural mirage-related
disappearances of Bouvet Island (1772, 1774, 1775, 1843, 1845) (51)
and Easter Island (1928) (52).
RADAR
For a medium of given refractive index, deviation of
electromagnetic waves by refraction decreases with increasing
wavelength. This difference in deviation experienced by different
wavelengths is called dispersion and the magnitude of it decreases
with decreasing refractive index (53). Since the refractive index of
air (approx. 1.0003) (54) is almost equal to that of vacuum (1),
dispersion in air is slight (55). Radar beams, being of longer
wavelength than light, are bent or curved (56) slightly less than
light but are still affected by the same atmospheric circumstances. An
example of similar activity is the ducting along an inversion layer of
both A) light (57) (e.g., Novaya Zemlya effect (58)) and B) radar
(59,60) (e.g., extended range in the Mediterranean during WWII (61)).
FIELD GENERATOR
To make mirage-related light and radar invisibility
effective in all azimuths, the thermal field would have to extend
laterally from, and encircle, the ship. This is consistent with C.M.
Allen's approximately 200 yard diameter "oblate spheroidal"
description.(62)
To generate the thermal field, energy must be
distributed from the ship in a form which air can absorb. This can be
done by the use of high frequency sound-- which was witnessed during a
dock-side test.(63) Since making a ship an acoustical beacon would
depreciate the invisibility advantage, the use of inaudible
ultrasonics would be necessary. There are a considerable number of
details in the PX legend that are consistent with the use of
ultrasonics (Table II).
Since the absorption of sound in air escalates with
frequency (64) and since considerable lateral dimensions seem
necessary, there are limits as to how high the frequency can be
raised.
It should be noted that the effects of high power
ultrasonics on any PX crew would have been a disincentive to further
project development. Besides this, various operational problems would
exist that might be expensive to fix or unsolvable (Table III).
TABLE II
PX ULTRASONIC INDICATIONS
Selected PX Details and their Ultrasonic Explanation (?)
direct & (indirect)
* "scorch"(43) * fires(44) * crew members who acted drunk(65) * unconsciousness(66) * sense of being "stuck"(67) or frozen(68) * insanity(69) * green(70) fog(71) TABLE III
MIRAGE-RELATED SHIP INVISBILITY PROBLEMS
Problems and Potential Solutions
* nerve effects * heat exhaustion
same as above (though of course ultrasonics and heat require different
types of shielding)
*fire hazard
removal/replacement of combustibles & absorbers on outside of ship
* possible ultrasonic detonation of explosives(85)
separation from field (like the crew)
* high rate of energy consumption
limited usage
* still-detectable ship's propulsion sound
EM [electromagnetic] propulsion(86)
* distal ultrasonic/thermal signatures? * crew's inability to 'see out' to navigate, etc.
acquisition of external info by periscope extending above main part of
thermal field
* possible anomalous appearance of features behind the
thermal field * ship's wake extending beyond invisibility zone
use in situations without airborne observers or simply stop moving
when aircraft approach
* lack of vertical invisibility-- this may be the most
serious limitation * thermal field structure wind susceptibility
compensation by steering of ultrasonic generators, and avoidance of
use in gusty situations
GENERATORS
Sirens are one of the best generators of powerful
ultrasonics in air(87). (J. Robison invented the siren in the late
1700's(88).) An appropriate siren consists of a toothed rotor within a
ported housing, perhaps with an attached horn. The teeth of the rotor
interrupt a flow of air from a compressor to form individual sound
waves (Fig. III, not shown). (Note: the cross section shows only one
of the siren's air feed lines.)
With a given number of rotor teeth the output frequency
is controlled by setting the speed of the electric motor driving the
rotor. Acoustical power output is related to air feed pressure and
flow rate. This type of siren was described in a journal about four
years after PX(89).
The term "flow" related by C.M. Allen(90) is a
description which matches the "sonic wind" accompanying a siren's
sound wave.(91)
TELEPORTATION
PX can be broken down into various stages of
development. Stage 1 would have involved dock-side tethered(92)
test(s).
Stage 2 would have involved a sea test(93) observed from
the Furuseth(94) (the Furuseth put to sea Oct. 25 (Table I) just prior
to a possible apparent teleportation incident Oct. 28 (95)).
Stage 3? apparently involved the formation of a thermal
field around a destroyer by the use of ultrasonic generators on two
companion ships.(96) The 'observations' that have led to speculations
of teleportation(97) are explainable within the setting of stage 2.
From the point of view of a participant the ship rapidly
translated from Philadelphia to Norfolk (Map I, not shown), and then
back again.(98) Also, there were witnesses to the brief appearance of
a ship in the Norfolk area.(99) While the trip is apparently
substantiated, the short duration of it is not. If the participant
went unconscious (Table II) both times the thermal field was strongly
developed, and the ship was under way during those times, the observed
elapsed time of the trip would obviously be inaccurate.
Once could speculate that the Eldridge left Philadelphia
in the morning, reached Norfolk while it was still light, and returned
to Philadelphia by the next morning at almost the same time of day it
left. If the participant lost track of the date during a subsequent
recovery period(100) and thus did not realize he had lost a whole day,
the elapsed mission time could have seemed brief.
It is likely then that the PX 'teleportation' is a
misinterpretation and not an actual warp situation.
ALLEN
Carl M. Allen's first letter to Jessup (Table I)
contains terms in quotes, indicating second hand information on the PX
experience. This suggests he was not on board the Eldridge during PX
operations. However, since he was apparently among the crew of the
Furuseth(101) which he indicated was an observer ship(102), he may
have had the opportunity to witness at least some part of Stage 2.
C.M. Allen does not seem to have had access to technical
details on PX since he does not relate anything useful in this regard.
He therefore cannot be confused with C.H. Allen (Dept. of Physics,
Pennsylvania State College, State College, PA (Map I)), coauthor of
the 1947 article on sirens.(103) The similarity of their names is
interesting however.
APPENDIX: ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY
For those interested in gravity alteration or warp
technology possibilities, it would likely be of no small
disappointment that such a tantalizing prospect as PX 'teleportation'
would literally turn out to be a lot of hot air. A case for artificial
gravity can be made however.
A possible fundamental proportionality between electric
charge and gravitation at atomic scales is evident in Dirac's Large
Numbers Hypothesis equations.(104, 105)
Electric field action between charges can be explained
by the exchange of virtual photon field particles.(106) Virtual(?)
(107) photons also compose the quantum mechanically generated
Zero-Point electromagnetic radiation that pervades space(108, 109).
Alteration of the Z-P EM distribution can produce actual effects (Lamb
shift, Casimir effect) and it has been suggested that such an
alteration by matter might explain gravity.(110) Perhaps and electric
field's virtual photons interact with the Z-P's virtual(?) photon
situation to produce a gravity effect.
It has been found that the period of a torque pendulum
can be increased by charging it.(111) This result can be explained by
an increase in the pendulum disk's moment of inertia by the addition
of artificial gravitation-related virtual inertial mass with a greater
radius of gyration than that of the disk. (The charge producing this
gravitation should have had a greater density on the smaller radius of
curvature surfaces at the periphery of the disk.)
It was also found that the pendulum's period was
generally greater with positive charge, compared to negative.(112)
This together with the corresponding artificial gravitational fields
explains the thrust in the direction of the positive pole in high
voltage DC plate capacitors (Biefield-Brown effect).(113) These
empirical situations suggest the possible proportionality between
charge and gravitation is applicable macroscopically.
On an astronomical scale this electric gravity may
resolve the spiral galaxy rotational velocities problem that has led
to the supposed requirement for huge quantities of dark matter.(114)
On a laboratory scale an effective way to produce very
high voltages/charge densities may be by way of momentary electric
discharges (sparks). Significant charge separations may be achieved by
the short-lived formation of an electron filament surrounded by
positive ions.(115)
Another phenomenon due to the action of sparks
apparently involves the formation of electron clusters.(116)
Considering the massive electrical activity in lightning, and electric
gravity, it follows that some types of ball lightning may have a
localized gravitational anomaly component. The use of momentary
discharges to form a gravitational field above an object's center of
mass, to reduce its weight, may have been demonstrated with Farrow's
"condensing dynamo".(117)
[End of Fraser's paper; I have lost the footnotes &
references; will upload when I locate them -- sorry
by Alexander Strang Fraser
http://www.tricountyi.net/~randerse/asf1.htm
1991 Nelson, BC, Canada
(selected events)
1941- Dec. 7-- Pearl Harbor; Dunninger submitted ship invisibility
idea to Navy after this (4)
1942- May 8-- US aircraft carrier Lexington lost (5)
1942- June 7-- US aircraft carrier Yorktown lost (6)
1942- Sept. 15-- US aircraft carrier Wasp lost (7)
1942- Oct. 26-- US aircraft carrier Hornet lost (8)
1942- Dec. 2-- University of Chicago (Fermi et al) reactor successful
(9)
1943- Feb. 22-- Eldridge construction commenced-- Newark, NJ (10)
1943- March-- Nazi U-boat success peaks (11)
1943- spring-- Allied committee appointed to monitor Nazi missile
situation (12)
1943- July 25-- Eldridge launched (13)
1943- Aug. 27-- Eldridge commissioned-- New York (14,15)
1943- Sept.-- Eldridge shakedown and escort duties through to late
Dec. (16)
1943- fall-- British discovered Nazi missiles to be of two types
(V-1&2)(17)
1943- Oct. 4-- SS Andrew Furuseth in port-- Newport News, VA (18)
1943- Oct.-- PX (19,20)
1943- Oct. 25-- Furuseth departed for Oran, N. Africa (21)
1943- late-- US Mark 14 torpedo problems all solved (22)
1943- late Dec.-- Eldridge trained near Block Island, RI (23)
1944- Jan.-- Eldridge assumed convoy escort duty in Atlantic (24)
1944- June 6-- D-Day (25)
1944- June 13-- First V-1 attacks against England (26)
1944- June 19-- Imperial Japanese aircraft carriers Shokaku & Taiho
sunk by US subs (27)
1944- Oct. 24-- US aircraft carrier Princeton lost (28)
1944- Nov. 29-- Imperial Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano sunk by US
sub (29)
1944- Dec. 19-- Imperial Japanese aircraft carrier Unryu sunk by US
sub (30)
1945- early-- NRL transferred from Bureau of Ships to Office of
Research and Inventions (ORI) (31)
1945- July 16-- First A-bomb explosion-- Alamogordo, NM (32)
1946-- Office of Naval Research (ONR) succeeded ORI (33,34)
1956- Jan. 13-- Carl M. Allen's first letter (rural New Kensington, PA
home address (35)) received by Jessup (36)
A) (hot air)
B) body heating by ultrasonic diathermy(72)
C) heating of absorptive clothing(73,74)
D) "burning sensation" due to vibration damping between fingers(75)
excessive heating of absorptive materials(73,74)
A) equilibrium loss(76)
B) (giddiness due to heat exhaustion)(77)
(fainting due to heat exhaustion)(78)
paralysis due ro effect on nerves(79)
A) central nervous system lesions(80)
B) (brain damage due to heat stroke)(81)
fog: from water(82) due to activity of harmonics?(83)
green: water sonoluminescence?(84)
separation of crew from ultrasonic-thermal field by altering deck
duties and/or using special enclosures/suits
?
approach observer from direction of 'unstructured' backgrounds like
the open sea
use in airborne situations wothout airborne observers, or camouflage
the ship (the fog may help) & jam or absorb radar