A Hieronymus machine is any of the patented

radionics Radionics—also called electromagnetic therapy (EMT) and the Abrams Method—is a form of alternative medicine that claims that disease can be diagnosed and treated by applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR), such as radio waves, to the bod ...

devices invented by electrical

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Thomas Galen Hieronymus (21 November 1895 – 21 February 1988). Hieronymus received a U.S. Patent for his invention in 1949, which was described in the patent application title as a device for "detection of emanations from materials and measurement of the volumes thereof".. Skeptics and scientists consider the devices to be an example of

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...

and

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, ...

. Gardner, Martin. (2012 edition, originally published in 1957). ''

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science ''Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science'' (1957)—originally published in 1952 as ''In the Name of Science: An Entertaining Survey of the High Priests and Cultists of Science, Past and Present''—was Martin Gardner's second book. A survey o ...

''. Dover Publications. pp. 347–348. . John Sladek. (1973). ''The New Apocrypha: A Guide to Strange Science and Occult Beliefs''. Hart-David MacGibbon. p. 269.Williams, William F. (2000). '' Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy''. Facts on File Inc. p. 146. .

History

Design and function

The original "Radiation Analyzer" consisted of a chamber to hold a sample of material, a glass

prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

to refract the "eloptic" emanations coming from it, and a copper wire probe on a rotating armature to adjust the angle formed by the prism and the probe. Supposedly, "eloptic" emanations are refracted by the prism at different angles depending on the material. The detected "eloptic" signals were fed to a three-stage

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as ...

RF amplifier and conducted to a flat touch plate surrounded by a copper wire

bifilar coil A bifilar coil is an electromagnetic coil that contains two closely spaced, parallel windings. In engineering, the word ''bifilar'' describes wire which is made of two filaments or strands. It is commonly used to denote special types of winding ...

. By stroking the touch plate an operator could supposedly feel a sensation of "tingling" or "stickiness" when the "eloptic" energy was detected. As such, a human nervous system is considered to be necessary to operate a Hieronymus Machine. Hieronymus subsequently designed solid-state versions of his Analyzers, substituting germanium transistors for crystal prisms and tunable

capacitor A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field by virtue of accumulating electric charges on two close surfaces insulated from each other. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals. The effect of ...

s for the rotating armature. He also designed and built various specialized devices designed for specific functions, including analysis of living organisms and production of

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dise ...

remedies.Hieronymus (1976), p. A-9. The most well-known Hieronymus Machine is the Eloptic Medical Analyzer, which supposedly analyzes and transmits "eloptic energy" to diagnose and treat medical conditions in plants and animals. The theory of operation on which Hieronymus Machines are based is that all matter emits a kind of "radiation" that is not

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...

, but exhibits some of the characteristics of both light and electricity. The quality of this emanation is unique to every kind of matter, and therefore can be utilized for detection and analysis. Hieronymus coined the term "eloptic energy" to describe this radiation (from the words "electrical" and "optical"). All of his machines were designed to detect and manipulate this "eloptic energy". Eloptic emanations have never been detected by instruments designed to measure electromagnetic energies, no other evidence of their existence have been produced, and there is no mathematical theory of an eloptic field, so the theory is considered pseudoscientific and is not accepted by the scientific community.

John W. Campbell and Hieronymus machines

The inventions of Hieronymus were championed by ''Astounding Science Fiction'' editor

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

in late 1950s and early 1960s editorials. A series of correspondences between the two men show that while Hieronymus was sure that someday his theories of eloptic energy would be proven and accepted by physical scientists, Campbell was convinced that the machines were based on psionics, related to the user's

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

ESP ESP most commonly refers to: * Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability ESP may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Music * ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars * E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...

powers. As an example, Campbell believed one could create an eloptic receiver or similar device with the prisms and amplifiers represented by their cardboard or even

schematic A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic usually omits all details that are not relevant to the key information the ...

representations. Through the use of mental powers, such a machine would function as well as its "real" equivalent.Campbell, (August 1956). In his autobiography, Hieronymus wrote, "I appreciated Mr Campbell's interest in my work, but over the years since then, I have concluded that he set back the acceptance of my work at least a hundred years by his continual emphasis on what he termed the supernatural or 'magic' aspects of a mind-controlled device he built by drawing the schematic of my patented instrument with India ink. The energy flowed over the lines of this drawing because India ink is conducting, but it isn't worth a tinker's damn for serious research or actual treating."Hieronymus (1988), Part V, p. 123–124.

Scientific reception

The claims of Hieronymus about "eloptic" emanations were heavily criticized by the

scientific community The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...

as having no basis in reality. His machines have been compared to the quack devices of Albert Abrams and have also been described as an example of

Notes

References

*Campbell, John W. Jr. “Psionic Machine — Type One”
''Astounding Science Fiction''
June 1956, pp. 97–108. *Campbell, John W. Jr. “Correction and Further Data on the Hieronymous Machine”
''Astounding Science Fiction''
August 1956, pp. 112–114. *Goodavage, Joseph

''Analog Science Fiction'', January 1977. * * {{cite book , last = Hieronymus , first = T. Galen , title = The Story of Eloptic Energy , publisher = Institute of Advanced Sciences, Inc. , date=January 1988 , url =

External links

Hieronymus Tosh
The Guardian.
Spooky Action at a Distance: The Strange Science of Radionics
Popular Mechanics, Oct 2015
Reconstructing the Aether: Building the Hieronymus Machine
Aetheric Arts
In Search of Psi - The Hieronymus Machine
Make Magazine, Vol. 9
Building the Symbolic Hieronymus Machine
Enigmatic Devices Biofield therapies Energy therapies Health fraud Pseudoscience