Solco Walle Tromp (9, March 1909 - 17, March 1983) was a Dutch

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and biometeorologist. Tromp was from 1947 to 1950 Professor of geology at Cairo University. He co-founded the

International Society of Biometeorology The International Society of Biometeorology (ISB) is a professional society for scientists interested in biometeorology, specifically environmental and ecological aspects of the interaction of the atmosphere and biosphere. The organization's stat ...

and published pioneering writings on biometeorology. Tromp took a deep interest in dowsing and

radiesthesia Radiesthesia describes an ability to detect radiation emitted by a person, animal, object or geographical feature. There is no scientific evidence of the existence of this pseudoscientific or occult phenomenon. Definitions One definition is "se ...

. He conducted experiments and came to the conclusion that dowsing is a real phenomenon due to activity of

electromagnetic field An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical c ...

s. His views on dowsing were 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 ...

and have been described by critics as 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 falsifiability, unfa ...

Gardner, Martin Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of Lewis ...

. (2012 edition, originally published in 1957). '' Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science''. Dover Publications. pp. 103-106.

Publications

*''The Religion of the Modern Scientist: Neo-Materialism'' (1947) *''Psychical Physics: A Scientific Analysis of Dowsing Radiesthesia and Kindred Divining Phenomena'' (1949) *''Medical Biometeorology: Weather, Climate, and the Living Organism'' (1963) *''Pathological Biometeorology'' (1977)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tromp, Solco Walle 1909 births 1983 deaths Cairo University alumni Dowsing 20th-century Dutch geologists