Could Schlieren Photography be used to capture ghosts on film?

I recently stumbled across a form of photography I was previously unaware of.
Its called Schlieren.

I was hoping to maybe find a member that has a little more knowledge about this than the typical Google search... It looks like they are using the gas's shadow, but I cant be sure how they are capturing gasses on film like this.

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about...

Starting with my personal favorite of a sound wave..












Now that you have an idea of what I'm getting at, here is my idea...

Somehow incorporate this technique into a new ghost hunting tool. This would be a great way to document the supernatural forces that affect this planet.

The common belief is that spirit entities need to basically leach energy off of sources in the environment in order to produce something paranormal. Most of the time, ghosts or spirits effect the temperature of the environment in which they occupy. Cold and hot air are nothing but gasses, so this form of photography should be able to capture the hidden things we cannot observe with conventional equipment.

The ghost still could stay invisible, yet the surrounding air would be altered because of the supernatural presence. Thus, giving the camera the ability to capture the outline of the presence.

Thermal imaging is a good way to capture ghosts on film, but I have yet to see a camera that can operate as previously described.

Sorry for the long explanation

Thanks for reading!

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i love my photography and i will read into this.

it's a great idea, and the theory behind what you are saying makes alot of sense, not sure on the cost involved, but if it's low enough, or it's easy enough to modify an slr, then im gonna give it a go.

This would definitely be worth a try. Great find BTW. I found a website that sells these systems. I am sure there are more sites. At least a person can check it out to see what is included in a system and have an idea of costs.

Anchor Optics

Excellent!!!!

Thanks for the encouraging replies!

I would love to see this incorporated into the show Ghost Hunters!

They come up with fantastic evidence, this would only add to the strange things they caught on film!

Thank guys!

I still dont see how this system works

Are they casting a light on to the gas and recording the shadow?

If so how was the sound wave captured?

This is all very strange and very intriguing.....

Upon further review....It looks like you need to have two sources of reflection, as shown in my previous post.....

I guess you could make a sort of trap for the ghost.....

Maybe once an EVP session is established, set up this array of mirrors and lights in hopes of catching a supernatural presence.

The K2 meter sometimes used, would also be a good way to tell if there is a fluctuation in the EMF that would indicate a presense as well.

Once positive there is an unseen being, quickly snap your picture.

Also, IR light could be used instead of a visible light to keep the "lights out" effect.



[edit on 31-10-2008 by IMAdamnALIEN]

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Need experienced people to chime in if possible.......

Not one member is familiar with this technique?

That is hard to imagine....

A show called Time Warp on Discovery uses the Schlieren camera on several accounts. I am far from an expert, but might be able to offer some insight on how this works.
The Older Version is called Shadowograph. If you have ever stood next to a heat generating source and saw a shadow of the heat waves that was not visible. That is pretty much the same thing. What is actually going on is the heat waves are giving something for the light to slightly reflect and distort. Schlieren is similar to this as well. Someone asked how you can capture sound waves. You can't What your really seeing is air being pushed "distorted" by the sound wave.

In terms of ghost hunting. One issue that you might run into is the amount of required. My guess is that you wound capture an apparition bending airflow but the effects to the air flow. Like a gust of air swirling. Really cool but still lacking something in the evidence department.

I think your on the right track. We can't always see ghosts, and can pick them up on non-visible wave lengths more often. We are finding new ways to make visible that which is in the non-visible spectrum.
Imagine a Camera that could see FM radio waves. If you have ever hit a dead spot for the radio in your house imagine that as a cold area. Areas where you get great reception are hot areas. Now instead of FM Radio imagine tuning the dial to what ever it is we are picking up on or EMF detectors. What if you could make an EMF Camera? Consider that O-Scopes already make invisible wave lengths visible.

Some force made the drywall rip off the wall, and moved the chair. Proving (and capturing on film) the originating source of this unseen force could one day be Nobel Prize material.

These shlieren photos look remarkably similar to what some people capture on their personal cameras as "Orbs".

However, I have been able to simulate the "Orb" in a photograph by throwing flour through the air - then taking a picture. The flour particle bends the light "flashed" around the particle creating what looks like a blurred "Orb"

In genuine "Orb" photos, I have noticed what may appear to be"faces" in them, much like the emoticons -->