De Tromelin Cylinder
A device for the detection of psychic forces was invented by
the Count de Tromelin at the opening of the twentieth century.
A paper cylinder with a crosspiece of straw revolves on a fine
point when a human hand is in the vicinity or when the operator
wills the device to move. It is also known as the fluid motor.
Many variant devices of this kind have been made to demonstrate
the supposed action of psychic force or willpower on a
lightly suspended object. One such indicator is a square of
paper, folded across the diagonals so that it can revolve on a
firmly fixed needle point.
One problem with all such devices is the lack of controls to
exclude the possibility of the movement being caused by air
currents or the heat of the operators hand. The most impressive
devices are those enclosed within a glass cover to exclude
air movements (see sthenometer).
Dessoir, Max Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed.
406
One very interesting instrument of this kind was developed
by the British physician Charles Russ and was described by him
in the July 3, 1931, issue of the respected British medical journal
the Lancet as An Instrument Which is Set in Motion by Vision.
(See also biometer of Baraduc; magnetometer)
Sources
Russ, Charles. An Instrument Which is Set in Motion by Vision.
Lancet, July 3, 1931.
