Psychomantium Mirrors - Past, Present, Future?

[katarinak]

And here you can see a single candle flicker where a flame created a wall around itself:

Some more examples of flame flicker, this time with oil/gas lamps.

I just tried candles this week and canceled the mini biofireplace. The flickering from the mini biofireplace was too intense. I played with different heights and they are placed on one side by the wall. I put the candles in jam jars and the flickering of the candles works very well

 

[irjO]

Have you guys tried using led candles? Some of them simulates flickering but there are others than it’s just steady light:

https://a.co/d/bFRnp0Q

Or maybe a single low watt bulb?

https://a.co/d/fAvANNU

To me it seems that using candles was the only way to go in the past to control the amount of light in the room. Perhaps that is not necessary nowadays or mandatory to the experiment. Perhaps the experiment should be more of the amount of light you get from 5 candles and equal that with the amount of light to a specific number of led candles and the light it can create or measure the light intensity from a single bulb to that, if that makes sense.

 

[Persej]

I just tried candles this week and canceled the mini biofireplace. The flickering from the mini biofireplace was too intense. I played with different heights and they are placed on one side by the wall. I put the candles in jam jars and the flickering of the candles works very well

I think it's a step in the right direction. I bought some candles and will let some of them drill a hole and see what happens. I am not sure if jars would work, because I think that oxygen should come from the bottom for the better airflow.

Have you guys tried using led candles?

LED light is one possible option if you can control the flicker.

To me it seems that using candles was the only way to go in the past to control the amount of light in the room. Perhaps that is not necessary nowadays or mandatory to the experiment. Perhaps the experiment should be more of the amount of light you get from 5 candles and equal that with the amount of light to a specific number of led candles and the light it can create or measure the light intensity from a single bulb to that, if that makes sense.

C's said that flicker is the key. And the amount of light should be low. Perhaps 5 candles was appropriate for Laura's room, and is not necessary for others.

 

[katarinak]

I am not sure if jars would work, because I think that oxygen should come from the bottom for the better airflow.

Jars work well, I tried it for a few days and the candles flickered continuously. If you look at the video, the candle on the left is tall and the jar does not exceed the height of the candle, the candle hardly flickers at all.

C's said that flicker is the key. And the amount of light should be low. Perhaps 5 candles was appropriate for Laura's room, and is not necessary for others

If the candles are placed on the floor behind the mirror, there is less light, the higher they are placed, the more light there is in the room. If the candles are behind the person, there is much more light that illuminates the mirror. I still need to research this and find the optimal placement. I am currently trying both alternatives

Have you guys tried using led candles? or a single low watt bulb

No, I haven't tried, I prefer the traditional way. That's just my individual attitude, it's possible that it could work anyway.

 

[Stella Marys]

Very interesting talk you are having. Regarding candlelight, I found this article that may give some more insight. Translated via Deepl.

The flame of a candle is made of millions of diamonds.
The luminous secret of a candle: within its flame millions of diamond particles come into existence and disappear.
Although you won't be able to do much with them, if you have a candle you also have billions of nanodiamonds. Art is generally a useless thing and this is the case with the poetic creation of diamond particles and their successive annihilation in an instant.

Dr. Wuzong Zhou of the University of St. Andrews developed a technique to remove the particles in the center of a candle and in doing so discovered that about 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles are produced per second in the combustion of hydrocarbons.

“Unfortunately,” Zhou said, ”the diamond particles are burned in the process and converted to carbon dioxide.” And there is no way to extract these precious particles that would be, as fugitive, a fabulous treasure.

Although it will not be possible to possess these flaming diamonds, the research could help discover ways to create these precious stones while reducing costs.

La flama de una vela está hecha de millones de diamantes

El luminoso secreto de una vela: dentro de su flama entran en existencia y desaparecen millones de partículas de diamantes. Aunque no podrás hacer mucho con ellos, si tienes una vela también tienes miles de millones de nanodiamantes. El arte es...

es.sott.net

 

[Persej]

I found one interesting view on the flicker. This guy claims that randomized flicker is actually even better than fixed flicker, which means that 5 candles flickering with a little bit different flicker frequency (within a range of 1 Hz) would have a stronger effect than if they would be all flickering with the same flicker frequency. So we don't have to merge candles, we just need to find a way to make them flicker on their own, with a similar frequency.

 

[katarinak]

This guy claims that randomized flicker is actually even better than fixed flicker, which means that 5 candles flickering with a little bit different flicker frequency (within a range of 1 Hz) would have a stronger effect than if they would be all flickering with the same flicker frequency. So we don't have to merge candles, we just need to find a way to make them flicker on their own, with a similar frequency.

I found a candle with 2 wicks in the store, the candle only flickers if it is in a glass container. The flicker is subtle and is placed behind the observer at about head height. Then the 3 candles are on the ground behind the mirror. So it's like 2 non-vertical groups of candles are formed

So far a pleasant surprise, as the mirror is neither too illuminated by the light nor too dark. So the observer is among the flickering candles both in front of and behind him, although he can't see any of them. As for the sensation, it is subtle but intense. So far only a first attempt, so hard to say.

I listened to Laura's video of EE breathing, brought my attention back to breathing. It reminded me a lot of the yoga pranayama I practiced years in the past.

 

[monotonic]

I also found another interesting scientific article about vibratory flame movement in glass tubes:

They mention the oscillations in the 260-280 Hz range that I mentioned in my post #331. Perhaps the flicker that we are looking for is not the visible 10 Hz flicker, but the invisible one, at the 260-280 Hz range?

The frequency is due to the standing waves of the tube they used which depends on the length of the tube. If you had a similar tube or helmholtz resonator and placed it near the flame it may influence the flame to flicker at certain frequencies, but I don't think the article indicates they do this on their own.

Maybe the unpredictable nature of the flicker is actually a desirable feature?

 

[Persej]

The frequency is due to the standing waves of the tube they used which depends on the length of the tube. If you had a similar tube or helmholtz resonator and placed it near the flame it may influence the flame to flicker at certain frequencies, but I don't think the article indicates they do this on their own.

Maybe the unpredictable nature of the flicker is actually a desirable feature?

Yes, higher frequencies are interesting, but they are not possible with the flame. The unpredictable nature (up to a point) of the flicker does seem to be a key in the power of the flame flicker. So we just need to figure out what is the best way to achieve it.

 

[monotonic]

If you want to achieve a specific amount of unpredictability, then you want to be able to keep the conditions of the flame constant. That would mean avoiding candles which are constantly changing shape or take a long time to warm up. So my suggestion would be some variation on stick candles with a candle cap, and find a way to use enclosures to affect the flicker:

candle cap at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

My issue with being preoccupied with choosing candles is that you may limit yourself to a narrow solution when you probably need all the variation of erratically burning candles to discover what actually works best. It could be that patience is key.

 

[Persej]

If you want to achieve a specific amount of unpredictability, then you want to be able to keep the conditions of the flame constant. That would mean avoiding candles which are constantly changing shape or take a long time to warm up. So my suggestion would be some variation on stick candles with a candle cap, and find a way to use enclosures to affect the flicker:

Yes, that's one option. Another one is to use a pillar candle and let it make a hole in itself.

My issue with being preoccupied with choosing candles is that you may limit yourself to a narrow solution when you probably need all the variation of erratically burning candles to discover what actually works best. It could be that patience is key.

Well, the problem with that is that candles do not flicker under normal circumstances. They are simply not designed to do that.

 

[Wandering Star]

Session 4 April 1998

Q: Alright, I have been practicing with the psychomantium. I once had a little flash of light. Another time there was the sensation of pressure and of course the rising heat. Are there any actions that I can take that will optimize the process?

A: Blacken the room.

Q: So, it will help to be in a completely blackened room?

A: Oh yes!!