Subject: Re: The Mills Experiments
From: Aaron Cox <wyattknows@...>
Date: 5 Apr 2006 12:08
RESPONSE: My name is is Wyatt Cox and I have investigated an Earth Light sighting area in Alabama for several years. The location is in the north west region in Lauderdale County. The Earhtlights are large and can be seen on an almost predictable basis. I have a detailed log of sightings since the late 1970s, time-expouser photos and a recent video I shot. The first reported Earthlight was in the early 1970s. I travelled back to this area earlier this year and observed three Earthlights. If interested, my email is wyattknows@.... wyatt cox --- sean_b_palmer <sean@...> wrote: > Today I contacted Dr. Allan Mills of the University > of Leicester's > Geology Department, who has written two of the very > few papers that > exist about Will-o'-the-wisps. He proved to be a > most jovial and > helpful man, and it was an absolute pleasure to > speak to him; I came > away from the experience rather wanting to invest > more time in > researching the whole phenomenon, which I have been > doing. > > Dr. Mills had written a paper in 1980 in Chemistry > in Britain that > described his experiments with trying to get > phosphene to ignite marsh > gas. As David Clarke said, in his Peakland > Spooklights article: > > Using laboratory conditions he consistently > failed to reproduce > a will o'the wisp type flame using methane, > phosphene and other > substances suspected as contributors to the > chemical soup in > marshland. What is more, he could not find any > other natural > spark which could ignite gasses produced from > rotting vegetable > matter. Whatever the will o'the wisp was, he > concluded, it was > not a product of marsh and their gas. > - http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/Peakland.htm > > What was not mentioned by Clarke, and what has not > been mentioned by > any of the other authors who cite Mills work > (including Devereux, > Corliss as far as I know, and Beavon) is that Dr. > Mills published a > subsequent paper in 2000 in the journal Weather > which outlines a new > theory that, for safety reasons, Dr. Mills is unable > to test. > > In any case, we spoke about the history of the > lights and various > other leads that I'm slowly chasing up and will be > trying as much as > possible to document on my ignis fatuus page: > > http://inamidst.com/lights/wisp > > The main problem is that there is now an impasse. > Dr. Mills is unable > to proceed with experiments to test his theory > because the gases > involved are highly toxic; and field reports of > Will-o'-the-wisps were > even said to have been dwindling by 1855 because of > drainage. Couple > that with encroaching urbanisation and you have a > considerable lack of > sightings. > > Having said that, Wikipedia mentions some research > by Garlaschelli and > Boschetti wherein the traditional mechanism of > phosphene was said to > be proven, which is worth pursuing. I've also found > some details about > a phenomenon where leaking gas was said to occur > naturally from the > ground and be ignitable, manually. This proves at > least that the gases > are present in such a form as to be flammable and > sustain themselves. > > I'd also like to compile a database of the sightings > that have been > reported, and the locations at which they occur. > Perhaps there are a > handful of isolated sites at which field research > could still occur. > It would also be worthwhile, then, investigating the > folklore as to > the effect of the weather of the appearance of the > lights, so as to > pick a peak time to go looking for them. And there's > also the > possibility of an international venture along these > lines. > > It was especially nice to have talked to someone who > is not only an > expert of many years in the subject, but someone who > was very open > about his research. It doesn't happen in this field > often in my > experience, mainly because it is by its nature a > very slow moving and > tedious underfunded beast. But I think a little > attitude might go a > long way towards changing that. > > Cheers, > > -- > Sean B. Palmer, mysterylights.com > Homepage: http://inamidst.com/sbp/ > > > > > >