Crescograph
Encyclopedia
A crescograph is a device for measuring growth in plants. It was invented in the early 20th century by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, an Indian scientist.
The Bose crescograph uses a series of clockwork gears and a smoked glass
plate to record the movement of the tip of a plant (or its roots) at magnifications of up to 10,000. Marks are made on the plate at intervals of a few seconds, demonstrating how the rate of growth varies under varying stimuli. Bose experimented with temperature, chemicals, gasses and electricity.
A Bose inspired modern electronic Crescograph
was designed and built by Randall Fontes
to measure plant movement at Stanford Research Institute for (S.R.I Project 3194 (Task 3) November 1975) which culminated in a report “Organic Biofield Sensor” by H. E. Puthoff and R. Fontes.
The Electronic Crescograph plant movement detector is capable of measurements as small as 1/1,000,000 of an inch. However, its normal operating range is from 1/1000 to 1/10,000 of an inch. The component which actually measures the movement is a differential transformer. Its movable core is hinged between two points. A micrometer is used to adjust and calibrate the system. It could record plant growth magnifying a small movements such as 10,000,000 times.
The Bose crescograph uses a series of clockwork gears and a smoked glass
Smoked glass
The term smoked glass refers to two different types of glass. It can be either of the following: Smoked glass is a flat sheet of glass held in the smoke of a candle flame such that one surface of the sheet of glass is covered in a layer of smoke residue...
plate to record the movement of the tip of a plant (or its roots) at magnifications of up to 10,000. Marks are made on the plate at intervals of a few seconds, demonstrating how the rate of growth varies under varying stimuli. Bose experimented with temperature, chemicals, gasses and electricity.
A Bose inspired modern electronic Crescograph
was designed and built by Randall Fontes
Randall Fontes
Randall G. Fontes is an American psychology professional known particularly for his research in the fields of parapsychology and psychophysics...
to measure plant movement at Stanford Research Institute for (S.R.I Project 3194 (Task 3) November 1975) which culminated in a report “Organic Biofield Sensor” by H. E. Puthoff and R. Fontes.
The Electronic Crescograph plant movement detector is capable of measurements as small as 1/1,000,000 of an inch. However, its normal operating range is from 1/1000 to 1/10,000 of an inch. The component which actually measures the movement is a differential transformer. Its movable core is hinged between two points. A micrometer is used to adjust and calibrate the system. It could record plant growth magnifying a small movements such as 10,000,000 times.