The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-09
machine READS THOUGHTS
Washington Inventor Patents Re-
markable Production.
KNOWS YOUR MENTAL SECRETS
Relieves That the Force OF Thought Is
Something Actual. Whose Vibra-
tious Can Not Only be Recorded
But Also Transmitted.

But Also Transmitted.
Washington Letter, Philadelphia Times.
If the accounts given of new ma
chine Just completed by julius Emner,
of this city, are not too hopeful IL is
the mos. wonderful of discoveries, for
it lifts man out of the plane of the ma
terial and reads his most secret
thoughts, laying bear his mind as II
beneath q microscope, and recording
each idea as it Is given birth in the
brain. If /. was a great feat To photo
graph through n solid substance 1t is
an almost miraculous performance to
take mental photographs, which can
be secured unknown to the person, pho
tographs which will tell every intangible
dream which flCats through the soul
The idea of recording thought oc-
CURED to Mr.. Emner about three years
ago The fac: that sight and hearing
were caused by the vibrations Of light
and sound madr him susneCt that the
force OF thought was something actual.
which eXertod n tangible power by vi
brations similar to those of light and
sound, and that a machine could be
constructed which would be sensitive
to the thought force. as the phonograph
is to the voice. Many deny that thought
IS anything real, but Mr.. Emner holds
that the brain is q form Of electric bat
terry, thoughts emanating from it just
us the rays do from electricity. that
they penetrate the atmosphere and
cause vibrations just as tuning fork
does when struck. Hypnotism. he eX-
plains, shows that mind goes out and
eXerts its force on another. and the
brain vibrations are transmitted from
one person just as the sound would
be carried
The machine, which Is now in the
hands of a patent lawyer Is a cylinder
about six or eight inches long and an
inch and n half in diameter. 1t is coat
ed with an exceedingly sensitive chemi-
cal. which Is easily decompOsed by the
electric current. In front Is a fine
needle OF aluminium, coated at its point
with chemicals, and resting on the cyiin-
der, while the base Is set In a dia-
phragm of aluminium, a very thin plate
of the latter being used. In front Is a
large, open. somewhat horn-like ar
rangCment. which Is intended to convey
the vibrations direct to the recorder.
The machine is put in action by means
of a small motor. which revolves the
cylinder, the thought forces causing the
needle to make upon the surface of the
cylinder impressions which correspond
with the vibrations.
ELECTRICITY DOES 1T.
There is, of course. an electric induc-
ton coil connected with the apparatus.
The person whose thoughts are to be
read Is seated about three feet In front
Of the machine and lets his mind pursue
the train of thought he desires. The
motor Is set going and within a few
moments the cylinder has done it's work
and q finer and more delicate needle Is
put in place of the recording one, for the
mind is to be read from the Impressions.
Connection is made with the second
airy induction coil and wires leading
from the electrodes are placed at the
base of the brain of the reader. The
ideas which had passed from the first
person into the machine are now trans
mitted into the mind of the second per-
son with absolute fidelity and perfect
accuracy, the thoughts being received
| in an unconscious manner-that Is, not
by any sound or any written word, but
the conception frames itself in the mind
| of the second person just as it was given
| being in that of the first. 1t Is Just
reproduced again.
That she machine will do all that is
claimed for 1t has. it Is said. been
proven not only by the inventor. but by
| several other persons. An experiment
| was tried to show that this force OF
| thought was exerted unconsciously by
| 81 person who was unknown to him, and
! to make perfect test a young lady was
placed in a hypnotic state and put O
few feet away from the machine. She
lay before ii not only not eXerting her
] n tsly ,f In,
surroundings, and without any contro
over her own mind, which was in a state
| of semi-coma. or at least obliviOus t
the environment. Then Mr.. Emner tool
the record Of mind from the cylinder
into his own mind and read her thought!
! finding that her brain had been busy
with family affairs all the time.
INTERESTING TESTS.
Another experiment was tried will
two friends to whom he had been ex
planning his invention. Mr.. Emmer hat
his thoughts recorded and then lei
his friends read them by placing tn,
wires from the electrodes at the base O
their brains. AS soon as they had fin
ished expressing their astonishment on,
of them was placed near the cylinde
and when Mr.. Emner read the recort
| 1t ran Am ] in an insane asylum o.
am ] hypnotiZed?" showing that tn,
mans mind was full of wonder at th,
things he was experiencing. When h,
went away he told that he had beer
hypnotized. not being able to compre
hend that such wonderful power eX
listed as thought recording.
AS thoughts vary in intensity. Mr.
Emner showed that the degrees woul,
be marked upon the machine. He pro
cured dog and by teasing it threv
1t into violent rage when near tn,
cylinder. The record showed that tn
dogs mind was powerfully agitated. 70
the vibrations were intense, hence |
Is to be seen that by Emners invention
not only human feelings, but those o
the animal creation are open to on
minds eye
PRACTICAL USES.
The uses to which this invention ca,
be put are numberless. To be abb
to preserve the record of our owl
thoughts, which we can read off a
will: to be able to take down tn
| thoughts Of another when they may b
unconscious of the operation: to fathon
the brain Of the poet: to examine TIL
minds Of the insane: to discern the Sc
cret thoughts of our friends. and T.
| trace the workings OF crime In the brai
of the criminal are all fields of unlim
! tied boundaries, operations of whicl
science has as yet scarcely dreamed
To lay the soul under microscope, an,