Articles ~ Research ~ Visual Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) and ghostly phenomena

Abstract

The phosphor dust that coats the inside of the screens is charged by streams of electrons and holds the image long enough for our eyes to process and interpret the image. Perhaps, the phosphor also captures spectral energies and due to the phosphors properties converts that energy into a visual image.

Null Hypothesis: ITC can be used to communicate with spirits.

Alternative Hypothesis: ITC cannot be used to communicate with ghostly phenomena or Ghosts do not exist.

Introduction

It has been suggested that a television can be used to see spirits and ghosts. This article presents the collected data from from test sites and environmentally controlled and monitored conditions in accordance with SGHA Method 001. (Click here to read more about this method).

Materials and Methods

This study was carried out using SGHA Method 001, a double blind study which compares data that is collected in "haunted" and "non-haunted" (controlled) environments.

A Chinon S-200 video camera was aimed at a small television during question sessions. The questions were kept relative to "spirits" that inhabited the building. The sessions were recorded and analyzed . Any possible message was counted as a positive hit (measured response). The results were measured in the number of positive hits at each location. The technique was used in a total of 50 ghost hunts, 25 in Test sites, 25 in Control Sites. The test was initiated in May of 1990 and concluded in July of 1996.

The data collected was analyzed by standard deviation and a two sample (paired) T-Test.

Results

Repeated Measures Analysis Summary
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Number of repeated measures is 2
Number of subjects read in 25

Means and standard deviations for 2 repeated measures:

1)POSITIVE: mean = 2.12 s.d. = 1.61555
2)NEGATIVE: mean = 4.08 s.d. = 2.69134

Mean Difference = -1.96 s.d.(difference) = 3.34764

95% C.I. about Mean Difference is (-3.34257, -0.57743)

Paired t-test
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Hypotheses:

Ho: The mean difference between pairs is 0.
Ha: The mean difference between pairs is not 0.

Calculated t = 2.92744 with 24 D.F. p = 0.0074 (two-sided)

A paired t-test was performed to determine if there was a difference between paired differences of POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.

There is evidence that the mean difference (M=-1.96, SD =3.34764, N= 25)
is statistically different than 0, t(24)=2.93, two-tail p = 0.007.

Based on the data obtained during the testing period, the null hypothesis is rejected. The alternative hypothesis, that Visual ITC cannot communicate with spirits, or ghosts do not exist is accepted.

Common causes of ghosts (in the more specific sense) are:

* Mismatched impedance along the communication channel, which causes unwanted reflections. The scientific or engineering term for this phenomenon is ringing.
* Multipath distortion, because radio frequency waves may take paths of different length (by reflecting from buildings, clouds, etc.) to reach the receiver. In addition, RF leaks may allow a signal to enter the set by a different path; this is most common in a large building such as a tower block or hotel where one TV antenna feeds many different rooms, each fitted with a TV aerial socket (this is known as pre-echo). By getting a better antenna or cable system it can be eliminated or mitigated.

Note that ghosts are a problem specific to the video portion of television, largely because it uses AM for transmission. TV is also transmitted on VHF and UHF, which have line-of-sight propagation, and easily reflect off of buildings, mountains, and other objects.

The audio portion uses FM, which has the desirable property that a stronger signal tends to overpower interference from weaker signals due to the capture effect. Even when ghosts are particularly bad in the picture, there may be little audio interference.

Note also that ghosts are specific to analog transmission. Digital television avoids the problems of ghosts altogether, although it has its own artifacts such as block errors. DVB and ISDB use COFDM modulation, which performs well under conditions that produce analog ghosting, while ATSC uses 8VSB, which performs poorly under such conditions.[citation needed]

Co-channel interference is sometimes called ghosting, but it is very different in nature.

Ghosting can also occur in KVM switches, or in VGA video cables, due to poor electromagnetic shielding.