Magnetic fields of the human body

AUG 01, 1975

Developments in ways to measure the extremely weak magnetic fields emanating from organs such as the heart, brain and lungs are leading to important new methods for diagnosing abnormal conditions.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3069110

David Cohen

In France, around 1780, many Parisians believed in curing their illnesses by magnetism. To perform this cure, they sat in a group around a tub containing “mesmerized” water and iron filings; this was part of the cult introduced to Paris by Dr Franz Mesmer. He proclaimed that animal magnetism of the human body controlled the flow of a universal fluid through the body and that illness resulted when there was an obstacle to that flow. The illness would be cured by magnetically redirecting the fluid with arrangements such as the filings and water.

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References

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More about the Authors

David Cohen. Senior Scientist, Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.