Alessio Tognetti

Spring

2002

"A research

in

the history of Wilhelm Reich's ideas, and the search for evidence through his Cloud Buster machine"

Todd

Little-Siebold (Project Director/ Academic advisoi

Gideon Culman (Stixlent advisor)

C-r'.

:r^--^^^

Acknowledgements

wish to thank

Millard Dority

and

all

the folks at C.OA. Building

&

Grounds

for putting

up with

me wile working on the replica Qoudbuster and for helping me with tools and
I

materials that

would not have known

like

how to use otherAAise.

would also

to thank Chemistry Professor Don Cass

in

who lent more than

his

fair

share of helping hand

the aeation and implementation of the testing system for

I

my

project. Last

but not least would

like

to thank

my Academic/Project Advisors Todd

LittleSiebold

& John Visvader, without whom constant encouragements, ideas and

And of course my two

persistence would have never been able to complete this project.

I

readers Gideon Culman and

Ben Volta without whose

impartial

comment my project would

have made no sense what so ever.

Thanks to

all.

Table of Contents

Part one:

The history of the path that brought

revolutionary ideas
in

Reich to realize his

psychoanalysis.

Part two:

The journey from psychoanalysis to biology: from the mind to the

bodybioelectiicity.
^8

Part tree:

The discovery of biones and the Orgon Energy odyssey; from the 1 n^erious radation to the Orgon acamulator.

Part four:

A brief history of the Qoud buster machine: origin, usage, and

vMtnesses,

21

Part five:

My quest, via the study of my replica Qoud Buster machine, to

what
if

CTeate a system capable of objectively determining

Reich's

any of

daims are true.

My data and conclusions.

31

Introduction:

between
Austrian

930 and 1 956 the worid canie to know the niind,

Reich.

ideas

and inv^^

bom professor Wilhelm

Because some of Wilhelm Reich's theories and

either

inventions

were so "out of this worid", he v\^

conadered a genius, or completely

insana This has aeated a cichotomy between those who have been exposed to Reich's

ideas.

On one side, devoted followers,

it

live their lives in

search of his mythical Orgon

energy, trying to harness

and

in

so doing prove once and for all to the worid that Reich

was

unjustly persecuted for his radical concepts.

On the other

skeptics devote their time

trying

to challange the wori< of the

believers,

showing that Reich's theories have no real

scientific basis,

and therefore no fijrther time should be expended to research them.

under an exceptionally rare
third

Some of those who knew Reich's wori< fell

category, where skepticism melds with interest and curiosity.

It is

in

the perspective of this

category that ths project was devised: to research and investigate the history of Reich's

ideas, invention

and experiments. This b attempted through the reconstruction of one of his

experiments/ machines, the

Qoud Buster, to scientifically asses -within the limits of time

least

and resources

available

- the verity of at

some of Reich's ideas.

definitely

did not

expect the results of this project to

the end expected
I

conclude the debate on

Reich's ideas, but

in

it

to bring

some small amount of evidence that

would, whether pro or cons, help cast

some light on the situation.

his revolutionary ideas in

PART ONE:

The history of the path that brotght Reth to realize

Psychoanalysis

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in

2010 with funding from

Lyrasis IVIembers

and Sloan Foundation

http://www.archive.org/details/researchinhistorOOales

Of the respected
influential after

psychiatrists of our century, Wilhelm Reich

is

one of the most

Freud, at least

when
his

discussing the

field

of psychoanalysis and sexuality.

Bom in Austria in

897, during

education Reich

became interested in medicine and in the

Berlin

functioning of the

human

mind.

He was trained at the

Psychoanalytic Institute and

joined the faculty of the Vienna P^choanalytic Institute

in 1

924.

Almost immediately Reich became a leading

figure in his

field.

As he

realized

how

poorly and ineffectively the sexual aspect of psychology was regarded

and taught at the

Institute,

he took the matter into his own hands and started organizing a seminar course
sexuality.

focused on

As

Reich

recalls,

"The suggestion was made to

sexuality. ...

invite

an older

p^choanalyst to deliver a series of lectures on

new, and was very
I

heard a great deal that was

much intaested, but somehow the lecturer was not worthy of the
of the Orgasm, pg.

subject" (The FurKtion

2 1).

It

was at this time, 1 924, whfle in Vienna, that Reich came aaoss the work of Jung
for

and of Freud

the

first

time. Although

he

did not immediately

become a disdple of Freud,

Reich assimilated his ideas, and slowly studied his discoveries; this study experience

changed him deeply.

into
totally,

"

committed myself completely to psychoanalysis and threw myself

in

it

acquired a general grounding

natural sciences

and

natural philosophy;

It

was the basic theme of sexuality which compelled me to undertake these studes" (The
Function of the Orgasm, pg. 22).
Reich grappled with the problem of the relation

between the quantitative concept of

"ckive"

and the

qualitative

concept of "pleasure". Accading to Freud, the drive was

keeping with the

determined by the quantity of the excitation, by the amount of libido.

"In

system of thought known to me at that time, the quantitative facta and qualitative factor were incompatible, absolutely separated spheres. had reached a dead end" {The Function
I

of the Orgasm, pg. 53). With

this dinlcal-theoretical

take of the problem of "drive", Reich

had come extremely dose to the mechanistic thinking,

in

which "opposites are opposite and

therefore incompatible" (7776 Function of the Orgasm, pg. 53).

It is

at this point

in

time that

Reich

dedded to use only dinical

In 1

material

and tried to stay away from

theoretical essays.

922,Reich started his independent career as a psychoanalyst, at

first

following

the steps of Freud; during

his

career the detemiination of genital and non-genital sexuality

is

an idea that would continually be the fulcmm

of all
conceptions and representations
of sex-economy.

his

in

the

field

In

Diagram

l(r^/Tt),

Reich tried to explain the

differentiation

between

genital

and non-

genital

mechanisms: "on the outside of the

crde, we see that the excitation retrogresses

before reaching the peak.

On the inside, we see that the discharge fijlly resolves the

accumulated tension and reduces the excitation to zero." {The Function of the Org^m, pg.

54).

The dagram

is

also an eariy representation of Rdch's

main psychological/biological theory,

according to which, as

will

later explain in

more detail, the tension and successive

relaxation of the

body due to "natural genital act" trigger the discharge of energy, which
in

would otherwise accumulate dangerously

the body with the

risk

of damaging the brain.

In

the summer of

922

Reich received his medcal degree from the University of

Vienna. His interests

in this

period

were mainly directed toward schizophrenia. At that

and
classified schizophrenia;

time, psychiatry merely described

there

was no treatment for

it.

Reich wori<ed as an intern for a year at the Bleuler Institute (a mental institution)

when

the

modem theory on schizophrenia, based on Freud, was beginning to gain prominence.

Wrth the passing of time and an inaeased amount of dinical experience, however,

Reich realized that Freud's allegations - that the discovery of unconscious

mechanism

would have allowed the construction of a causal psychotherapy - were simply not true.

At issue were the fdbwing questions:

neurosis complete?
Is it

Is

the Freudian theory on the etiology of the

possible to arrive at a scientific theory of technique

and therapy?

Is

the Freudian theory of instinct correct?

Is it

complete?

If

not,

where

is it

lacking?

What
first

made sexual repression

(which lead to the epidemic of neurosis) necessary

in

the

place?" (Charxter Analysis pg. 267).

These are the true questions that would

lead Reich to

construct his sex-economy theory.

PART TWO: Jhepumey from psychoanalysis to tx)logy from the irind to the body bioelecthcity.

Since his

first dinical

observation

in 1

920, Reich

felt

he had successfully

interpreted the fijnctioning of the neurosB

and aeated a psychoanalytical system to cure it;

and moral
prindples,

he believed that

in this conflict

between

instinct

between ego and the

outside world, the organism

is

forced to create an armor to protect itsdf against both

instinct

and the surroundings.

It is

a "hard and

rigid

armor" that results

in

the

limitation of

vital faculties

needed

in

everyday

life,

creating an unhealthy individual, but

one

still

functional

enough to benefit society.

In 1

920 he now had enough material to make his revolutionary final step:
I

"Over the course of two years, had collected

sufficient material

to permit

me to

make this formulation: the disturbance of geniality b not, as previously believed, one symptom among others, it is thssymptom of neurosis. Little by little the
evidence pointed to one conclusion: p^chic
disturbance
in

illness is

not only a result of a sexual

it is

the broad FreucSan sense; even more correctly,

genital fijnction,
7

the

result of the

dsturbance of the

in

the strict sense of the orgiastic impotence."

(The Rnction of the Orgasm, pg.

10).

Unfortunately, the crucial problem of orgiastic impotence reminded

still

unsolved;

if

it is

possible for the genitals to

be

filled

with blood without a trace of excitation, then sexual

excitation cannot

be a manifestation of the flow of blood.

"In addition

to the flow of blood

there

must be sometNng else wNch, depending upon its bidogica! fijnction, causes anxiety
Perhaps this unknown "something" does not occur when

anger or pleasure[.
of body

..]

movemeit

fluid is

hindered." (The Function of the Orgasm, pg. 272).

In

Reich's opinion the

unknown something could be nothing

is

else than

"bioelectridty". Bioelectridty

an occurrence

common in nature, throughout the animal

the union of two sexes.

kingdom, whenever reproduction takes place

in

Two surfaces of the

body rub against one another.

In this

process, biological excitation takes place. 'The animal

body is governed by electrical processes.

It is

made up of countless bader surfaces

densities

between membranes and electrolytic fluids, having various

Function of the Orgasm, pg. 273).

and composition." (The

Consequently to this
of such potential surfaces,

realization,

Reich theorized that since our

body also consists

wNch have various potential energy, then the energy in the body

is in

constant motion from places of higher concentration to places of lower. The tiny

partides of fluid are transmitters of the electrical charges

in this

continuous process: "these

are

atoms which possess a fixed quantum of electrical charge, and, depending upon whether
called cations or anions."

they are moving toward negative or positive pde are

Function of the Orgasm, pg. 275).

(The

One might ask what does all this have to do with the
is fett

problem of sexuality?

In

Reich's opinion, sexual tension

throughout the body, but

it

is

experienced most strongly

in

the region of the sexual organs.

As the sexual organs become

congested with blood,

electrical

charges reach the surface of the genitals.

In

gen&3\, the wfx)le process can be described with what Reich called the Orgasm

Fomiula

MECHANICAL TENSIONJ ELECTRICAL CHARGEJ

ELECTRICAL DISCHARGER MECHANICAL RELAXATION.

See Digram
2.

(bdow)

Neurotic character
Reactive work

Genital character

Sexuality
Protest,

Work

escape
Sexual energy
inhibited,

Oscillation of biological energy

repressed
^ ^

Sexual
repression

No

sexual repression

Biologica

nucleus

The way these biological observations reconnect with

theories are quite dearly exemplified
in

Reich's psychological

Diagram 3 (below)

THE FUNCTION OK THE ORGASM

Secondary impulse, neurotic symptom
Anxiety
Primary impulse

Center (biological core)

Muscular armor
Periphery

the central core of the body sends out primary impulses (usually of sexual nature); anxiety

due to social

restraints

produces a "muscular armor", and

this

arma filters the primary

impulses, deflecting part of them back to the biological core under fomi of addrtional

anxiety,

and letting part of them go through under the fiarm of secondary impulses or

neurotic

symptoms. What Reich had to do now, was to scientifically prove that this
it

electric

charge actually existed and that

actually

moved through the body.

In 1

927, Osta he taught character analysis, and as recompense he was given the

opportmity to carry out some experiments he had planned. The main question these
experiments sought to answer was whether sexual organs

in

a state of excitation would

show an inaease in

bioelectric charge. After several

months of planning, a machine was

chain of electron tubes.

buit to begin testing.

It

was "An apparatus consisting of a

The

idea

was that the electric potential of the body would dsturb the steady current of the tttoe,
would be amplified by the apparatus, transmitted to an electromagnetic oscilloscope, and

made visible on a piece of paper by reflection from a mirror" (The Function Of the Orgasm,
P9.369).
Reich reports
in his journals

how, after a number of attempts needed to gain an

accurate calibration of the machine, "the picture

became dear." The experiments were

were
quite stunning. Reich concluded

carried out over a period of two yeans

and the

results

that the surface of the entire organism

was constitutedof a porous membrane; this

membrane exHbited an electric potential with respect to any part of the body where the
epidermis had been abraded.

Undamaged skin possessed a steady or basic potential. This

from
individual

potential differed only slightly

to

individual (1

to

20 mv). After calibration

line.

of the apparatus, the steady charge appeared on the graph as a steady straight

Later

subjects

who were stimulated to excitation in the sexual zones would cause the line to peak
and down successively creating a wavHike graph. This
and a deaease of the sense of pleasure.
It is

up

initially

paralleled

an

intensification

interesting to notice that

ths

difference

in

potential,

when tested for in

inorganic material, appeared

null,

leaving for the

conclusion that this

phenomenon,

this energy,

can be related only to

living

organisms.

PART THREE:

The discovery of biones and the Orgon Energy odyssey; from the mysterious radiation to the Orgon accumulator.

What can

only

be described as a stupid laboratory accident, would prove

invaluable

to Reich to go from the general idea of bioelectric energy, to the dscovery of Orgon energy

and the formulation of its related theories.

In

January

939, during

some experiments

designed as follow-ups of the static charge tests, one of Reich's assistants mistakenly

heated a sample of oceanic sand instead of a sample of humus. "After two days

in

potassium chloride culture a growth emerged from the sand that, once inoculated

in

egg ydk

and agar[an algae extract commonly used for growth

yellow formation"
Vita

culture],

spawned a new gelatinous

e opera

di

W. Reich

II,

p.47).

This

new formation was very particular.

Regularly a culture that

is

formed from

dfferent organic materials presents dfferent organic growth, a culture of egg and cheese for

example would give

origin

to growth of different types of bacteria. This one was quite a

stunning exception to the

rule. In fact,

although

it

formed from such a

peculiar mix,

it

was

considered pure,

or, in

other words

it

was composed of only one type of "vesicular form"

first

a growth. Once samples of this formation were magnified

it

400x and then up to 4000x

revealed to be

made up of conglomerates of 6 to

of this "pure" vesides; Reich decided

to baptize these biones

SAPA (SAnd PAcket).

is

It is

generally agreed that

with this step that Reich passed the already delicate

line

between being

revolutionary geniuses of psychiatry, into the controversial realm of

Orgonomy. The major controversy comes

ftxxn the feet that,

if

on one hand Reich was a

capable psychiatrist, on the other he had no training on the realm of physics which, as

it

will

be shown would play a significant rde

in his

theories.

It

seems therefore

logical

that

Roger M. Wilcox, one of the few Reich

focuses
his critique

critics

that took the time to put his ideas

in writing,

on

this specific point.

"I

find

it

odd that Reich

Bions

vesides as "bions."
Reich gives
in

using whichever of the three

referred to these "scarcely motile" packets of

definitions for "bion"

The Bion Experiments and The Cancer Bopathy are supposed to be half-way alive. SAPA "bions," from Reich's photographs and descriptions, seem more like nonliving crystals that happen to have a veside-like intemal structure. Reich made no mention of SAPA bions expandng, contrBCting, or exhibiting an interia movement. Periiaps Reich called anything that looked like
vesicles

under a microscope "bions."

Reich

dd have a tendency to assume that if

fijnctioning

two tNngs looked similar, they had a common cause, or "common

prindple"

were both formed by converging Orgone energy streams because they both looked like twofor instance,
later insisted that hurricanes

he

and

galaxies

armed spirals" OTttp/AxxrenetconrLCcrn/--mgeninw/R<^^

Althou^ none of the above is proof that Reich was making stuff up, Wilcox seems to
definitely hit

on some of the tender spots

in

Reich general attitude towards the events.

It is

a well known feet that to certain degree, lack in precision

plague

when recadng data seems to

all

his

remaining sdentific woric

The SAPA presented two major characteristics:

appeared to have the
paralyze
ability

first,

as Reich recorded, they

to immobilize

badlli

and cancerous
1

cdls.

'They would

kill

or

all

these miCTOorganisms up to a distance of

microns" (Vita e opera di W. Reich

II,

p.48) Rach b said to have microfilmed this events and later described them

in this

fashion "...

once the cancerous cell was pushed to this distance

it

[1

micron]

it

would fi-eeze

all

of its

activity,

would then start spinning on to

(Vita

itself,

and

in

the end remain completely

paralyzed and

de"

e opera

di

W. Reich

II,

p.48).

Rega'dng this aspect as well Wilcox seems to have some interesting observation to
aid

dsceming between
'Chances
are,

reality

and

fiction:

the

SAPA bions'

lethal effect

on other organisms had nothing

whatsoever to do with

But Reich thought otherwise, [as objective observer I fed it is rr^ need here to wander how he Wilcox - hss cmie to this
their blue cdor.

conckjaon oth&- than \nAh even greater speculation than the one he accuses Reich
of/ Several
fi-om Dr. Bon, asking Reich

that

life

months before the first SAPA bion experiment, Reich received a letter if he'd seen any radiation in bions. Bon w^ convinced is a manifestation of radiation, and had quarreled with his colleagues about

this topic for

many yeans.

This idea doubtlessly struck a chord

in

Reich

now that,
blue and

months
kill

after having received the letter, Reich

saw SAPA bions "glimmer"

1

other organisms at the great dstance (microscopically speaking) of

microns.

(http/AxniejTetconicom/~mgemTw/1^eidVrde>chtni )

The second major characteristic was noted as Reich and his colleagues would report
mild to severe cases of inflammation of the

eye they used to analyze the SAPA under the

at

miaoscope - this was opposed to no inflammation

all

when examining other materials.

Reich concluded that such a strong reaction could only

be due to a very high energy output;

he decided to test this theory by putting a sample of SAPA on a quartz strip and put said
strip in

contact with

his

hand. After only

minutes, discoloration of the skin and anemic

sigre

in

the epiderms occurred. Later consultation with professor Moxnes at the Oncology

dinic of Osto revealed that

those types of ^mptoms were consistent with radiation

exposure, but

it

would have taken a couple of days of X-rays or radium exposure to present

similar results.

Another important manifestation of this

presence of this radiation

radiation

was

its

seemingly pervasive

in

the room that housed the specimens;

this

was manifested by
if

headaches and a sense of oppression - similar to oxygen deprivation symptoms - even

the room had been aerated just an our before. This pushed Reich to try to see
evidence of the
radiation. Reich

if

he could

collect

took several pictures of the room

in

a similar

fiasNon to the

way X-rays

pictures are taken; the result

was a series of pictures of the room

potential radant

that appeared to

be permeated by a gray4Dlue misL The observation of the

characteristic of this biological

energy from the sand culture would prove very important

in

the formulation of the omni-present Orgon energy theory.

Wilcox's account of the

above information

is

slightly different;

it

does not differ

to Reich's

greatly but

in

just the right place. Although

decided to include

his reaction

experiment, have
I

some reserves since it appears to me that Wilcox might have tampered

with the infonnation.

wouldn't

call

Reich's conjunctivitis "fantastic"

the

SAPA bions."
otha eye.

Conjunctivitis,

so much as "unrelated to more commonly known as Rnk Eye, is usually

in

caused by
to the

bacterial infection of
tt

one eye,

which case

it

usually spreads rapidly

irritation (e.g.

can also be caused by aflergies, physical

rubbing

your eyes too much),

a chemical

irritation.

[In

my copy of the book apparently

severe people suffered of this conjunctMtis. All at the ^me time all after bokirg
at the bions and Reidi spedfic^ly say that the intation occurred in the eye he used

to look in the miaoscxjpe]. The fact that

bacterial infection, periiaps

it

afflicted Reich in

both eyes suggests a

from a

dirty

microscope eyepiece.

Nowadays, such

an infection would be treated by

available in
1

antibiotic

eye drops, but antibbtics were not

Since Reich's bion preparations

939, and all

his

ophthalmologist could prescribe were dari< glasses

while.

and

laying off the

microscope wori< for a

provided excellent breeding grounds for

surprise

many types of bacteria, it also wouldn't

one of his eyes
Reich,
conjunctivitis this

me

if

Reich had, say, accidentally wiped a finger across

after handing a bion preparation

and gotten

way.

however, was convinced that

racfeition,

his conjunctivitis

was due to the SAPA bions'

both eyes, e\/en though he'd
to him that the
it."

and the fact that he got

conjunctivitis in

been

restricting his observations

to one eye,

later implied

SAPA

bions' radiation

was affecting

his

eyes even when he wasn't looking at

(http/AioniejTetcomaxn/~nyemTw/Rdch/ride>dtrri

Following the cxxijunctivitis incident, Reich wrote:

"I

evidently had

been dealing with an

unknown energy, capable of a specific biological

produced
in

activity.

Such energy seems to be

this

matter heated to incandescence and

let in dilatation in specific solutions.

was the same energy with which my biones kifled bacteria and cancerous cells; the same
type of biologically radiated energy that was registered
experiments"
(

in

previous skin electric-potential

Wta e opera d W. Reidi

all

II,

p.51).

Reich had

the material he needed to make

his final

statement,

in

which he

announced the discovery of this

baptize Orgon This term
.

"organically

omni present" energy which he came to

the "orgasm formula" to the

is

indicative of its story, fi-om

organic origin of the radiation.

It

was that particular "something" that he needed to connect

the almost intangible realm of psychiatry and that of biology.

the summer of

In

940,

briefly after

Reich

moved to the US due to the war in

was observing the

Europe, he decided to travd to Maine to enjoy a brief vacation. While he

stars

in

a night of fijil

moon he noticed that "The stars in the occidental portion of the sl^,
in

where the moon sNned, seemed to flicker less that the stars
sky."
Vita

the

oriental portion

of the

e opera

d W. Reich

II,

p.58)

Reich

was struck by this, he knew that astronomers claimed the flicker of starlight
light cfiffiision

to be caused by

phenomena. Therefore,

in his

opinion the flicker should have

been the sane

if

not greater in the vicinity of the moon.

Reich started observing the stars through a hollow

wooden
and

pipe;

to

his surprise

he

identified in

the

dar1<er areas

of the sl^ a series of blue

flickers

lines.

Amazingly, these

were exactly the same as he had recorded

in

his

observations of the SAPA.

Once again

Reich

felt

he had no other dioice but to speoMe tiiat liie fl^

In his

Orgon energy.
energy.

eyes this demonstrated that Orgon was indeed an omni-present

Following these observations, Reich,

all

too aware of the need

for objective proof of

his theories,

concentrated

his effort in devising

some kind of instrument that could in the

from
his previous observations. In

end give hrn the edge

noted that the

in this

struggle. Starting

which he

bluish mist

(Orgon) tended to be attracted by organic material and repelled

by metals he had an
"He
built

idea:

a metallic box of approximately thirty centimeter

1

in side,

on the

top SLfffece he attached a cylinda

centimeters
in

dameter.

In

5 centimeters tall and approximately five tiiis c^inder he introduced a thennometer, he set this
.

so it would be equidistant ftiom the sides of the cylinda. .he then used cotton flakes to envelope the metal box, and he fixed it in place by creating a slightly
brger wooden box that would hold the entire apparatus. Reich's hypothesis
that
this
if

was

the organic material attracted the Orgon energy and the metal refracted it,
in

would have caused a certain type of "friction" that would have

(Vita

turn

oToeased the temperatire of the box."

e opera di W. Reich

II,

60)

This experiment

was successfrjl; a variance in tonperature between box and room

1

was recorded as being in average between

ability

.8

to 2.8 degrees

Celsius;

due to this box's

to allegedly attract and trap the Orgon energy from the atmosphere, Reich decided to

call it

an Orgon Accumulator. This

will

prove to be one of the major points

in

Reich's

venture.

All

to well aware of the significance of his work, Reich attempted to contact the to be

"scientific authorities" only

met by skepticism and disinterest. The only alternative

was to turn

drectly to the master of physics himself.

Albeit Bnstein had,

like

Reich, fled to

the United States to avoid the war and Nazi

persecution.

On December 30 1 940 Reich wrote to Bnstein - who at the time was worWng
In his letter

at Princeton University.

Reich briefly explained his psychoanalytical past and

his

more recent encotinter with the mysterious energy, but being the matter too long and
in

complicated to be explained

a simple

letter,

he required a personal meeting. To

Reich's

relief Einstein replied

only a few days later fixing an encounter at his house for the

3* of

January.

During this long encounter Reich and Bnstein exchanged information and

experimental data. Records of the meeting

show that,

after Reich explained

in

fijil

his

theory

about the atmospheric energy and the effects he recorded

Bnstein

in

the Orgon Accumulator,

was quoted exclaiming:

"this

is

incredible.

If

true this could

be a great 'bomb' [by

p.64)

bomb he meant a thing of extraordnary impact]"

Unfortunately

Vita

e opera

d W. Reich

II,

what could have proven an amazing

relationship

was cut short by the

Project.

war,

when

Bnstein

was isolated by the govemment to work on the Manhattan

PART FOUR: A brief history of the Cloud Buster machine: origin,

usage,

and witnesses.

Amongst the vast ocean of experiments and data that Reich had collected, there was
evidence that the Orgonic potential was present
in particularly

high quantity

in

dry sunny

days; the levels would on the other hand drop drastically during humid days.

From
to

this

Reich deduced that water (and therefore also vapor)

had the

particular property

"fix"

Orgon energy. Amongst other things this was for him a legitimate explanation

for

why the

human agansm would feel so depressed and deprived of energy during humid or muggy
days.

This

phenomenon depended on the fact that the body could not absorb Orgon from

the atmosphere and therefore suffered of an "energy deprivation syndrome". Symptoms of

this deprivation are similar

to those of sleep deprivation.

to absoriD and

If

water vapa had the

ability

fix

Orgon energy, Reich conducted that

clouds had to be systems with high Orgonic potential. Based on the principle that Orgon

energy tends to pass from systems of low potential to those of higher

hypothesized that

potential, Reich

it

would be possible to obtain

dissolution of

douds by redudng their

Orgonic potential and vice versa, create

them by increasing it. Remembering that metals

sticking

acted

like

repellant preventing

Orgon energy from

to their surface, he surmised that

hdfow metal pipes would make the best

"frictionless conduit."

The Orgon energy would

have been abte to flow inside this pipes being repelted all the way around aeating an effect

of no resistance similar to the one

obtained by suspending a piece of

metal between two powerful

etectromagiets.

Reich therefore proceeded to

construct a battery of hollow pipes,

one end of which would be pointed

toward the sl^ and the other would be grounded into water by means of other flexible metal
tubes.

The hypothesis was that the pipes would have attracted Orgon energy from the
it

douds, and dscharged

into the

mass of water. Throughout a series of experiments Reich

if

was successful
would cause
vidnity of a
it

in

determining that

this battery

w^ pointed directly to a cumulus doud,

if

it

to destabilize and eventually disappear^

the battery was pointed

In

the

cumulus doud it would cause

it

to

become

larger.

The

prindples of Qoud Busting through Orgon manipulation are better explained

by Reich himself in what

is

one of the few remaining copies of his journal of Orgonimy.

These journals however present the reader with some puzzling ideas and contradictory
statements: Reich introduces
his article

on doud busting by spedfying how the temi

in this

"Cbud Busting"
denote
afl

will

be

utilized:

"The temi "Qoud Busting", as used

paper, shall

engineering techniques which deal with the destruction as wdl as the formation of

douds of water vapor in the atmosphere.

.".

Knowing about Reich's

bit weird,

theories, this portion

of the text might be curiously interesting or even a

but

it

does not stray too much

chooses

from a possible

reality

of things; however, to

condude

his introduction, Reich

words

like

"...

Orgone energy of all kinds

including gravity;" {Rdch,

pg

76.

Appendix I),

which throws doubt onto the verity of his ideas.

Reich continue the article/paper,

by discussing the technological use of the

functions
in

"Orgonomic

Potential".

He writes: "the Orgonomic potential denotes all

potential,

nature

which depend on the flow of cosmic energy, or

to sOtTjger systems" (Rdch,

from low to high or from weaker

pg

76.

AppencSx I) Here too the argument is introduced in

understandable and acceptable concepts and ideas, but again

it

moves on to strange and hard

to accept concepts:

"

the Orgonomic potential

is

most dearly expressed in the maintenance,

in

most animals on this planet, of a temperature higher than that of the environment, and in
In

the function of gravitational attraction.

both cases, the stronger energy system

(Rddi,

daws
second

energy from, or attracts a weaker system

half of the

neariDy."

pg

76. Appendix I) This

argument

is

meant to give examples of Orgonomic potential in nature. The

description and,
if

gravitational

example

fits his

we ignore our standard conception of

gavity, his statement

makes sensa On the other hand the example about animal heat seems

to have no connection or even to make any sense at all.

Reich divides the manipulation of Orgon for

doud busting purposes

in

two
.

categories: " A. Inaease of the

OR

[Orgon] potential. B.

deaees of OR potential.

If

we wish to destroy douds we must use the Orgonomic potential in such manner that the
deaeases.
If

potential

we wish to aeate clouds or to inaease the power of existing douds,

we must use the OR potential in such a manner that the potential between douds and their
immedate environment inaeases.
not yet possible,
.

..

Snce at

present, adding energy to the

atmosphere

is

we must use the other prindple, that of drawing energy from the

atmosphere." {Rdch,

pg

77.

Appendx I). Once

again the

first

portion of Reich's writing

seem to make sense, at least if we were to accept his original Orgon theory as correct, but
once we adventure
explain
in

some of the technical

portion of his writing,

where he attempts to

how such manipulation can be obtained, we encounter what can only be described
far-

as a confusing set of ideas and

fetch speculation. "Ths

is

accomplished by changing,

basically,

the

principle

of the functioning of the lighting rod. [so far so good] The lightning

rod, too, fijnctions according to

OR energy principles, since

.

"lightning"

is

atmospheric

OR

energy dscharge

in

a very narrow space. .the lighting rod system fijnctions accordhg to

Orgonomic, and not accading to

electrical principals." (Reidi,

pg

77. Appendix I) Although

It

could be attributed to a lack of ability to explain this peculiar physical phenomenon,

it is

statement such as this

(See appendix

last

one that put

Reich's reputation

in

clanger.

for complete

copy ofMICROFIU^D PAGES

76 TO

182,)

Many people met

Reich's ideas with skepticism especially with regard to ths

seemingly sdence-fictional idea of weather control. Nonetheless Reich was not dscouraged

by the way the worid perceived him and kept going with
In

his

experiments.

July of

953

his persistency paid off, giving

him a chance to prove to an "audience"

that he could indeed influence weather patterns.

As reported by the

"

Yanl<ee magazines.

On the edge ofscience", on July third of the same year Maine was prisoner of a devastating
drought, forest
fires

were raging through the landscape, and forest

in

fire officials

had declared

level

3 "hazardous" conditions

most of Maine.

An

Ellsworth blueberry grower,

Osmon

Menill,

was worried about

his crops,

and

diven to desperation dedded to act on a runia that he had heand recently about a sderrtM

in

the north west of Maine

who was able to make it rain, this scientist was named Wilhelm
Reich promising a thousand dollars
if

Reich. Merrill

dedded to call on

he could make

it

rain

and save

his crops.

"Monday morning,

July 6,

953, dawned dear, hot, and dry with no

rain in sight.

Tom Ross

[one of Reich's assistant] loaded a doud buster onto a truck and

drove

it

to BIsworth

falls,

about

40

miles to the east. Reich followed

in his

car."

(Yankee

magazriepg 130)
After Reich had set up his machine and immerse the tubes
in

the water near the to this day "the

Banga hydroelectric dam, he began to draw east to west.

Merrill recalls

douds began to change, they were getting darker and coming arourd
Reich stopped, packed up and
left

..." after

about an hour

with these words "that's

it.

You'll

get your

rain."

Around midnight
had been broken.

it

started to rain and by morning an inch of rain had

fallen.

The drought

Ending the BIsworth drought of 53

was not the only occasion Rdch had to

have

his

theory put to the test. Charles

R. Kelly

a meteorologist of the U.S. Air Force

who

had worked and in

in

the forecasting business during W.W.

II

took some interest

in

Reich's

daims

953

decided to investigate

Nm self
[one about Reich's

"Oven
skepticism.

my meteorological background that artide

I

machine] was quite surprise for me, and studied

.

it

with a

good amount of
I

..

None the
in

less

the following summer, during a vacation found

in

myself near the Wrengly laboratory

his

Maine, there Reich himself demonstrated

in

Ckxidbuster

action.
it

started observing the sl^

in

the direction where the

machine was porrted:

for a

appeared that the douds

the dstance started to vibrate,

few moments nothing happened. Then to my astonishment, the douds

in

started to dBsotve,
di

about ten minutes the entire doud was gone." (Vita e opera

W.Reich

II,

p.l 64)

Like

all

good scientists
his

Kelly

was not satisfied with that one demonstration, he

"I

decided to build

own doud buster, and started experimenting on his own.

period of three years.
.

attempted

many experiments over a

dfferent types of douds took different

amount of time to disintegrate, but none the less they would dssotve, wile the control
douds would remain unchanged."
(Vita

e opera

di

W.

Reich

11,

p.1

65)

Reich and his followers

were so convinced of the workings of the doud buster that

decided to create a set of parameters for those that might attempt to built and use one:

RULES TO FOLLOW
X
1
.

IN

CLOUD ENGINEERING by

Wilhelm Reich

Shed

all

ambition to impress anyone.

2. Never play around with rain making or doud busting. The OR envelope which you tackle while "drawing" energy from the atmosphere is an energetic continuum of high power. You may cause twisters. You may stir a forest fire into the wrong

direction.

unless you

You may do other damage without intendng to do so. Never do anything must
it is

3.

If

experimenting:

important to observe and

know why you are doing what,

will

that you can achieve immediate results. Slowly growing comprehension

later results safely.

secure

4.

doud engineering you do not "create rain," - you do no^' destroy douds," briefly, you are not playing God. What you do is solely helping nature on its natural
In

course.

5.

Have your equipment,

truck, etc. especially

all

metal parts well grounded into

water, preferably flowing water. Lack of grounding imperils your organism.

6.

Do not
in

let

workers draw

OR [ORgon] energy anylonger if they become blue or

let them rest far enough down with fresh water.

purple

their faces or

fed dEzy. Exchange the workers;

way, and have their faces and arms always wetted

7.

Do not

hold on to pipes or other metal parts while

you draw OR. Always use a

separate plastic

a wooden handle to move equipment while clawing. Have your

hands always well insulated with rubber or heavy cotton gloves.

8.

Have signs put up

in

people stand dose by.

run

such a manner that no one is hurt by OR charges. Do not let Among them may be men or women who are and would
ill

some clanger to their health.

"drill

9.

Never

a hole" into the

s\o/ right

above you unless you aim

for a long

drawn

rain.

0.

When you feel a breeze or wind setting in due to your operation, stop drawing if

the wind drection becomes too strong

twister.

a even

if it

acquire the appearance of a

1 1

If

you wish to remove DOR [Deadly ORgon]

clouds,

draw in drection of run of

OR envelope.
I
1

2.

If

you wish to DESTROY clouds or to stop

rain,

am at center ofhea\^est
vidnity of the smaller

clouds.

3.

If

clouds,
4.

you wish to make douds grow heavier, draw from the and have the large or heavy douds undfeturiDed.

If

there are no

douds

in

the sky and douds ^ould be aeated, dsturb the

stillness

or evenness of the

and ctaw mainly against the run of the

OR envelope all around you by brief, sweeping draws OR envdope. To aeate douds you must
"CORE" July

CTeate differences of OR energy potentials.

(published

by the Orgone

Institute in

954 Vd. VI

Nos.

-4;

appendix A)

Due to the

unusual ideas and this sense of faithful certanty that Reich

instilled in

them, the history of

his

dscoveries

is,

to say the

least, constellated

by a sense of seaecy,

mystery, conspiracy and, for some, esoteric hogwash. Very simply his "discovery of

Orgon energy" and possible

heavy load of promises that

applications

was so intriguing, and it carried with

fairly

it

such a

It

was accepted by a

large

amount of people.

Some of Reich's daims were so incredble that people could choose only between
two options in judging them:
completely,
faithfully

embrace

his ideas

and concepts or

reject

them

dsmesing them as superstitious nonsense. This

is

where

my interest in the

subject beguines

its rote.

My intention for the past few weeks has been to elaborate a

scientific

system that would enable

in

me to objectively study Reich's claims. My system has

been applted

the testing of one of Reich's machines, with the specific purpose to create a

pool of data and knowledge that would, hopefijily, help objectively determine whether or

not Reich's daims have any

solid foundation.

have chosen the above mentioned Qoud buster as the one invention on which to

conduct

my study; my choice was influenced mainly by the fact that of

is

all

of Reich's

"contraptions", this

the one

deem most easy to test, since it is supposed to produce

changes
in

tangibte

and objective

results like recordable

the surrounding environment.

The

actual construction of the

Qoud Buster was much simpler than had originally

I

expected. Through a thaough examination of all the documents at

my disposal, manage to
I

individuate

all

the necessary infomiation that allowed

me build what

consider to

be a

fairly

accurate reconstruction of one of Reich

original

Qoud Busters. Very important set of data

of bng, hollow pipes, and not

was found

in

the

miao films earlier mentioned, "[A device}

. .

sdid steel rods.

The pipes, any number of them and any length beyond a minimum of
1

about 4 meters or

feet" (Reich,

pg 1 78 App I)

The collection of this

actual apparatus.

information allowed

me to aeate a blue print to construct the

to

"
-.

i"i

'

lTI

//N jlUi

..

Z^

<^'JI "*>>>
>

I 13: ZI
IDE
-F=ff
^g^fr*

5
O

S]

Due to the limited amount of funds available nnost of the non essential components
had to be recovered form a scrap yard: the base needed to be a spring loaded (to absorb

shcxd<5), rotating

sdid metal frame, such a component was obtain by stripping to the

pipes supports and hinges a series of

minimum the base of an old rediner chair. For the

angle iron nods w/ere cut and welded together and to the frame of the base, holes were

drilled

in

opposing sides of a wooden rectangular box, through these hdes the pipes would be

inserted

and suspended

in

the fi^me. Through a series of couplings

five flexible

metal hoses

were attached to the corresponding

pipes.

PART

FIVE: Myquest, via the study of my replica Qoud Buster machine, to create a system capable of objectively determining what if any of Reich's claims are tme. My data

and conclusions

The major difficulty In

considered acceptable by the

this project

was to pinpoint a series of tests that would be

in

scientific

community;

other words could not rely on

I

simple speculation or subjective observation of weather pattems. This presented quite a

challenge considering that the types of theory that

was about to test were and still

are

in

completely

new realm and no specific instrument is to this day available to detect or

loss for ideas,

measure Orgon energy. At a

Reich material;
in

the solution

came to me wile re-reading some of

numerous occasion Reich stated that ths Orgon energy would produce a

reaction

in

a Geiger counter,

when in action, he also mentioned that Orgon has a tendency

to concentrate

in

water.

postulated

my hypothesis based on the assumption that the

I

machine could wori<;

if

my hypothesis was proven correct then

if

would have had objective

data to support the assumption,

not, then

the assumption would also have been proven

false:

IF:

A "X -famomt of Orgon in the air depends on Y

"-^amount of moisture

in

the

air"

AND: B
potential
in

"based on Reich's claims, the

Qoud Buster should, by changing the Orgon

them of their cohesive

the

air

dssipate the water molecules by depriving

property"

THEREFORE: C

"the inverse of A should also be true"

IT

FOLLOWS: D

"if

Orgon indeed produces a reaction

in

Geiger counter, then

change h X should be measurable and should be directly proportional to the change

in

Y".

To test the hypothesis, proceeded firstly to construct a replica

I

of the

Qoud

Buster designed by Reich. Because of Reich's claims that a smaller model would have

smaller effects

and

his

warning on

some of the side effect possible in case of misuse,

In

It

seemed only logical to choose a smaller model.

case Reich claims were revealed to be true,

smaller side effects would have resulted from misuse of the machine.

Once completed the construction

I

located a suitable place to put the machine.

The place had to be out of the way of

general public transit,

it

had to be within 20 feet of a mass of preferably flowing water and

it

had to have a dear opening to the sl^. The abandoned dock of Davis mansion seemed to
al

fit

the requirements, except for the "flowing water" part; the ocean has tides and currents

but not

like

a river or a stream might. speculate that ths would cause the machine
I

affectivity

to deaease, but to still be sufficient to conduct the experiments.

The next step was to aganize a routine of testing with the Geiger counter that
would be satisfactory from a
scientific

stand point.

An

Associated Educational Products

Model 650 Geiger counter was used. This instrument consists of a

containing electrodes,

gas-filled

tube (probe)

between which a high

electrical

voltage

is

applied.

When high energy

beta partide or gamma ray pass through the tube, a short, intense pulse of current passes

between the electrodes.

current

Ry each current pulse, the meter enriits a "beep" and registers the

on a meter. The meter has three sensitivity settings which adjust the sensiti\4ty of

the current meter but do not affisct the number of pulses detected.

In

table

#1

below is an example of the

the data
organized

first

series of data gathering

conducted on

date of April

23'"^:

is

in

3 rows and 3 columns, the first 2 rows stand fbr

the condtions the test was conducted under, namely befiore the use of the Qoud Buster and
during the use of the Cloud Buster.

The third row indicates the variance, the difference

use.

between detected radetion before and during

instances of data collection for each of the

The 3 columns indcate three separate

two conditions.
April

Table

below gives the

first

data gathered on

23rd.

The first row indicates

the scale setting of the Geiger counter used. (This should not affect the number of counts
recorded, but served as a convenient way of recadng replicate data.)

The 2nd row gives the

counts per 4 minute interval before the Cloud Buster tubes wae inserted into the ocean. minute pause,

After a

this

was repeated again at another meter setting, and then a third

in

time after another

minute pause. This data reveals some small random fluctuation

Geiger counts. The 3rd row of data gives the counts recorded after the Cloud Buster tubes

were inserted into the ocean. The same 4 minute counting /

fdlowed
in

minute pause routine was

collecting this data.

The third row indicates the variance, the dfference between

the Geiger counts before and during use of the Cloud Buster.

Tab #1
Geiger
before
during

4/23/02
at

1x

at

10x

at

50x
5

mostly sunny day

15 10

Graph

16 14
12

ID
8

before

during

variance

4
2
o
at

1x

at

10x

at

50x

In

graph number

the results of the

first

Geiger survey are graphed to

more

eloquently describe the results; here

it

can deariy be seen

how much difference was

is

recaded ft'om before to durhg the use of the Cloud Buster. To be noted

that

in

future

data collection a fourth row would be added and labeled contrd, the readings for this row

were

collected

in

the

same fashion as the others, and they would be indicative of normal

Geiger readings outside of the Cloud Buster radius of influerx:e.

They serv/e as comparison

fiar

the other readngs.

As my research deepened, the thought occurred to me that, if the Cloud Buster had
to be grounded into water in order for type of recordable change
it

to function, then perhaps

this

would cause some

in

the water. To test

this theory,

began monitoring water

properties with a YSI Model

85

Dissolved Oxygen/Conductivity meter. This instalment

records the mg/l (milligrams per

liter)

of 02, the

% of 02 saturation,

the conductivity, the

ppt

parts

pa thousand) of salinity and the temperature.

I

In

the beginning was not aware

if

any of these factors would be at

in

all

influenced

by the use of the Qoud Buster, but knew that,

I

theory, the Cloud Buster had to subtract

Orgon from the

- trapped
the
in

sl<y

and "add

it"

to the water when clouds - or other types of water vapors

it

the

air,

and vice versa, "subtract

it"

from the water and ad

it

to the

air

when

air

was dy. This meant that if any changes were to be recorded they would present

themselves on a graph as a direct or inverse proportionality between the atmospheric

humicfty percentage and what ever factor was influenced. Table 2 and graph 2 give the data

from

my first day testing with the YSI meter (April

H2
test

).

Tab #2

%
before
during

92.8
94.1
1.3

92 8
94.1
1.3

92.8
94.1
1.3

9.6
0.4

29,37
0.31

variance

44.88 0.66

28.6
0.4

6.9 -0.15

Graph2

As with the Geiger counter, as gained experience

I I

gradually refined the test.

First,

isolated the

one variable that seem to be affected,

% of 02 saturation. Then

decided to

repeat the test at a constant

4 minute interval to exclude the possibility of random

added a
"control" indicative of the water condition before

anomalous readngs.
during testing

Finally,

and

in is fijrther

away from the Cloud Buster station - this albwed

in

me to confirm

that the changes were localized

the proximity of the

Qoud

Buster and to exclude natural

occurences.

Afta a total often test cydes conducted between the dates of April
1

23'*^

and May

2^

have collected the refined data sets and merged them

for individual test results]

in

one single table. [See

Appendix

II

Table 3 therefore contains the humicfty pacentage (Hum) present at the day and time of

the Indvidual tests; the variance of 02

% saturation (% variance)

which

tells

us

how much

and what kind of change ocxurred during the specific test by subtracting the
the use of Cloud Buster from those
after;

% values befiDre
the

the Geiger variance which just

like

% variance

tells

us about the change between before and during; and

finally

the control

% variance (cont
is

%variance) which serv/es as a control to determine whetha the

% variance

indeed

connected to the Cloud Buster or

tab #3

if it is just

a regular occurring event,

Hum
12-May
11

%variance

Geiger variance

cont 3.5
3.7 8.7
6.1

variance
0.1 0.1

38 39 74

6
5.9
-1

-May

lO-May

-0.2

9-May 8-May 7-May

60 63 65 63 28
86 78

4.6
3.9 3.2

6.5
7.2

6-May 4-May
1-May
30-Apr

4
8
-4.7
-1.8

6.3
3.4

10
9.1

-0.1

-0.2

23-Apr

46

1.3

6.6

Graphs
gigervanance
-

cont \ar

humidity

12 10

100

90 80

6 4

70 60
50

40

A A
30
^l|lZQ2_
-4

4/24/0?

5/9/0?

3lMh

10

-6

The above graphical representation of the data in table 3

comprehension of the testing
results.

allows for an easier

The orange line represents the change in Geiger

is

counter variance over the period of the ten experiments. Note that the variance

always

positive:

more did were recorded with the Qoud Buster on than off. Furthermore,
in

notice

how, as stated

my hypothesis, the number of clicks per minute are indeed directly

amount of humidity in the air, represented by the
blue
line:

proportional to the

high

humidity equal

more dicks per minute. While not actually showing that water vapor tends
this

to trap Orgon energy,

does seem to show that the Cloud Buster machine

is

making

something happen.

The purple

line is

the change

in

the

02% variance over the period of the ten

experiments. Here too

it

can be noticed that, with only minor deviations possibly due to

inversely proportional to the humicfity.

human

error,

the variance

is

The data again seems to

strengthen

my hypothesis; the change in 02 readngs would seem to indkzate that the

is

Cloud Buster
green
line

indeed wori<ing and produdng

some sort of tangible effect.

two control sets.
If

Finally,

the

represents the variance between the

the variance

in

02% was
at least

a natural recurring phenomenon, one should have expected to see this

last line mirror

partially

the trend of the

original

02% variance line, since the contrd variance does not

mirra the

02% variance, the graph actually seems to indicate quite the opposite, showing a

fajriy

even and constant trend. Graph

Graph number four allows for a more dear view of the

humidity and the variance of 02

relation

between atmospheric

in

the water.

Graph 5
10

8 6
Of

4
2

.1

20

Seriesi

Linear (Seriesi)

40

60

100

-2

-4

y = -0.1809x+ 13.197
Ff = 0.7458

-6

humid Hy

This

final

graph (5), ptots y equal (the

to the data

02 variation) vs. x equal

(humidity) and

shows the
in

best

Bnear-fit

It

mathematically demonstrates the correlation apparent

the

preceding graphs by evaluating the square of the

minimum distance between plotted points

and line. The data's R^2 value (.7458) therefore indicates the strength of the correlation.

The closer the R^2 value is to

the more certain

it is

that the data set has a correlation.

Once again this relation seems to be incScative of some kind of phenomena taking
place
in

the water surroundng the Cloud Buster;

this

is

not proof of the existence of Orgon

energy or of the working of the Cloud Buster, but once united with the Geiger counter

results,

it

makes for compelling evidence to support Reich's daims.

CONCLUSION
The approximate 1 5 week research
period had available for this project, allowed
I

me to get in touch with the history and reality of a phenomenon that could be called the
Reichian Revolution.

The limited resources available allowed

me to conduct an equally
some interesting

Irnited

amount of scientific research; nonetheless,

this research yielded

results.

My research
frst

into Reich

shows

his wori<

can be divided into two major phases: the

period; here Reich estabfehes himself

phase can be labeled the psychological research

as an esteemed Freudian psychiatrist amongst

his colleagues.

It is

also here that Reich

begns to detach
psychological

himself, fr^om Freud;

he then begins to develop a theory relative to both

his

work and biology

bridging a

gap between the two. This wori< although

unusual

it is

regarded as ahead of its time, since

it

touches on elements of noirology wNch

our scientist are starting to grapple with only now.

This second phase

is

where

Reich's

more controversial

ideas

come into play, and

where he

falls

from

his highly

regarded place as a frontline psychiatrist. The strange and

hcomplete findings he brought to light make some believe this once highly regarded
professa had
lost his mind.

Ultimately

my work although by no means proof of any mystical "force-like

energy",

most certainly provides scientific evidence to the reality of the situation. Data
is

shows there is something moving when the Qoud Buster

fact that the value differential, before

used. This

is illustrated

by the
in

and during the use of the Cloud Buster, registered

my collection of data, cannot be explained easily or logically by any other factor other than
an "unknown something" whether it be Orgon or other.
regsters higher radation

Fa example, the Geiger counter

when the humidty was higher and the 02 percentage meter

in

showed an

inversely proportional reaction to the percentage of humidity

the

air.

So, while

much of Reich's criticism is due to the fear of the knew and different,
was incomplete and shoddy, fed compelled, thanks to the
I

alsnented by a work that

successflil conclusion of

my project, to think

it

had more to do with

his part.

lack of fijnding

and

equipment than any deceit or unsound thinking on

Again believe that
I

my results, although not definitely conclusive, are scientifically

and
place, with

objective,

enough to

at least incite fijrther study. Perhaps, at a different time

greater resources, whether they take the fiam of better equipotent,

more

people, ftjnds or

simply rrxxe time,

someone will be able to objectively determine whether Reich was just a

man who stumbled upon a lucl<y cascade of coincidental evidence that led Nm to felse
conclusions, or
if

he had indeed discovered the

life

force that drives the universe.

References

Reich,

W.

(1

945).

A case History. International Journal of sex economy

II

X De Marchi L
[

Life

- periodo freudiano-marxista ( 1 987). Vita e Opere di Wilhelm Reich and Achievements of Wilhelm Reich - The Freudian-Marxist period]

X De Marchi L
Life

(1 987). Vita e Opere d Wilhelm Reich - la scoperta dell' Orgone and Achievements of Wilhelm Reich - the discovery of Orgon]

X X

Reich,

W.

(1

945). The function of the orgasm

946). Character Analysis

volume

the discovery of Orgon)

Reich,

W.

(1

X Tim Qaric Yankee magazine '89

rein"

On the Edge of Science - 'The man who maid it

Publication

by Orgone

Institute in

"CORE" July

954 Vol. VI

Nos.

-4;

appendix

A" X

A Skeptical Scrutiny of the Works and Theories of Wilhelm Reidi

(http//fiomejTetconicom/''^rogenTM/Reich/rcl&d^ )

The microHlms

find ODrrect

title.

Other sources not

directly quoted:

FBI -

Freedom of Information Act

Wilhelm Reich

httpy/foia.ft)i.aov/reich.htm

X
X

Orgonomy - American

College of Orgonomy httpy/foia.fbi.gov/reich.htm

Wilhelm Reich nad Orgone http://www.mystical-www.cQ.uk/reich.htm

Pore's Information and links to

WILHELM REICH MUSEUM (ORGONON)

http//www.agonaorg/wrrri/wrmOO.htm

Reich,

W.

(1

946). Cancer Biopathy

Appendix
176

Microfilmed journals

WILHELM REICH
first licsi(;Uiiig

I'Vom the

aftcmjits to

end the emergency

at

Orgonon,

mcirc
as

systematic experiments in the crcatioirtind destruction of clouds, as well

rain-making and stopping of rain began to develop successfully over several months, till the first two C.OR.E. "CLOUDIJUSTER" units were finally constructed a*. Portland, Maine, in September-October, 1952, for more elahnratc

C^OKE operations.
"(.'LOUD-HUSTINCi"
(C.OR.H).

In the following pages only the basic prittciplcs of

will Ik presented.

detailed presentation of the technical aspects will follow

in a broader context of
II.

Cosmic Orgone
"

I'.ngineering

The

Principles of 'Cloud-Busting"

1,

"Clood-Bosting"

The term "CMoud-Busting," as used in this paper, shall denote all engineering techniques which deal with the destruction as well as tlte formation of clouds of water vapor in the atmosphere and of orgone energy concentrations
of
to
all
ir

kinds ir.cluding gravity;

derive

briefly,

with

all

phenomena which are

related

from atmospheric changes of climate

iiicluding weather, humid-

ity,

Oraniir fiutctions in the atmosphere, atmospheric

similar functions

"DOR-clouds," energy changes of all kinds, the origin of deserts as well as of arras of green vegetation, and all
rainfall per imit of time, storms, hurricanes,

amount of

OR

which dcitend on the presence or

al>sence,

or pleniifulness of
I

OR

energy, oxygen, water vapor, rain, sun

on the scarcity and wind and

heir interaction.

2.

Technological Use of the "Orgonomic Potential"

The "orgonomic
{x:nd

potential"
6,

(see

Bibliography,
all

Tme Oroone

Enemiv
dc-

AccuMi)i^\TOK, Nos. 5d,

11)'

denotes

functions in nature which

on the flow of cosmic energy, or

to

WEAKER TO si-KoN(;EK and functions contrary

netic energy,
tial is

from low to high or f''om SYSTEMS. Tlius thc orgouomic potential is the basis of
putentiul,

thc

mechanical

potential,
etc.

heat,

electromagpoten-

mechanical potential of position,

The orgonomic

most clearly expressed in thc maintenance in most animals on this planet of a temperature higher than that of thc environment, and in the function of gravitatiomd attraction. In both cases, the stronger energy system draws energy from or attracts a weaker system nearby; in both cases thc
potential
is

directed

from

lotv to high, or

from U'ea^ to strong.

Gravitation

obviously functions on this basis.

DOR REMOVAL AND CLOUD-BUSTING

'liic

177
i(
it

technique of cloud-busling

is

u a very large extent;

no wholly,
j^ovcrns the

hiisfil n

the tcchnoloj^ical use of the orgonoinic jiuleniial as

OR ciurjy
I'lic

functions of the atmosphere.

technological use of the

orgonomic

|X)ltMuial

can be divided,

basically,

into

two major groups:

A.

INCREASE of the OR

potential:

In this case \vc concentrate

OR

energy and

bttiUl

up

a stee{Hrr or strongir

OR
IL

potcntiaL This will have entirely different effects than

DECREASE
we

of the

OR

potential:

In this case
difference
the

disperse or dissipate

OR

energy;

we

toivcr the potential

and create a tendency toward more or

in the atmospheric

less

equal distribution of
plaiiet.

OR energy

OR energy envelope of the

We

act

in the direction of the mechanical potential.

Rain clouds, thunder clouds, hurricanes and tornadoes arc, seen from the
viewpoint of orgonomy, clifTcreni expressions of basically
ttiiction, i.e.,

one and the same

tvatct

combinations of concentrated

OR

energy streams and

vapors.
to the

On

the intensity, direction, location

and similar conditions

related

combination of water and

OR energy

(H;:0
still

^ OR) many atmosjjheric

await detailed study and
incrciise

conditions depend;
logical

most of these conditions

comprehension.

However, the two basic principles of cloud-bvisiing,

of ihc

and decrease

OR

potential, suffice at the

moment

to

make

their technological use

comprehensible.
If

we

wisli to destroy

clouds

we must

use the orgonomic potential in such

manner
If

that the potential decreases.

we wish
their

to create clouds or to increase the

power of

existing clouds,

we

must use the

OR potential in such a manner that the potential between clouds

two
basic principles in a satisfactory
a tlcvicc

and

immediate environment increases.

In order to execute these muNt, logically, construct

manner, we

and use

which

is

capable of adtling

OR

energy to the atmospheric

dfvitf

OR

energy envelojie; or,

we must

construct a

which

will

duaw ENERCf FUoM THE

OR

T.NVEi.oi'K in

such a manner

that the affected region loses certain

amo'ints of energy to other regions, thus

cluinging the atmosphc.-ic energy concentrations.

Since at present,

adding energy

to the

atmosphere

is

not yet possible,

we

i^ust use the other principle, that

of dhawin<: energy from the

ATNfosi'iii'.KH.

178
3.

WILHELM REICH
OR Energy

Drawing Off Atmospheric

In order U)

draw off atmospheric OR energy, we must accomplish two tasks: a) wc must use a device which draws OR energy; b) wc must know into what place to draw this energy.
This
is

accomplished by changing, basically, the principle of the function-

ing of the LIGHTNING ROD:

The

lightning rod, too, functions according to

is

"lightning"

atmospheric

OR energy principles, since OR energy discharge in a very narrow space. The

()ointed rod, reaching into the atmosphere, attracts the lightning discharge

and conducts

it

through heavy wires into the ground. This lightning rod

electrical

system functions according to or^onomic, and not according to

principles: In the lightning rod system, the atmoNpheric charge is

drawn ^rom

the atmosphere toward the [Xiint of the rod

crust. It
is,

thus, the

orgonomic

j^xitential

and further toward the earth's \rom u>eal{^ to strong which is

from

o|xrrative also in the case of the lightning rod. If the electrical potential

high to low were operative in the lightning rod system, the direction of flow

would

necessarily be the reverse,

phere; the energy would stream off

from the earth's crust toward the atmosand atvay from the point of the Ught-

ning rod.
Cloud-busiing operates in agreement with, the functioning of the lightning
rod, only
if

we

put both functions, cloud-busting and lightning rod, on the

common

functional basis of the

OR potential.
to

Cloud-busting deviates from the lightning rod principle in f<mr ways:

(1) lis pur|^)se
is ric;

to

draw and

gnund

IhjUs of lightning, but to

.so, it

draw

OR energy c/iarges out of atmosphere and

the

clouds. In doing

deals Avith

same kind of force as in the lightning, with one imivirtant difTerence: ctotid-hiister draws the charges slowly, in small amotinti at a time, dispersed, as it were, in time as well as in concentration, and not in the form of sudden lightning. It dtK'S so by way (2) of long, hollow pipes, and not of

The

Nolid steel rods.

any number of them, and any length beyond a minimum of our first cloud-busting ex{)criments, havc the function (.?) of triggering the atmospheric OR energy flow info certain 1 he
pipes,
.ihi'iit

4 meters or 10 feet used in

directions.

The

function of the pipes

the

is fullillcd is

with

this triggering of diicc

it

tiojial flow.

Once

OR

energy flow

directed at will,

continues to flow
it

in the

same

direction, until another natural or artificial stimulus chanj^es

again.

The

lightning rod.

on the other hand,

is

not intended to direct

OK

DOR REMOVAL AND CLOUD-BUSTING

energy flow.
conctntrated
(4)
It

179

(not into the ground but) into water, flowing water of brooks, flowing lakes and rivers. draw into water since the attraction is greater between water and energy than energy. Water not only attracts between other elements and speedily
preferably into

The

OR energy ditichargc, OR charges are tlrawn

only functions as a conductor toward the ground in case i.c., lightning, liappcns to come its way,

We

OR

OR

but it also holds

it,

as especially in clouds.

OR We thus have the following picture

of the process of cloud-busting:

DECkE/iSE

^ClOVD

OP^

CLOVDBUSTER

GROUND

WATER

aOUDBUSTING
Destruction of
throuofli

Gouds

DECREASE of OR-POTOinAL

180

WILHELM REICH
It

This sketch depicts the principle of cloud destruction only.

suffice to

does not

enable the technician to destroy

all existent

types of clouds. This

remains a task of future experimentation in cosmic engineering, to be solved

in

many

ways, in various regions of the globe, with various moilels of cloud-

busters (various as to
size of clouds,

number, length and width of

etc.).

pipes, direction of draw,

principle,

maturity of our experience,

The

however, may

be described as basically complete:

OXE DISSIPATES CtOVDS OV WATER VAPOR BY WITHDRAWING, ACCORDING TO THE DRCONUMIC POTENTIAL, ATMOSPHERIC (cOSMIc) OR ENERGY FROM THE CENTER OV THE CLOUD. THIS WEAKENS THE COHESIX'E POWER OF TILE CLOUD: THERE WILL
BE

LESS

ENERGY TO CARRY THE WATER VAPORS, AND THE CLOUDS NECESSARILY

BET^^'EEX

MUST DISSIPATE. THE ORGONOMIC POTENTIAL MENT IS LOWERED.

4. The Creation of Ctouds

CLOUD AND

ITS ENVIRON-

The

principle used in the creation of clouds

is

the

same

as that in the

destruction of clouds: the orgonomic potential

from low to high. However.

while in the destruction of clouds

we draw energy
EXISTENT CLOUDS

we draw iilT energy from the cloud proper, from the close vicinity of the cloud if we wish to enlarge AND TO PROCEED TOWARD RAIN-MAKING. The chari on pagC ISl

depicts the process.

The

tcchnologic-1 cx|ieriment bears out the theoretical assumption: Clouds

dissipate

when

the cloud-buster pipes arc aimed at the center; they

in the cloud-free sl(y.

'

ffrotv

when we aim at the close vicinity One may create clouds in the

cloud-free sky in a certain manner, by

disturi>ing the evenness in the distrihittion of the atmospheric

OR

'

energy:
thai
ot
1

thus clouds appear upon drawing energy from the

arc present

air.
it

The more
to induce
difficult
it

clouds

and the heavier the clouds, the

easier

is

growth
is

clouds and finally rain.

The fewer

clouds, the

more

and

the

longer

it

takes until the clouds give

up

their water. Practically, a rather shar})

sky.

'

distinction exists

between rain-making in a cloudy as against a cloud-/rrf

existent cloud destroys the cloud.

No matter what the variations, the principle remains the same as descrihcd:
.Drawing from an makes it grow.
It is

Drawing from

its vicinity

necessary to stop at this point. Strong reactions to cloud-busting

in

Rangeley, Mainr:, have been observed in distant regions (Boston); such

influence

on far-away regions

is

due

to the continuity of the

OR

envelo|K;

DOR REMOVAL AND

CI. OUD. BUSTING

ll

CLQUQ

.-d^

M CWVDBUSTER

GROUND

VWTER

CLOUDBU STING
Majdiig 0f Clouds
through liCHEASE of OS-POTEiWi/i
tlic

details will require extensive

and careful study,

Wc

have always been

r.-iptd

ciuiious not to

overdo while cloud-busting, since small twisters and

changes o winds linvc been observed beyond any reasonable doubt. Also, one occasion, heavy, prolonged rain occurred upon faulty opcraiioji,

on

Qoud

busting as a

ia5k

of

Cosmic Oil Kngiticaifig

will by far iranscetu!

182 ihc facilities

try.

WILHELM REICH
and
[X>tenualitic& of
is

any single

institution

and even

state or coun-

no regard for national borders. There arc neither passport controls nor custom oificcrs in the sky where the weather is being made. This is good and as it sliould be in Cosmic
Cloud-busting
truly

an

international a(Tair with

OR Engineering
IS

(C.OR.E.).
CIjOUD-MUSTINC WILL VKOVZ INDISPENSABLE IF CliAOS
!

LAWtVL KEVULATION OF
TO BE AVOIDED.

(^pril till August, 1952.)

.".(iiK

Siw

Appendix
4/23/02

II:

experimental data

Geiger
before
during variance

at

at

10x
3 8 5

at

50x
5
mostly sunny

8 5

15 10
mg/l

%
before
during variance

ms
9.2

ms

ppt

temp
7.05
6.9 -0.15

92.8
94.1 1.3

92.8
94.1 1.3

92.8
94.1 1.3

29.06
29.37
0.31

44.22

28.2

9.6 0.4

44.88 0.66

28.6
0.4

16

14
12

'^
^
before
during

10

8 6

4
2
-

asMi
at
1

Bi

variance

at

Ox

at

50x

4/30/02

Geiger
before
during

at 1x

at

lOx
4.1

at

50x
4.1

4
13.2
9.2

sunny with clouds

13.2
9.1

13.2
9.1

variance

%
before
during
control

mg/l

ms
29.69

ms2
47.45 47.86 47.02 47.05
0.41

ppt

temp
5.3 5.3

91.3 89.5

91.3 89.4

91.2

9.13
9.23
11 .32 11 .35
0.1

30.12
30.6

89.4
104.2

29.86
29.81

104.2

104.2 104.2
-1.9

30
30.2 0.48

6 6

control 2

104
-1.8 -0.2

104
-1.8 -0.2

29.812
0.17

variance cont.varianc e

14
1"?

10
8

n before Q during n \sriance

4
2
-

at 1x

at

10x

at

50x

before

g D D

during
control

\ariance

III]
mg/l

F-f~l
temp

ms

ms 2

ppt

5/1/02

Geiger
before
during
control

at 1x

at

10x 15

at

50x
15

15

Cloudy rainy day

25 26
10

25 25
10

26 26
11

variance

H2 TEST
before
during
control

%
80.6
85.2 80.7

rmg/l

ms
8.1

ms2
48.52 48.75
44.5
44.51 0.23

ppt

temp
30.1
5.9 5.7

80.5 85.3

30.79 30.88
30.84

85.4

8.59

31.3

117.7

117.7
117.7
4.7

117.7

11.27

28.5

8.9 8.9
-0.2

control 2

117.6
4.6
-0.1

117.6
4.8
-0.1

variance
cont var

11.26 0.49

30.85 0.09

28.52
1.2

26 24 22 20
18 16 14 12 10
8

T^i^m

m
J
at

1
50x

H B

before during
control
1

6 4 2

m
at 1x
at

10x

before

during

control

variace

5/4/02
at

1x
9.5

at

10x
9.6

atSOx
9.5

before
during
control
I

13 10
3.5

13 10
3.4

13

10
3.5

variance
o2test

before
during
control control

87.8
95.5 91.6 91.5
7.7
-0.1

87.2 95,5

86,4
95,5

90.5 90.6
8.3
0.1

90,5 90,5
9,1

variance cont var

'WW
at

m before
during
controll

1x

at

10x

at

50x

120

100

80

60

40
20

before

during

control

control

variance

cont var

-20

5/6/02
at

1x

at

10x 17

at

50x
17

before
during
controll

15

20
16 5

24
17 7

24
17
7

variance

o2test

%
before
during
control

93.2 97.6

93.2 95,8

91.1

95.8

111.3 111.4
4.4
0.1

106

109
109.1
4.7
0.1

control

106
2.6

variance

5/7/02
at

1x 7

at

10x
7

at

50x
7
14.8
11

before
during
control
I

14
11

14
11

variance

7.8

o2test

a
before
during
control control

b
78.1 80.1

78.2

78.2 81.2

81.8

126.5

126.6

126.5 126.5

126.42
3.6
-0.08

126.55
2
-0.05

variance

m
n

at 1x at at

10x

50x

I I

e^
during

%
a

Db

during

5/8/02
at

1x 7
13.5
11

at

lOx
7 13.5
11

at

50x
7.2

before
during
controll

13.6

12
6.4

variance

6.5

6.5

o2test

before
during

78.4

78.1

78.2
81
2.8

82.3
3.9

82.1

variance
control control

4
126,6
126.6

126.5 126.4
-0.1

126.5

126.55
0.05

16
14 12

10 8 6

at 1x

4
2

before

during

control

m
at

at at

lOx

50x

90 80

70 60
before

50
during

40

D variance
30

20
10

5/9/02
at 1x at

lOx
7.4

50x
7.2

before
during
control!

7.4

13.5

13.5

13.6
11.5
6.4

10
6.1

10
6.1

variance

o2test

a
before
during

b
78.1

78.4
82.9
4.5

78.2 82.2

83.5
5.4

variance
control control

4
126.5 126.5

126.5 126.4

126.6

12663

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0.03

14

1210
-

at 1x

86 4 2
n
^ -

at

10x

at

50x

1
before during

m
controll

variance

140 120 100

80

60 40 20

before

during

control

5/10/02
at

1x

at

10x
4.1

at

50x
4
12.8

before
during
controll

4
12.6
11

12.8
11

12
8.8

8.6 o2test

8.7

a
before
during
control

77.2

76.5 75.4

76.5
75.5

75.5 24.5
-1.7

124.6
-1.1

125.5
-1

variance
control

124
-0.5

124.2
-0.4

125.3
-0.2

14 12 10
8
at 1x at

10x

at

50x

4
2

before

during

controll

before

during

control

variance

5/11/02
at 1x at

10x
8.6

at

50x
8.9

before
during
controll

12.5

12.4
11

12.6

11.5
3.7

11.5
3.7

variance

3.8

o2test

before
during

77.4

77.1 83.1

77.2

83.5
6.1

82.8
5.6

variance
control control

6
124.1

123.85
124.3

124.9

124.2

124.7

0.45

0.1

-0.2

14 12 10
8

6 4 2

m
before

at 1x at
1

0x

at

50x

-fE

during

control

before

during

control

5/12/02
at

1x
8.2

at

10x
8.2

at

50x
8.3

before
during
control

11.7
11

11.6
11

11.7

12
3.4

3.5 o2test a

3.4

b 77.5

before
during
control

78
83.8
5.8

77.4 83.5
6.1

83.9
6.4

variance
contorsl2

cont variance

123.55 124.3 0.75

124.2

124.9
124.7
-0.2

124.4
0.2

14

12 10
8
at 1x at

10x

6 4 2

at

50x

before

during

controll