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De Tromelin Cylinder

A device for the detection of psychic forces was invented by the Count de Tromelin at the opening of the twentieth century. A paper cylinder with a crosspiece of straw revolves on a fine point when a human hand is in the vicinity or when the opera-tor wills the device to move. It is also known as the fluid motor.

Many variant devices of this kind have been made to demonstrate the supposed action of psychic force or willpower on a lightly suspended object. One such indicator is a square of paper, folded across the diagonals so that it can revolve on a firmly fixed needle point.

One problem with all such devices is the lack of controls to exclude the possibility of the movement being caused by air currents or the heat of the operator's hand. The most impressive devices are those enclosed within a glass cover to exclude air movements (see sthenometer).

One very interesting instrument of this kind was developed by the British physician Charles Russ and was described by him in the July 3, 1931, issue of the respected British medical journal the Lancet as "An Instrument Which is Set in Motion by Vision."