A video circulating on social media discusses the research of British medical electrician Walter John Kilner, who explored the application of dicyanin dye in detecting electromagnetic radiation beyond the visible light spectrum, through the naked eye. The video asserts that after Kilner’s discovery, the American government has removed dicyanin dye from circulation, and information about it is now inaccessible online. In this article, we aim to verify the accuracy of these assertions presented in the video.
Claim: The U.S. government has removed dicyanin dye from circulation due to its supernatural properties.
Fact: While Kilner’s study proposed the concept of the human aura through his endeavor to create a device using dicyanin dye, numerous researchers rejected his findings. Additionally, there is no compelling evidence to support the assertion of supernatural properties associated with dicyanin. Furthermore, contrary to claims, dicyanin dye is actively employed for laboratory purposes in the United States, particularly in the fields of astronomy and spectrochemical research. It’s noteworthy that dicyanin is not listed among the chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
As asserted in the viral video, Walter John Kilner, in his book titled ‘The Human Atmosphere’ did put forth the idea of the human aura. Kilner’s study was based on his attempt to invent a device by which the naked eye might be trained to observe auric activity.
After Kilner’s investigation, while some researchers endorsed his findings, others dismissed his studies. A 1912 review featured in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) pointed out that despite Kilner’s assertion of the aura as a “purely physical phenomenon,” the evidence did not substantiate this perspective. Additional research conflicting with Kilner’s viewpoint can be viewed here, and here. None of these studies endorsed the supernatural abilities of dicyanin.
In contrast to the assertion that the U.S. government has removed dicyanin from circulation and restricted access to information about it, the substance is actually easily obtainable for industrial purposes. The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology uses dicyanin dye for laboratory purposes in the fields of astronomy and spectrochemical research (here & here). The institution does not mention anything about dicyanin dye possessing supernatural properties.
It’s worth noting that dicyanin is not included in the list of chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (here & here). Furthermore, it does not appear in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry maintained by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Therefore, all these findings confirm that dicyanin is not banned, and there is no substantial evidence to support claims of its supernatural properties.
To sum it up, the U.S. government did not remove dicyanin from circulation, and there is insufficient evidence to support its supernatural properties
