Truth about Orbs
Since I first placed a page on orbs and asked for peoples opinions as well as photographs I was inundated with both. I would like to thank you all and also to request no further Orb photographs.
 
There is quite frankly so much misinformation pertaining to the subject of orbs that it is unlikely that there will be a definite coming together of people from both sides of the debate. I do not hide my view about orbs and try to encourage people to look into the facts that cause this phenomenon. Orbs first came about in conjunction with the release of affordable digital cameras onto the market, and from the media of television, with programmes such as Most Haunted. It was I believe mentioned that orbs where the first manifestation of spirit, I disagree with this statement entirely, it was merely a person's opinion being expressed that has led to the debate which is currently in full swing, despite the weight of evidence against this.

The key difference between a digital camera and a normal camera and a digital one is that the digital camera has no film instead; it has a sensor that converts light  into electrical charges. At its most basic level, this is all there is to a digital camera. Just like a conventional camera, it has a series of lenses that focus light to create an image of a scene. But instead of focusing this light onto a piece of film, it focuses it onto a semiconductor device that records light electronically. A computer then breaks this electronic information down into digital data.  

The image sensor employed by most digital cameras is a charge coupled device (CCD). Some low-end cameras use complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology.  The CCD is a collection of tiny light-sensitive diodes, which convert photons (light) into electrons (electrical charge). These diodes are called photosites. In a nutshell, each photosite is sensitive to light, the brighter the light that hits a single photosite, the greater the electrical charge that will accumulate at that site.  The important difference between the lens of a digital camera and the lens of a 35mm camera is the focal length. The focal length is the distance between the lens and the surface of the sensor. The surface of a film sensor is much larger than the surface of a CCD sensor. In fact, a typical 1.3-megapixel digital sensor is approximately one-sixth of the linear dimensions of film. In order to project the image onto a smaller sensor, it is necessary to shorten the focal length by the same proportion. Focal length is also the critical information in determining how much magnification you get when you look through your camera. In 35mm cameras, a 50mm lens gives a natural view of the subject. As you increase the focal length, you get greater magnification, and objects appear to get closer. As you decrease the focal length, things appear to get farther away, but you can capture a wider field of view in the camera.

Now that I have outlined a little about the digital camera I will go onto the orbs themselves. There is a common belief that an orb is the first manifestation of a spirit, personally I disagree with this statement, and think of orbs as being merely dust particles circulating in the air. With the above information on the digital camera, in particularly the focal length of the lens, for it is the lens that distorts the dust particle into the shape of an orb. Because of the nature of the lens inherent with the digital camera, it tries to focus upon the dust particle and bring it into focus; however the resulting orb is a factor of both the circular lens of the camera, and the distance between the lens and the surface of the sensor. This does not happen with a 35mm camera, due to the distance between the lens and the surface of the sensor being much larger, thus more time is allowed for the image to be produced.

The reason why there are different coloured orbs appearing on photographs is primarily down to the clothes being worn by the person behind the camera. People have emailed me with questions such as why do faces appear in orbs? this is easily answered. We learn through repetition and association, as such the brain tries to associate the things we see with what it knows or has previously experienced. How many times have you looked up into the clouds and seen the shape of a person's head, or what appears similar a cat or dog. Again think of the many times you have seen faces in knots of wood on your doors or in the fabric of curtains or the patterns of wallpaper and carpets; the mind is trying to make sense of things; simple!

For those of you who are still undecided I have place a couple of links, one from each side of the argument, enjoy.

(photographing the paranormal) Provides a lot of photographic evidence regards orbs

(Parascience) This link about the orb phenomenon provides a scientific viewpoint of how orbs are produced and the technology behind the phenomenon. It offers a good grounding of the inherent technology and science without to much of the techno blurb, very much worth the read.

Copyright © 2001 - 2006, Ian Doherty, all rights reserved