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by Thommy on July 25th, 2004

Thommy

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Do divining rods really work? If so, how?

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  • by Thommy on July 27th, 2004

    Thommy

    Well, I know that they work for water or fluids or pipes in some respect by actual experiments personally. But I am trying to find out "why", or what mechanisms/forces cause this. I hypothesize that it is simple and that there are just basic forces involved, probably not a "mysterious spiritual force", but rather some physical law.

    Here is just one trial which I did, but I ran other experiments as well. I got two metal welding rods about 30" long and bent them into an 'L' shape. Holding the short end of the 'L' in each hand with the arms out-stretched straight ahead with the hands about 25 or 30 inches from each other. The long part of the 'L' is pointing away from the body, while the shorter end is held loosely in the hand. I placed a bucket of water on the ground. Everytime I approached it, the rods would "move their ends" towards each other and cross when one was directly over the bucket. Knowing where some of the water pipes were in the yard, I experimented and had the same phenomenon when I passed over the main. So, then I got a small classroom of kids, blindfolded them and had them walk forward with the rods. Everytime they approached the bucket of water, the rods would "point" toward each other and cross. It was a level concrete surface. I varied positions of the bucket. It worked with every kid and with other adults.

    History is full of ranting critics who either never bothered to explore by personal observation, or are bent on suppressing good intentions. Galileo had all kinds of ranting, raving critics and he had hell just getting them to look, investigate, and observe for themselves personally through a telescope. The church found him a heretic because "they knew on authority", not by first-hand investigation, that his accounts could not be true. It amazes me that people can be so sardonic without really looking to see by personal experience how this (or some other knowledge) can be. The responses to all this stuff are enlightening in themselves. This is one of the experiments I conducted and I thought I would share it. I know what I observed. Anyone can go to a welder's supply and try for themselves to see if they observe the same type of phenomena. Evidently, there are many others who obtain a similar phenomena with a variety of materials, but I have not found out a good explanation for it. Please help me discover the "why". I tend to think that there are physical universe mechanics involved and I am curious about those mechanics.

    A friend saw a "surveyer" at an old gas station use rods to locate where the pipes were underground.

    So, I know that these can work and can work with a variety of different people. Ha! If you send me $20, I'll send you a pair of the smaller version. If they don't work for you, I'll send your money back.

    But what I am trying to discover is "why" this works.

    Comments

    • Circumstantial when studies show otherwise and tring to sell the idiot wires.

      vagrant

      by vagrant on July 27th, 2004

    • Nicely supports the argument that it works and since nobody can absolutely say it does/doesn't the incorect rating is harsh.

      Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony

      by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on July 27th, 2004

    • I don't know if it's "circumstantial", but it also worked for me-- eat your heart out. :D

      ChillWinterheart

      by ChillWinterheart on January 5th, 2005

    • Try using non magetic materials like wood or styrofoam and then see what happens.

      Max Power

      by Max Power on February 28th, 2005

    • Still haven't tried it myself, but the answer is useful, try it out before giving it a negative rating

      Anonymous

      by Anonymous on July 11th, 2005

    • Nicely done with the 'blind' test. Works for me. I use it in landscaping.

      junque mahail

      by junque mahail on July 27th, 2005

    • Check out http://www.randi.org/library/dowsing/ for the reality.

      RedJohn

      by RedJohn on October 6th, 2005

    • Randi is a journalist and magician, not a scientist. His sceptical debunking of diviners is based on bogus test conditions and false premises which display a total ignorance of the true nature of the divining senses.

      the Water Diviner

      by the Water Diviner on March 28th, 2008

    • Good for you Thommy, for keeping an open mind and doing some practical experiments. Your experiments appear to confirm that there is an innate sensory ability in all or most people.
      Many people have done these types of simple experiments and research into divining has gone much further into determining which techniques work best, which techniques don’t work well, and which applications of divining or dowsing are valid. It is important, for the furtherance and survival of divining, to take a logical scientific approach to it. Flights into fanciful realms, which can not be verified or corroborated with sufficient evidence to measure efficacy, should be avoided.

      the Water Diviner

      by the Water Diviner on March 28th, 2008

    • The city employees where I live use it to locate water sewer and gas pipes.

      potstoppedup

      by potstoppedup on February 24th, 2010

    • I call myself a Christian and am leery about the occult and anything related to it. I am, however, of the opinion that the use of metal rods as you describe to locate water pipes does work. I first learned about it from a professor in college. He was a civil engineer. We went to a location where there was a known buried storm drainage pipe. Using bent metal rods, we all (about 15 graduate students) located the pipe and laid out the line on the surface; it lined up with manholes on either end. I tried it recently and it worked.

      I do not believe that it is a supernatural phenomenon.

      I think, based on my course work in electric circuits and physics that water sets up an electric field of some kind that perhaps is strongest when the water is moving; as in a buried pipe transporting water or even sewage. When one approaches the water, the parallel metal rods begin to orient themselves perpendicular to the field; so that when the person is directly over the center of the field, the rods are in line with each other. I have heard of cases where pieces of wood are used; I would guess that if the wood is green, that the moisture in the wood (i.e., its field), reacts with the field in the ground.
      oswaldrendon@gmail.com

      vermouth

      by vermouth on March 9th, 2010

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