Scientists Discover Human Hands Emit Light Energy
Human hands glow, but fingernails release the most light, according to a recent
study that found all parts of the hand emit detectable levels of light.
The findings support prior research that suggested most living things, including
plants, release light. Since disease and illness appear to affect the strength
and pattern of the glow, the discovery might lead to less-invasive ways of
diagnosing patients.
Mitsuo Hiramatsu, a scientist at the Central Research Laboratory at Hamamatsu
Photonics in Japan, who led the research, told Discovery News that the hands are
not the only parts of the body that shine light by releasing photons, or tiny,
energized increments of light.
"Not only the hands, but also the forehead and bottoms of our feet emit
photons," Hiramatsu said, and added that in terms of hands "the presence of
photons means that our hands are producing light all of the time."
The light is invisible to the naked eye, so Hiramatsu and his team used a
powerful photon counter to "see"it.
The detector found that fingernails release 60 photons, fingers release 40 and
the palms are the dimmest of all, with 20 photons measured.
The findings are published in the current Journal of Photochemistry and
Photobiology B: Biology.
Hiramatsu is not certain why fingernails light up more than the other parts of
the hand, but he said, "It may be because of the optical window property of
fingernails," meaning that the fingernail works somewhat like a prism to scatter
light.
To find out what might be creating the light in the first place, he and
colleague Kimitsugu Nakamura had test subjects hold plastic bottles full of hot
or cold water before their hand photons were measured. The researchers also
pumped nitrogen or oxygen gas into the dark box where the individuals placed
their hands as they were being analyzed.
Warm temperatures increased the release of photons, as did the introduction of
oxygen. Rubbing mineral oil over the hands also heightened light levels.
Based on those results, the scientists theorize the light "is a kind of
chemiluminescence," a luminescence based on chemical reactions, such as those
that make fireflies glow. The researchers believe 40 percent of the light
results from the chemical reaction that constantly occurs as our hand skin
reacts with oxygen.
Since mineral oil, which permeates into the skin, heightens the light, they also
now think 60 percent of the glow may result from chemical reactions that take
place inside the skin.
Fritz-Albert Popp, a leading world expert on biologically related photons at The
International Institute of Biophysics in Germany, agrees with the findings and
was not surprised by them.
Popp told Discovery News, "One may find clear correlations to kind and degree
(type and severity) of diseases."
Popp and his team believe the light from the forehead and the hands pulses out
with the same basic rhythms, but that these pulses become irregular in unhealthy
people. A study he conducted on a muscular sclerosis patient seemed to validate
the theory.
Both he and Hiramatsu hope future studies will reveal more about human photon
emissions, which could lead to medical diagnosis applications.