![]() | |
![]() ![]() |
1994 Fools: Aura photograph technique restores damaged CD's
From liron@zikzak.apana.org.au Fri Apr 1 23:46:56 EST 1994 Article: 98856 of rec.humor Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!inxs.concert.net!taco.cc.ncsu.edu!lll-winken.llnl.gov!uwm.edu!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!munnari.oz.au!yoyo.aarnet.edu.au!yarrina.connect.com.au!werple.apana.org.au!zikzak.apana.org.au!not-for-mail From: liron@zikzak.apana.org.au (Liron Lightwood) Newsgroups: rec.music.misc,rec.music.cd,aus.music,aus.general,aus.jokes,rec.humor,alt.best.of.internet Subject: Aura photograph technique restores damaged CD's Date: 1 Apr 1994 18:38:20 +1000 Organization: Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne Australia Lines: 110 Message-ID: <2ngmia$st8@zikzak.apana.org.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: zikzak.apana.org.au X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #1 (NOV) Xref: bigblue.oit.unc.edu rec.music.misc:95844 rec.music.cd:31718 rec.humor:98856 alt.best.of.internet:4828 AURA PHOTOGRAPHS USED TO RESTORE DAMAGED CD'S MELBOURNE - Australian scientists have discovered a remarkable new technique that can fully restore recordings on damaged compact discs to their original condition. The technique, involves taking phtotographs of the aura of a damaged CD. The technique used is such that the missing or damaged sections of CD are included in the photograph, with all the missing pits and bumps faithfully reproduced without error. These phtoographs can be used to press new copies of the damaged CDs, in which the entire recorded material is restored to its original condition, without error. "We're not talking about one bit in a billiion, or one bit in a billion billion error", said a spokesman for the Melbourne based Centre of Expertise in Paranormal Phenomena (CEPP), where the discovery was made. "We're talking about zero error. And it doesn't matter if the original CD has light scratches, deep scratches, or even if entire chunks of the CD are missing altogether. The missing recorded information can be recovered, in full, and without error! " The discovery has major implications for people who have invested in large compact disc collections. "For even if CD's eventually do ware out, people will always be able to obtain fully repaired copies of their favourite CD's. When the copy wares out, the whole process can be repeated, and so on. In effect, the CD will last forever. But the area where this technique is expected to have the greatest impact is in the computer industry. "If a compny uses optical discs for its main data storage, then the data can always be restored, even after a major disaster in which pieces of discs are missing!" The technique is based around a phenomena known as the missing leaf phenomena, which had been discovered in the early 70's, but only now has it been applied to compact discs. The phenomena applies to photographs of the aura of an object in which pieces of the object are removed. In the missing leaf phenomena, the aura of a leaf that has had a piece cut out of it becomes whole again after several hours. "All objects have a halo surrounding them, which is known as an aura. The aura can be captured on film using a technique known as Kirlian photography. The object in question is placed on a film plate, and a high frequency electric field is applied to the object. When developed, the film plate reveals the aura of the object. "Living objects emit a vibrant aura. Inanimate objects such as statues or coins emit a stil aura. Inanimate objects which used to be living objects, such as a leaf, emit an aura which is somewhere in between. "If a piece of the leaf is cut from the leaf, the new aura of the leaf will show the new outline of the leaf. Or at least, that's what happens initially. "After a number of hours, the aura suddenly changes back to the way it was before the piece was cut from the leaf. The leaf appears whole again, as if the missing piece was never removed in the first place. The only difference is that the new section of aura is fainter than the rest of the aura. "Although we knew about this phenomena since the 70's, we only started taking aural photographs of CD's in the past two years, mainly out of curiosity. We found that Compact discs emit a bright aura around the outside of the disc and around the hole in the middle, and a less bright, though still vivid aura around the entire surface of the disc. "Close examination of the Kirlian photographs revealed that the aura faithfully reproduced all the pits and bumps of the original compact disc. In fact, it was possible to press a new CD from this photograph. The new one sounded every bit as good as the original, and comparison of the two digital bitstreams found them to be exactly the same. "We then asked the next logical question: Will the missing leaf phenomena work for CD's? So we bought two copies of some brand new CD's and deliberately scratched one of each copy and took photographs of the auras of the damaged CD's. "As with the leaf, the photographs did show the damage at first, with the scratched sections missing. But photographs taken a few hours later showed faint outlines of the missing sections of CD's, with all the missing pits and bumps clearly evident. "After some very basic image processing (to compensate for the dimness of the newly restored sections on the photograh), new CD's were pressed, and these were fond to be exact replicas of the original CD's without error. "Different amounts of damage were tried, and even for CD's in which a section as large as a 5 cent coin was missing, the missing sections had been fully restored in the aural photographs, and in the new copies made from them. " The Centre of Expertise in Paranormal Phenomena is one of the many centres of expertise founded in the mid to late 80's to foster fundamental research within Australia and allow Australia to take advantage of new scientific breakthroughs. CEPP is applying for worldwide patents for their revolutionaly technique, and are pursuing licensing agreements with major CD manufactures, both within Australia and around the world. -- Liron Lightwood liron@zikzak.apana.org.au Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne, Australia. Disclaimer: This is an April Fool's Day hoax. -- Liron Lightwood liron@zikzak.apana.org.au Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne, Australia. Disclaimer: This is an April Fool's Day hoax. -- Liron Lightwood liron@zikzak.apana.org.au Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne, Australia. Disclaimer: This is an April Fool's Day hoax.
![]() |