NOTE: an important follow-up to the article below shows preliminary seed sprouting results under the various blankets and is posted at:
http://www.orgonelab.org/energyblankets.htm

Introduction

The discovery of the Orgone Energy Blanket (OEB) by Dr. Wilhelm Reich dates to the 1940s or earlier, and together with the orgone energy accumulator (upon which it is based) has been the subject of clinical trials and controlled experimental reports for many years.(1) These reports include controlled studies on plants showing statistically-significant increases in growth, fruiting and flowering, on cancer mice showing decreased tumor size and longer life, and double-blinded studies showing human physiological responses,(2) all in keeping with Dr. Reich's original claims as regarding the bio-effects of concentrated orgone energy, or life-energy as accumulated and magnified from the open atmosphere, as applied to living organisms.(3)

In more recent years, several new "energy blankets" have been put on the market which appear to be copies of Dr. Reich's original designs, but which fail to mention his research priority and discovery. This could be because the manufacturers of those products are genuinely ignorant of Dr. Reich's original discovery and research priority, or because of merchandising competition with the OEB, which currently sells at a much lower price.(4) Acknowledgement of Reich's work on this issue would also render any patent claims null and void, which might be another reason for the failure to openly detail Reich's work.

The Russian and Nyvatex "Energy Blankets"

More recently, some of the claims being made by the manufacturers of the new "energy blankets", such as the Russian Scenar Blanket (RSB) and Nyvatex Energy Blanket (NEB) are similar to the OEB, but go considerably beyond the more conservative and cautious claims made by Dr. Reich and his associates. A reading of their published and internet advertisements also suggests they have advanced in the construction methods of the original OEB by substituting alloy metallized plastic or cloth layers, in the place of the original steel-wool or steel-mesh OEB, which basically requires hand-layering and higher labor costs. One such "MediScen" RSEB obtained at the Orgone Biophysical Research Laboratory for testing was opened at a corner for examination, and revealed such metallized plastic materials, giving a superficial resemblance to a typical "infrared blanket" as sold to hikers or for emergency use in cold winter environments. Those IR blankets typically reflect back one's own body heat, slowing heat loss and thereby preserving body core temperature in sub-zero environments. And while such materials do not produce any known growth-enhancement or healing effects, to our knowledge, they do produce "sensible" heat-reflection subjective feelings which to the inexperienced individual can produce sensible effects similar to the described effects from an orgone accumulator or OEB. From a completely superficial impression, therefore, one might assume a typical RSEB would produce sensible effects similar to an OEB, though not necessarily with the same life-enhancement benefits of the OEB.

The Claim of "Blocking EM Emissions"

One widely-repeated claim of the manufacturers of the new class of energy blankets is, that the newer metallized plastic materials act to "block electromagnetic radiation" in a manner not possible with the standard and authentic OEB. The OEB has since its inception been advocated only within rooms or environments which are free of typical "electro-smog" or low-level electromagnetic pollution. Users of the OEB and larger orgone energy accumulator are warned NOT to use the devices near to computers, television sets, microwave ovens, fluorescent lights, and other mildly or strongly radiating electromagnetic sources. The RSEB and NEB appear to lack any such warnings or cautions for users, who often report having read or being told the "EM Blocking Ability" of the RSEB and NEB is sufficient so as to make those "older" warnings no longer relevant. Users are told, to use them without such concerns.

Here, I report on a series of short experiments designed to evaluate a MediSCEN RSEB for this claim of "electromagnetic blocking" and to compare it to two varieties of the OEB, as made by the Orgonics company in California. The two Orgonic's blankets included: A) one constructed with standard layers of steel wool, sheep's wool and acrylic felt, and B) a second one constructed similarly but with a single layer of ultra-thin and flexible stainless steel mesh on one side. The three blankets -- the RSEB, Orgonics-A, and Orgonics-B -- were evaluated as to their EM blocking capabilities with a Trifield Broadband Meter, at three different frequency exposures. While holding the Trifield Meter at a set distance from the frequency source, the RSEB or OEBs were inserted between the source and the meter, with observation of any changes in field strength. Results are as follows:

1) MAGNETIC FIELD Powerline Frequency 60-Cycle
A 30-watt power transformer, converting 120 volts AC into 12 volts DC, as used to power a laptop computer, was evaluated to produce a 60-cycle magnetic field strength of 50 milligauss at 20 cm distance, and 100 milligauss at 1 cm distance. Insertion of the RSEB between the source and meter produced NO observable reduction of field strength for either the 50 or 100 milligauss readings. Insertion of BOTH varieties of the OEB likewise produced NO observable reduction of field strengths. For the magnetic components of 60-cycle powerline frequencies, as emitted by a simple power transformer, none of the blankets produced appreciable effects. Likewise, wrapping the different blankets around the meter produced no observable reduction in measurements. This is in keeping with what is known about the magnetic field from powerlines and transformers, which can bend around corners and requires special nickel-alloy metal plate wrapped entirely around the source before even slight reductions in magnetic field strength can be observed.

2. ELECTRICAL FIELD Powerline Frequency 60-cycle
A 20-watt compact fluorescent light with screw-in base (Luxlite brand) was evaluated for its Electrical Field components, using the same Trifield Meter. It was observed to produce a field of 100 kilovolts/meter at a distance of 10 cm. As before, the different blankets were placed in between the source and meter, with the following results: Insertion of the RSEB between the source and meter produced NO observable reduction of field strength. Insertion of BOTH varieties of the OEB, however, produced an immediate reduction of measured field strengths essentially down to zero. The OEB, with its steel-wool and steel-mesh components, completely blocked the 60-cycle oscillations of the electrical field of the fluorescent bulb. This is in keeping with what is known about electrical fields, which travel in a straight line, and can be blocked by even an ordinary piece of steel plate.

3. RADIOWAVE/MICROWAVE Emissions
The same 20-watt compact fluorescent light bulb as used in experiment #2, above, was used to evaluate for low-level RF and Microwave frequencies. While it is not commonly known, such compact bulbs produce reasonable amounts of RF and Microwave emissions. Using the special setting on the Trifield Broadband Meter, which measures between 100 kHz to 2.5 GHz, the following observations were made: Insertion of the RSEB between the source and meter produced NO observable reduction in field strength. Insertion of BOTH varieties of the OEB, however, produced an immediate reduction on measured field strengths essentially down to zero. Again, the OEB out-performed the RSEB, completely blocking the toxic RF and Microwave emissions of the source.

Conclusion:

We may summarize the results in the following Table:

Electromagnetic Field Blocking Effects of Three Energy Blankets

Magnetic Electric Radiofrequencies/
Fields Fields Microwaves
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orgonics-A NO YES YES
Standard OEB

Orgonics-B NO YES YES
Steel-Mesh OEB

MediSCEN
RSEB NO NO NO

While further testing of the RSEB, NEB and OEB remains to be undertaken, it has been established that the OEB out-performs the RSEB on the question of "blocking of EM frequencies", even though this was a claim made by the manufacturers of the RSEB and NEB, but not made by the OEB manufacturer. Presumably we should expect similar results from any "energy blanket" using metallized plastics of any alloy materials, instead of the thicker layers of steel-wool or the steel mesh as used in the Orgonics OEBs.

A new series of tests evaluating the biological growth-enhancement aspects of the RSEB and OEB are now underway, and will be added as an annex to this Report as soon as possible.

Citations

1. For a listing of experimental papers on the biological effects of orgone energy, and evaluations of the orgone energy accumulator and blanket, see the on-line "Bibliography on Orgonomy"
http://www.orgonelab.org/bibliog.htm

2. At the on-line Bibliography (citation 1), a keyword search of the main sections will bring up dozens of such articles. Specifically also see the two double-blind controlled studies on human physiological response to the orgone accumulator as undertaken at German universities, in the "dissertation" index at this same on-line Bibliography.

3. James DeMeo, "The Orgone Accumulator Handbook: Construction Plans, Experimental Use, and Protection Against Toxic Energy" Natural Energy, 1989 (revised 1998).
http://www.orgonelab.org/cart/xdemeo.htm

4. The RSEB is reported to sell for upwards of $2000 US, while a 3-ply OEB of the same size might cost only several hundred dollars, or even less if self-constructed.