The Mind of God

The Soul Mass Experiment

The full text of Dr. MacDougall's soul mass experiment with dying human patients can be found at the Web Site for the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, May, 1907; http://www.scribd.com/doc/20281719/21-Grams-Hypothesis-Concerning-Soul-Substance-Together-with-Experimental-Evidence.

In 1915, H. LaV. Twining, head of the Physics and Electrical Engineering Department of Los Angeles Polytechnic High School, tried to replicate MacDougall's experiment using mice. He used a scale that measured to within a fiftieth of a milligram. When the mice died, he did notice a one to two milligram drop in weight. However, when the mice died inside of a closed glass tube, they showed no weight loss. After a few other experiments, Twining concluded that the weight loss was caused by simple moisture, and rejected MacDougall's findings.

The Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 15, Number 4 in 2001 reported an unexplained transient weight gain at the moment of death in a group of sheep. This experiment used an electronic scale sensitive to one part in 20,000, with a response time of .2 seconds. The animals were destined to be destroyed, and were under veterinarian care. They were sedated, then wrapped in plastic. Careful consideration was given for moisture loss, etc. Weight fluctuations due to breathing could be readily measured. In seven cases, there was a temporary weight gain measured after the last breath and heart beat. One possible explanation is that a non-visible mass too light to be measured directly with the scale departed the body with sufficient velocity to produce a temporary spike. This area of study has not been sufficiently considered. The utilization of carefully controlled modern technologies, perhaps to the atomic scale, might produce some interesting results.

Students or others interested in pursuing this further, please contact Paul Cochrane at paulspla@verizon.net.