The intensity may vary from a mild warmth to a frightening and painful burn. Frequently the witness retains a semi-
permanent record of such encounters in the form of a sunburn or even blisters. The burns are generally limited to
areas that are directly exposed to the UFO.
Explanation
If a UFO is encased in a brilliant plasma, it will radiate energy in a broad band of frequencies or wavelengths.
Extending well beyond the visible spectrum, the flux of energy will include longer and shorter wavelengths in the
infrared and ultraviolet regions. Infrared radiation is the mechanism by which heat is transmitted at a distance. If, on
the other hand, the UFO is not covered with a plasma and a metallic surface is visible, it can still radiate substantial
intensities of infrared due to the elevated temperature, particularly if it is self-luminous, glowing in a soft orange
color like the heating elements of an electric stove. The radiant energy transmitted per unit area and unit time may
2
be expressed as millicalories per square cm. per second (mcal/cm sec) and compared to energy received from the
2
sun. The solar irradiation constant, the energy striking an area perpendicular to the rays, amounts to 32.3 mcal/cm
sec. So the rate of heat input to a witness can be roughly estimated from the description of the experience or more
accurately if the witness were asked for a direct comparison. Assuming isotropic emission from the UFO, one can
calculate the total energy emitted by the UFO in that bandwidth. But that is not the whole story.
1. "Sunburned" Skin
Manuel Amparano, a policeman in Kerman, California, observed a bright object in the sky during the night. It
emitted a blue flash then departed straight upward in seconds. Upon returning to the station, he was found to be
sunburned as red as a lobster. The effect faded in four hours. The burn was only on the portion of his body directly
exposed to the UFO. His long-sleeve uniform afforded no protection, but he was completely shielded by the door of
19
the patrol car.
In Baden, Pennsylvania, on August 13, 1965, a middle-aged man saw a disc in the night sky fly in front of the
moon. It was estimated to be 100 m. in diameter at a distance of 700 m. Its orange lights weakened as it became a
very intense blue for three seconds. Shortly afterward, a shock wave was felt. Within 20 minutes, his eyes became
20
painful and he gradually lost his vision for a few days. Oddly, his entire body was sunburned as if by "ultraviolet."
7
James McCampbell
Explanation
Obviously, ultraviolet could not have produced the sunburn because it could not have penetrated the clothing!
The same applies to the California policeman. Microwaves, however, could penetrate clothing and burn the skin but
be reflected by a car door. Early experiments by the U.S. Navy explored the heating sensation of microwaves.
Energy from 10 cm. waves and longer penetrates deeply and is dispersed throughout the body. Hence, only a small
fraction is absorbed at the surface where biological heat sensors are located. But shorter wavelengths are
preferentially absorbed in the skin and are thus more effective in stimulating the sensation of heat and causing burns.
They are almost as effective as infrared! The experiments showed that the threshold for feeling warmth from
2 21
microwaves of 1 cm. in an exposure of a few seconds was about 2 mcal/cm sec. In other words, people can feel
the warmth from 1 cm. microwaves at less than one-tenth the energy flux from the sun. Burns would naturally be
caused by much higher intensities.
2. Hot Objects
David Winter experienced a typical automobile failure while driving home in British Columbia at 2:15 a.m. on
December 13, 1967. It was a clear, cold night with the temperature about 20-25^0F. He pulled off the road to look
under the hood for the source of trouble. Only then did he notice an object hovering about 15 m. above the ground
about 100 m. away. It was shaped like a dome, flat on the bottom, displaying red and green lights with what
appeared to be portholes emitting light. The surface looked like wire-brushed steel. He noted that his battery felt
warm. Becoming apprehensive, he then got back into the car while watching the object drift closer in a gentle
rocking motion. He became frightened upon discovering that his hair felt warm. Later he said "...and the copper
ring on my left ring finger got rather warm and unpleasant so I decided to take that off too. And I noticed my watch
getting a little... I have a metal watch band here and it got warm..." Also, "A metal button and metal fly in my pants
and they got hot." During a second inspection of the car, he retrieved a flashlight from a toolbox and noticed that its
metal frame became hot but the lens remained cold. Metallic parts of the car had become hot but the tires felt as cold
as the air.
Explanation
Observe the contrasts between the items that were heated versus those that were not. Nonconducting materials
(rubber and glass) remained at ambient temperature whereas electrical conductors (steel, copper, and silver) became
hot. The watchband may have been gold but its material was not stated. Warmth of the battery was caused by
22
heating of the battery acid, a conducting medium. Undoubtedly, a high-frequency electromagnetic field was
inducing eddy currents in the conductors that produced resistance heating. Differences in the temperatures of the
rings would be expected due to the different electrical resistivities of copper and silver and their individual
23
dimensions.
3. Electrical Shock
In the late 40s and early 50s, most UFO sightings were high-altitude flybys unless it was that witnesses were
more reluctant to confess to close encounters and investigators to report them. It was not until the 1954 flap in
France that witnesses in substantial numbers reported UFOs at very short ranges and an accompanying feeling of
tingling or electrical shock. Then in 1958 near Lima, Peru, a UFO descended and hovered near a truck, bus, and car.
Passengers in all three vehicles felt an electrical shock at the same time that their engines failed. NICAP was the first
organization to take a particular interest in such electromagnetic effects and to publish an extensive record of the
24
events.
Explanation
Radar systems operating at microwave frequencies have become so powerful that the hazard of electrical shock
to workmen has become serious. Special protective clothing has been developed that covers the entire body, head,
face, hands, and feet. Made of metalized nylon, it reflects electromagnetic energy away from the wearer. A special
8
Effects of UFOs Upon People
feature assures electrical continuity across the seams. A surface layer of neoprene prevents closing a circuit between
25
two objects at different electrical potentials that might be touched at the same time by a workman.
Human-like creatures seen in association with UFOs are invariably described as wearing skin-tight, one-piece
uniforms covering the whole body including the feet. They are notably without buttons, zippers, pockets,
discontinuities, and seams. One witness peering into the goggles of a UFOnaut observed a fine, wire-mesh screen
that would effectively shield the eyes against microwaves. UFOnauts are apparently taking the same precautions that
we are in the presence of intense microwave fields. In such environments near UFOs, unprotected witnesses would
be expected to feel the induced currents in the skin as a tingling sensation or an electrical shock.
