Scientifically speaking: define "ghost"?

Question

In the effort to introduce legitimate science into this category, I ask this specifically of those who believe that ghost research is science, not pseudoscience. For those who believe ghosts aren't simply hallucinations or illusions, read on.

The foundational question, "What is a ghost?", must be answered scientifically before any other kind of ghost research is undertaken, since science is a process whereby new knowledge is built directly upon established knowledge. This requires:

1) Using known physical theories, show that they predict the existence of a "ghost" and that a falsifiable hypothesis can be formed and investigated.

2) Show how our knowledge of physics predicts the nature of the "ghost", i.e., define it with equations if possible.

Please be scientific. That is, your explanation has to be firmly grounded in theory, not conjecture. No handwaving about how a ghost is an echo, or an imprint on the atmosphere, or some such wild and nebulous conjecture.

Thanks everyone, but I just want to re-emphasize: I'm not looking for conjecture. I'm asking for a valid scientific approach that would show how current science predicts the nature or existence of ghosts.

Let me put it another way: Mathematics is the language of physics and in fact of all physical sciences. If you can't express your explanation for ghosts using a set of equations, you're probably not being scientific. So, what equations would you use?

Answer 1

First, let me say that I am not a "ghost hunter", and that I do not utilize electronic devices to capture physical evidence or proof of "ghosts". There are people who do this work, and I beg their pardon if I misstate their case.

Science has not been able to directly analyze a ghost. Instead, people analyze the effects of a ghost on the environment (electromagnetic fluctuations, thermal variances, audiovisual surveillance, etc.), and infer it's presence. It's not unlike the manner in which physicists detect black holes or quantum particles--they examine events in the surrounding environment and speculate as to the existence and nature of the objects that may cause these events.

I have not examined the evidence that has been collected in order to come to an informed conclusion about what comprises a "ghost phenomenon" from a physical perspective. I am interested to read the answers of people who are working in this field as I have seen posts from indiviuals who are knowledgeable of these subjects. This is an interesting question. Thanks for posting it.

BTW, predicting the existence of unknown/unseen objects is no simple matter, and I would be very surprised if anybody could provide an answer concise enough to be posted in this forum.

Answer 2

TR, I couldn't come up with an equation that predicts the existence of air. Believers should be able to show significant evidence, but making the hurdles too high could injure your credibility. Remember the hollow earth guy who had a little cult which believed we were on the INside of the earth? He offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could prove him wrong using a purely mathematical argument. Well, of course it couldn't be done. I think we run into the same problem here. The other requirements should be enough.

Lizzie, asking questions to prove or disprove possibilities is exactly what he is doing. So when you "analyze" your data, what research has shown a relationship between such data and ghosts? How do you know you're not reading dream projections or Martian psychic transmissions or superior beings of a parallel Universe, passing through ours?

Queen shar, science thrives in gray areas. If ghosts have *any* kind of physical effect, (cold, in your case), then it has a physical nature which can be investigated theoretically and experimentally. If we can study things like black holes, proton decay, gravity waves, and neutrinos, then ghosts seem well within our reach. Yet not one shred of physical evidence has ever been presented and there remains no theoretical framework. Why?

John, which do you consider more valuable: factual knowledge or idle speculation? Verifiable phenomena or superstitious folklore? Which do you think has the better chance of revealing the truth about something?

Answer 3

Ghost: an apparition of a deceased person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and encountered in places that he or she frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings. The word ghost may also refer to the spirit or soul of a deceased person, or to any spirit or demon.

Now, I'm sure that's not all you were looking for. I appreciate your scientific approach to defining what "ghosts" are and how they come to be. Asking that you believe simply because there's more out there than is currently understood would be too much. How would we learn what's possible and what's not unless we ask questions and work to either prove or disprove possibilities?

The group I'm a part of, Acworth Afterlife, take digital pictures (infrared and regular), use digital recorders for EVP, nightvision goggles and our own bodies as instruments to determine if the places we go are haunted or even just frequented by spirits. We currently can't afford any of the fancy equipment on "GhostHunters", but we're just a bunch of working stiffs with a hobby we enjoy taking one night a week for.

We look over and anylize all data we get, talk about things we feel, see, smell and even think about when we're still in the field or when we return home. Sometimes we catch something, sometimes we don't. How scientific that is, I can't really say, but I hope you get some good answers here, and figure out just which camp to pitch your tent in.

Answer 4

A ghost is something of human shape, made up of a not yet know substance. They appear and disappear in a way not found in normal time and space. Possibly some type of a inter dimensional effect either real or perceived. They are claimed to be souls of dead people in popular folklore. Some people claim that they can appear by drawing energy from the surrounding atmosphere. Free energy!
At this time know one is working on the type of instrumentation needed to study this effect. It is possible that new theory's in unification physics may explain this at some point. Only amateurs are studying ghosts with limited equipment and little physics background to help. Conventional science has shunned this type of study and labeled it as pseudoscience, witchcraft, or mental illness.
Someone should study this for reasons other than the spiritual aspect. They seem to be everywhere and able to convert energy to some type of visible matter. The fact that a matter-energy conversion with out heat is taking place is worth the study alone. Cold fusion maybe!

Edit 1.
You asked for it---
http://www.cheniere.org/correspondence/062503.htm
http://www.geocities.com/saint7peter/MyNewEquation.html
And heres the math----
http://www.meta-religion.com/Physics/Quantum_physics/a_unified_field_theory.htm
And the other side---
http://www.geocities.com/kundalini48/whatisunifiedtheory.html

Answer 5

Ghost Definition

Answer 6

I do understand what you are looking for in a definition however even Websters dictionary uses words like "displaced soul" when defining ghost. I am sure that "soul" is another term that isn't what you are looking for in a definition. My best answer for you is that a ghost has similar properties as a cold gust of wind. You can feel it but you can't exactly grab a hold of it. It will be difficult for anyone to "legitimise" this topic for someone with such a black & white view of things. Paranormal phenomena is definately a grey area.

Answer 7

As the US government sometimes says, I neither confirm nor deny the existence. I hope Malachi will take time to answer this question. In the meantime, here’s the dictionary definition (relevant parts).

Main Entry: 1ghost
Pronunciation: 'gOst
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English gost, gast, from Old English gAst; akin to Old High German geist spirit, Sanskrit heda anger
1 : the seat of life or intelligence : SOUL
2 : a disembodied soul; especially : the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness
3 : SPIRIT, DEMON
4 a : a faint shadowy trace b : the least bit

Main Entry: 1soul
Pronunciation: 'sOl
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English soule, from Old English sAwol; akin to Old High German sEula soul
1 : the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life
2 a : the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe b capitalized, Christian Science : GOD 1b
3 : a person's total self
4 a : an active or essential part b : a moving spirit : LEADER

Answer 8

Ghosts are white figures that are really faded out, that sometimes haunt people that they didn't like, or sometimes they try to get people to help them escape to freedom. I think that maybe there is a way that you CAN set ghosts free, and the way they got there was they were put under a spell of some kind. I really hope this helps you.

Answer 9

I'm quite sure (read: certain) that The brain continues sending electrical wave signals for 37 hours after death." is a huge lie Also I believe someone is considered dead once their brain activity stops

Answer 10

Ghost is a optical/sound illusion created by the spectrum from the lightning and radical changes in temperature.