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THE METAL-BENDERS” by JOHN B. HASTED

The most significant findings of the French metallurgists have been the modifications of the physical properties of thick metal bars (150 X 30 X 4.5 mm), produced without any bending by the paranormal action of Jean-Pierre Girard.

It is because the residual strain profile is anomalous that no bending takes place.

But Girard’s ‘action’ in these cases is probably not very different in other respects from what it is in a paranormal bend. The video-observation and the measurements made on the metal bar leave no doubt that there has been no actual measurable bending. Girard claims to feel in some way that there has been action.

I have myself observed one of these events, and am of the opinion that if sufficient measurements had been carried out on other metal specimens exposed to other subjects it would turn out that this type of event was by no means so uncommon as appears at present.

Up to the present only four cases of ‘anomalous hardening’ have been properly documented.
The feature of anomalous hardening events, as reported by Dr Bouvaist and confirmed independently by us in London, may be seen in the representation in Figure 13.3. Although there is no bending, on each face of the metal bar there is locaised increase in the hardness.

There is also a small localised decrease, typically of the order of 10 micro metres, in the thickness of the metal bar (~ 4.5 mm). The residual stress increases, but not uniformly, from its original value, ~ -l0 MPa throughout. On one face an increase to +80 MPa has been measured, concurrently with a value of-80 MPa on the other. This profile of residual stress would not be typical of a bend, and in any case there was no bend throughout the entire observed event; nevertheless the hardness increased locally.

[Figure 13.3 Hardness data on opposite faces of AU4GT4 aluminium bar handled by Jean-Pierre Girard on his visit to London in November 1977. The data points, before handling, are scattered about the horizontal lines and are not shown individually, except for the three crosses in the centre. The standard deviation of all these points was 1.3 VPN. Closed circles and triangles are data points taken by Dr Bouvaist in Voreppe (weight 3 kg). Open circles and triangles are data points taken by Dr Desvaux in Leatherhead (weight 2.5 kg).]