The Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull
The
skull is made from a single block of clear quartz, and
is a near-perfect depiction of a small human skull measuring
five inches high by seven inches long and five inches
wide.
Featured in The
Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, by Chris
Morton and Ceri Louise Thomas, is the account of the examination
of the Mitchell-Hedges skull in 1970 by experts in quartz
crystal at the Santa Clara laboratories of the computer
and electronics giant, Hewlett-Packard.
The authors returned there nearly three decades later
to interview the then principal scientist, Jack Kusters,
and the former engineering manager for quartz devices,
Charles Adams, who had been present during the tests in
1970. They confirmed that the study had produced the following
results:
- The
skull was made from a single piece of pure natural quartz,
and these are very rare in that quality.
- The quartz block would have been three times the size
of the current skull, and even with modern tools it would
have taken a year to make.
- It was highly unlikely that it could have been made with
power tools anyway, because the delicate, detachable lower
jaw would have almost certainly shattered from the vibration,
friction and heat.
- Under extreme magnification, there was no sign of machine
tools being used.
- The skull had to have been made by hand or by some unknown
technique.
- It would have taken 'several generations' to carve by
hand; one estimate was '300 man-years'.
- It was impossible to say how old it was, as quartz crystal
does not age.
The experts pointed out that an estimated 80% of the earth's
surface contains quartz crystal, but large pieces of pure
quartz like this one are very uncommon. They said that
whoever made the skull would have had no way of knowing
when they began if there were fractures or holes inside
and if they made one mistake they would have had to start
again with another piece of quartz. They also found that
it was made from a particular type of crystal. The authors
write:
The
scientists at Hewlett-Packard were able to uncover
one more potential clue to the mystery of the crystal
skull. Other tests showed that the skull was not only
made from a single piece of natural quartz, but from
piezo-electric silicon dioxide, precisely the type
of naturally occurring quartz that is so widely used
in modern electronics.
The
piezo-electric qualities of some quartz crystal were
only discovered, in the modern world at least, by the
husband of Marie Curie in the latter years of the 19th
century. It means that the skull has a positive and negative
polarity, like a battery, and is capable of generating
electricity.
The experts also identified other extraordinary properties
of the skull with regard to its interaction with electricity
and light. The authors report:
The
Hewlett-Packard team also examined the skull's unusual
optical properties, such as its ability to channel light
from below, so that it is focused out through the eye
sockets. Apparently, this is only possible on account
of the orientation of the skull's optical axis...
What
this means is that light actually travels quicker through
the skull in one direction than another. Jack explained
that not only was the skull able to perform these incredible
tricks with normal multi-directional light, but also that
if you shine directional or polarized light at the skull,
not only does the light pass along its optical axis quicker
than in any other direction, but the skull also actually
rotates that light as it travels along its axis.
Click
here and here for
the original February 1971 report in Hewlett-Packard's
magazine, MEASURE
Click
here for
the introduction page
Click
here for a transcript
of the video
Click
here for
the Mitchell-Hedges website
Click
here for
an account of the discovery of the Crystal Orb
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