Posted on 07/02/2014 6:32:17 AM PDT by Abathar
I'm curious, has anyone else seen someone use a stick to find water before, and do you believe it works?
We sold a piece of property and had to move a well that was on it to another older well we drilled years ago but never used. When we couldn't find the cap with a metal detector the well driller who put it in 20 years ago said we were looking in the wrong place, because there was no water there. He went back to his truck, pulled out a stick, and he and his assistant started walking the property and marking where the stick swung down. He told us that there was a gravel vein running N to S and it had to be in that area, that where our memory told us it was was wrong, and he never would have drilled there.
Long story short, he was within 4 ft. of where the old well was found with that stupid stick and its been screwing with my mind ever since. 3 days ago I would have snorted derisively and and used my best Sheldon Cooper "Hokum" imitation, but now I don't know what to think. Has anyone else seen it work or was he just lucky?
“Are you purposely being an ass?”
A little bit, yes. I’ll admit, it’s difficult not to be when discussing these topics with someone with your particular combination of ignorance and confidence.
Let’s get to the point then. From your posts we are to believe that trace minerals in ground water are ferromagnetic, strong enough to generate a field to react magnetically to wires held by hand 100’s of feet through earth, soil and rock thereby acting as a home-made magnetometer.
It’s nonsense.
Nonsense is your post.
Slight or weak attractions or disturbances to magnetic fields could possibly be detected by simple wires moving over or through disturbances to magnetic fields. You or your posts have not proved otherwise.
Depends on the depth of drilling. Near the top you generally have to go deeper than wells farther down slope.
Why do you say that?
How does it bend wooden sticks? How does it deflect non-ferros wires?
“Slight or weak attractions or disturbances to magnetic fields could possibly be detected by simple wires moving over or through disturbances to magnetic fields. You or your posts have not proved otherwise.”
That’s true I guess, but then again I never set out to do that actually.
If you are looking for water using magnetic fields, why not just use magnets and drill for water where they stick to the ground?
“How does it bend wooden sticks? How does it deflect non-ferros wires?”
Good questions. That part might be magic, but the wire sticks, that’s physics.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
So finding water with sticks is like believing in ghosts?
“Why do you say that?”
Because there are obviously places where there is none. Ever hear of a desert? No rainfall, no trees, no grass just sand. You pretty much have to have rainfall to have ground water.
Yes, it works. I knew a guy who took a fresh cut, forked peach limb with the cut end up and a limb in each fist. He started walking and the tip took a dive for the ground. He marked that spot and then went 90º to one side and started walking toward that spot.
The forked limb did another dive toward the ground. Then he took another fresh peach limb and split the end, put a silver quarter into the split and held it over the spot by the thin end. The larger end started swinging left and tight and then up and down.
He counted the up and down swings and said, “There is water at 25 or 30 feet”. The owner drilled and got good water at 27 feet. That was over 25 years ago and the well is still producing good water.
Yes. Which one do you have in mind?
Exactly right. The metal pipes and wires are influenced by the man-made submarine communication antennas - VLF. Also by nearby electrical current from nearby powerlines. The plastic pipes are probably the breaks in the soil where the remnant magnetization of the minerals in the soil are disturbed. I use fancy equipment to find both. (Utility locators work off the VLF, and a magnetometer to find disturbed soils. The mag doesn't always work.)
The groundwater issue might be due to self-potential or streaming-potential electrical forces caused by flowing water through the soils. (Pretty sure it needs soils, but perhaps it can also happen in plastic pipes, which may account for finding them).
Although I still am not sure how a wood stick is able to conduct the energy. Wire rods yes. Perhaps the wood has enough moisture in it. And it may be that it is more that the signal is picked up by the person (some with better receptors due to more iron, more free ions, etc.), and the wood stick or metal rod is just the indicator.
“How does it bend wooden sticks? How does it deflect non-ferros wires?”
“Good questions. That part might be magic, but the wire sticks, that’s physics.”
Actually, it’s your body that is moving the sticks or wire. And it’s your body (un-conscious system) that is sensing the water or pipe or whatever. The stick or wire is just utilized as an output device. The whole process is paranormal.
And no, it does not suggest daemons or spirits. Most people have it to some extent. Even animals have it.
“Sadly not true especially in the mountains.” “Depends on the depth of drilling. Near the top you generally have to go deeper than wells farther down slope.”
Sandstone and porous rock would not support the weight of a mountain. There is likely to be an aquifer in the valley, but not under the mountain.
“The whole process is paranormal.”
So we’re back to magic.
Just when I thought we’d figured out the physics and science behind it. Damn.
“So we’re back to magic.”
No Fuzz, paranormal is not magic. It’s just something we do not understand yet. I’ve experienced it a couple of times in my life where I’ve known something that I had no way of knowing. Most people probably have.
A situation comes to mind of the night my brother died. I didn’t know he was even sick, and I woke up in the middle of the night and told my wife that Bob died... There was nothing magic about it.
Everybody seems to have an opinion about water witching. Those who are absolutely certain it can’t work claim that science hasn’t proven it. While the other camp claims it does work and cite a variety of personal experiences to shore up their argument. I’m in the latter group though I have no idea how or why it works. I’ve seen it work so I’m convinced.
OTOH, I can’t do it to save my soul. So I’d have to say that some of the failed “experiments” mentioned in this thread may have been conducted using people like myself who couldn’t find water in their bathtub.
In my opinion, whether the process is a function of physical laws, paranormal activity ot “magic” is of lesser importance than the simple fact that it does work — for some people.
“So finding water with sticks is like believing in ghosts?”
My point was that we have an incomplete understanding of the universe and ought to be intellectually humble, as was Newton.
“My point was that we have an incomplete understanding of the universe and ought to be intellectually humble, as was Newton.”
I’ll second that. There’s a heck of a lot more that we don’t know than what we do...
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