History of Radionics

Albert Abrams (1863-1924) discovered and developed the techniques now known as radionics while practising medicine in California in the late 19th century. The following is a brief account of his story and the continuation and development of radionics.

Early work by Albert Abrams

Albert Abrams studied German and then medicine at University of Heidelberg. He became a professor of pathology and, later, Director of Clinical Medicine at Leland Stanford University, California USA. He became a recognised expert in diseases of the nervous system and wrote 12 Medical Textbooks.

Abrams conducted research in the USA and his work became controversial when experiments suggested that:

  1. Disease is a form of imbalance of the electrons of the atoms of diseased tissue (rather than cellular imbalance), and that disease could therefore be studied as a form of radiating energy.
  2. Radiating energy from diseased tissue may be sensed after it has travelled through the body/tissues of a healthy person and/or along a wire.

Participants in Abrams' early experiments usually held a wire connected to a phial of body tissue and the sounds formed when their abdomens were palpated correlated with whether either the person or the phial contained diseased tissue. It didn't matter whether the diseased tissue was in the person or the phial, the sound was the same - and different from that of a healthy person connected only to healthy tissue. This audio reaction became known as the Electronic Reaction of Abrams, shortened to 'ERA'.

Abrams detailed the sounds that correlated with different diseases. Then he went on to measure the resistance (in Ohms) of a wide range of diseases, conditions and disorders. These are known as 'Radionic Rates' and books of these have been continually revised and updated by subsequent researchers.

Development of Radionics


Despite the tests carried out by Horder's team in 1924 (see below), Radionics was rejected by the British Medical Community as a whole. However, it was known, considered and investigated by individual medical researchers as seemed relevant to their work. For example,
Dr. Edward Bach (Bach Flower Remedies) tested Abrams Box, among other methods of 'scientific healing', in the course of his research later described in terms of the seven Bach nosodes - conducted during 1922-28 (Ref. "Medical Discoveries of Edward Bach, Physician" by Nora Weeks, 1940).


Claims associated with Abrams work were investigated using a series of 25 tests, conducted in both London (May) and Glasgow (June). The research committee, supervised by Sir Thomas Horder, noted that every individual test confirmed Abrams claims.


Dr Ruth Drown, a chiropractor based in Hollywood, California, further developed the ERA instrument by replacing the human subject in the circuit with a sample of the person's blood or hair.

At this time there were 2 circuits involved, an 'assessment circuit' and a 'treatment circuit'. By removing the human subject from these circuits, Dr Drown was able to both diagnose and treat patients at a distance, potentially huge distances.
She referred to this technique as 'broadcasting', though it is more commonly known today as 'radionic projections'.

Drown's work was challenged by the Medical Establishment and the FDA of the US State of California. Although Drown pursued her work, her health was affected and she passed-on in 1966.



Interest in Radionics in the United Kingdom had increased gradually over the preceeding decades and pioneers such as Lavender Dower, George De La Warr and Dr. W. Guyon Richards became active in the field. Consequently acceptance and use of this therapy had also increased among conventional medical doctors.

David Tansley, an American trained chiropractor, travelled to Britain and joined the Radionic Association in 1967. He considered radionics to be a highly effective form of Energy Medicine and caused controversy by introducing Eastern Philosophy to Western-style Radionics.

1970s and 1980s

During the 1970s and 1980s David Tansley wrote many books on subjects related to Radionics, some of which became key texts in this field, including:

  • David Tansley, "Radionics: A Patient's Guide", Element (Pubs.), London, 1985, and
  • David Tansley, "Subtle Anatomy of Man", C.W.Daniels (Pubs.), London, 1972.

Malcolm Rae founded a company called 'Magneto Geometric Applications' and developed radionic instruments. Initially, all radionic instruments had used electricity and required a power source. Rae developed the use of magnetism in radionics and invented radionic instruments that used reference (or 'simulator' cards) to speed up the process of analysis and remove the need for many complex dials and settings.

For more about the history of radionics, see

and other radionics textbooks.

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