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Royal Raymond Rife (May 16, 1888 - August 11, 1971) is an important figure in alternative medicine. He is known in the alternative medicine community for his claim of inventing in 1933 the "Universal Microscope", an advanced optical microscope with x60,000 magnification (comparable to that of early electron microscopes).

Research with the Universal Microscope

Rife claimed to have used used his Universal Microscope to examine pleomorphic microbes in various media. According to Rife, an advantage of his optical microscope over other optical microscopes of the day was that living tissues and organisms could be examined as his microscope, through the use of polarized light and prisms, was able to focus clearly on live tissues and living organisms.

Rife claimed to have identified the individual spectroscopic signature of each microbe using a slit spectroscope attachment. He would then rotate block prisms to focus light of a single wavelength upon the microorganism he was examining. This wavelength was selected because it "resonated" with the spectroscopic signature frequency of the microbe.

The Beam Ray

Rife also commissioned the invention of a device called the "Beam Ray", said to operate on the principle of resonance, which he allegedly used in 1934 at a University of Southern California clinic in La Jolla, California to cure 16 patients of their cancer. Rife claimed he could find the resonant frequency of a particular disease-causing organism, then use the "oscillatory energy" to destroy the organism, much as a pane of glass can be broken by sound at the pane's resonant frequency.

Destruction of Research

Rife's work was destroyed by Dr. Morris Fishbein, then editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The government raided Rife's labs, destroyed his microscopes, seized his equipment and notes, and forced him to move on. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)

Since most information on Rife's work on the Universal Microscope and the Beam Ray is no longer available, independent verification and/or replication of his theories, research and results now may be all but impossible.

However, the claims for the Universal Microscope's x60,000 magnification are not supported by physics. Optical microscopes are limited by the wavelength of light, blurring of the image by diffraction limiting the optical resolution to typically x1,500.

It must be noted that numerous examples exist where this so-called "wavelength of light limit" (Lenz's Law) are not applicable. For example, modern lithographic techniques are capable of creating features below 30 nm, using deep-ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 193 nm. If the so-called "wavelength limit" were in fact a reality, such an achievement would simply not be possible. In a similar way, Rife was able to readily overcome the "wavelength of light limit" by cleverly restricting the frequency of light his microscope used to a narrow band, and by carefully constructing his optical path to limit the inclusion of air. Furthermore, Rife was way ahead of his time in the use of quartz as an optical material. Modern research at IBM's laboratories (achieving the just-mentioned lithography results) has similarly relied on the use of quartz. It appears that today's physicists are rediscovering the optical advantages of quartz that Rife exploited more than seventy years ago.

Re-examination of Research

Rife's work was revived by interested scientists and laypeople in the 1980s. An interest in Rife himself was revived by author Barry Lynes, who wrote a book about Rife entitled The Cancer Cure That Worked.

Today Rife's research is being re-visited by such groups as the Bioelectromagnetics Society.

But history seems to be repeating itself as those who are looking into Rife's work today are accused of ignoring the scientific method, and their work is described as pseudo-science. Current theoretical and commercial offerings, such as Rife plasma lamp devices, are seen as quackery and claimed to be unsupported by peer-reviewed research by Quackwatch and other skeptics of alternative medicine who seem to take the same view of Rife and his work as Fishbein in the first half of the 20th century.

In the late 1980's a company by the name of "Life Energy Resources" mass-produced a device they called the "REM SuperPro Generator" on the foundation of Rife's work (giving the acronym REM for Rife's Electromagnetic). Three of the company's top distributors: Pat Ballistrea, Michael Ricotta, and Brian Strandberg, served prison time as a result of their trials in 1993, 1994, and 1995.

An open mind serves the reader here. It is worth noting that modern pharmaceutical concerns generate exorbitant profits at the expense of cancer victims, and the last thing these commercial concerns would want is a cure for cancer. Royal Rife was a noted microscopist, the world's best, and his numerous medical collaborators were noted Medical Doctors. Chief among these was Dr. Bruce Kendall, of Northwestern University School of Medicine. Furthermore, the research of Kendall and Rife was in fact scientifically conducted and published in peer-reviewed journals. A careful review of the microfilm archives at any large library will validate the extensive bibliography of Barry Lynes' book, "The Cancer Cure That Worked." For example, SCIENCE magazine, the pre-eminent publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, published numerous articles documenting the results of Rife and Kendall's research.

Furthermore, although Rife and Kendall were prosecuted vigorously with litigation undertaked by the American Medical Association, under the control of Morris Fishbein, no convictions or adverse legal findings resulted. In fact, Rife and Kendall were fully vindicated in these legal proceedings. As an evidentiary matter, Rife and Kendall introduced numerous sworn affidavits prepared by Medical Doctors and their patients, attesting to the results and value of Rife's treatment. However, the AMA under Fishbeing used the threat of litigation and loss of license to scare M.D.'s of the day away from using Rife's valuable technique.

Why was the motive of Morris Fishbein in doing this? Simple. When the New York Times carried the story of Rife and Kendall's cure for cancer, the AMA under Fishbein attempted to negotiate an exclusive license to the Rife patents. Unable to secure this valuable monopoly, Fishbein retaliated with litigation. This is a simple story of Fishbein's greed. As a historical footnote, in 1949 Fishbein was disgracefully ejected from his post as President of the AMA, as a result of his ongoing unethical practices. Although he graduated from medical school, Morris Fishbein never practiced medicine for a single day,

Readers of this article who desire more information would benefit from reading Barry Lynes' book, "The Cancer Cure That Worked."

See also

• Albert Abrams

External links

• James Bare is an inventor who has designed a modern version of the Rife "Beam Ray" device.
• Rife.org - reviews the original documents concerning Rife
• The European Rife Information Forum is run by Peter Walker, a Rife experimenter, and contains a wealth of links and information concerning modern Rife research.
• The Bioelectromagnetics Society is an association of scientists and doctors conducting experiments that use electromagnetism to heal.
• Aubrey Scoon is an electrical engineer with an interest in Rife technologies who maintains a web site regarding his own research into Rife technologies.
• FDA Link on the FDA website detailing what happened to a group selling a circa 1980's reproduction Rife machine under the name REM Superpro.
• Jeff Rense A more detailed website putting Rife's work in layman's terms.

• People in alternative medicine
• Pseudoscientists