W. Reich

[ccrwest!neal@UCSD.EDU (Neal R. Copperman)]

I'm sure there must be someone out there who knows much more than I
do about Wilhelm Reich, but what little I know is pretty fascinating.
He was a fringe scientist, and hypothesized that all matter (and non-
matter?) was composed of this stuff he called orgone (somehow different
than atoms).  The idea behind his cloudbuster was that it redirected 
orgone from the ground to the clouds, somehow making it rain.  I have 
seen claims that it was demonstrated and worked, but question there validity. 

Reich dabbled in all sorts of things, including some psychological 
studies about orgasms too.  He was hounded and persecuted by the
government, and they actually confiscated and destroyed a huge number
of his manuscripts.  Though widely thought to be a crackpot when he was 
alive, a number of his theories turned out to be close to some 
established truths.  I have some references at home that could fill
in some more of these details, if anyone cares or if no one else
does it.  (You could probably ask on sci.skeptic and get a remarkable
amount of responses.)