Wolfgang Pauli

Wolfgang Pauli (1900–1958) was an Austrian-American theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate, known for his pioneering work on quantum mechanics, particularly the Pauli exclusion principle. He is also famously associated with the "Pauli effect," a phenomenon where technical equipment inexplicably malfunctions or breaks in his presence¹.

The Pauli effect was coined after numerous instances were noted where Pauli was present and technical equipment malfunctioned, fell, broke, or sustained unusual damage. For example, in February 1950, during a visit to Princeton University, the cyclotron Pauli had come to observe inexplicably caught fire¹.

Pauli, along with psychiatrist Carl Jung, had a lively conversation about ESP and PK, discussing a paper by physicist Robert A. McConnell titled "ESP - Fact or Fancy?" Jung remarked on how some age-old mysteries never change, and that attempts to explain away seemingly miraculous results often fail against the facts¹.

Pauli wrote an article on the subject titled "Background Physics," in which he discussed the relationships between physics, the conscious, and the unconscious¹. His association with Jung and his interest in the unconscious aspects of reality highlight a unique intersection of physics and parapsychology.