Editing Philadelphia Experiment (section)

===General synopsis===
:''Note: Several different, and sometimes contradictory, versions of the alleged experiment have circulated over the years. The following synopsis recounts key story points common to most accounts.<ref name="Dash 2000"/>''

The  experiment was allegedly based on an aspect of some [[unified field theory]], a term coined by [[Albert Einstein]] to describe a class of potential theories; such theories would aim to describe&nbsp;— mathematically and physically&nbsp;— the interrelated nature of the forces of [[electromagnetism]] and [[gravitation|gravity]].

According to some accounts, unspecified "researchers" thought that a theory of this type would enable using large [[electrical generators]] to [[bend light]] around an object via [[refraction]], so that the object became completely invisible. The Navy regarded this as of military value and it sponsored the experiment.

Another unattributed version of the story proposes that researchers were preparing magnetic and gravitational measurements of the [[seafloor]] to detect anomalies, supposedly based on Einstein's attempts to understand gravity. In this version, there were also related secret experiments in [[Nazi Germany]] to find [[anti-gravity]], allegedly led by [[Schutzstaffel|SS]]-[[Obergruppenführer]] [[Hans Kammler]].

There are no reliable or attributed accounts, but in most accounts of the supposed experiment, USS ''Eldridge'' was fitted with the required equipment at the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]]. Testing began in the summer of 1943, and it was supposedly successful to a limited extent. One test resulted in ''Eldridge'' being rendered nearly invisible with some witnesses reporting a "greenish fog" appearing in its place. Crew members complained of severe [[nausea]] afterwards.<ref name="auto">{{cite episode |title=Invisibility Cloaks |date=7 July 2009 |series=That's Impossible |series-link=That's Impossible (show) |network=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|History]] |season=1 |number=1}}</ref>

Allegedly, when the ship reappeared some sailors were embedded in the metal structures of the ship, including one sailor who ended up on a deck level below where he began and had his hand embedded in the steel hull of the ship as well as some sailors who went "completely [[wikt:bananas#Adjective|bananas]]".<ref name="auto"/> There is also a claim the experiment was altered after that point at the request of the Navy, limiting it to creating a [[stealth technology]] that would render USS ''Eldridge'' invisible to radar.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lavers |first=Chris |date=March 2008 |title=Invisibility rules the waves |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2058-7058/21/03/30 |journal=Physics World |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=21–25 |doi=10.1088/2058-7058/21/03/30 |bibcode=2008PhyW...21c..21L |issn=0953-8585|url-access=subscription }}</ref> None of these allegations have been independently substantiated.

Other versions of the story give the date of the experiment as October 28, 1943. In this version, ''Eldridge'' not only became invisible, but disappeared from the area and [[Teleportation|teleported]] to [[Norfolk, Virginia]], over {{convert|200|mi|km}} away. It is claimed that ''Eldridge'' sat for some time in view of men aboard the ship {{SS|Andrew Furuseth}}, whereupon ''Eldridge'' vanished and then reappeared in [[Philadelphia]] at the site it had originally occupied.<ref>[https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-is-the-true-story-of-the-philadelphia-experiment/ What is the True Story of the Philadelphia Experiment?, Discovery Networks International, 20 May 2022]</ref><ref>https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/p/philadelphia-experiment.html Philadelphia Experiment, Naval History and Heritage Command, history.navy.mil, Published: Mon Nov 20 15:21:48 EST 2017</ref>

Many versions of the tale include descriptions of serious side effects for the crew. Some crew members were said to have been physically fused to bulkheads while others suffered from mental disorders, some re-materialized inside out, and still others vanished. It is also claimed that the ship's crew may have been subjected to [[brainwashing]] to maintain the secrecy of the experiment.