241:, and they suggested that the N-rays were a purely subjective phenomenon, with the scientists involved having recorded data that matched their expectations. There is reason to believe that Blondlot in particular was misled by his laboratory assistant, who confirmed all observations. By 1905, no one outside of Nancy believed in N-rays, but Blondlot himself is reported to have still been convinced of their existence in 1926.
653:
deluded. A somewhat detailed report of the experiments which were shown to me, together with my own observations, may be of interest to the many physicists who have spent days and weeks in fruitless efforts to repeat the remarkable experiments which have been described in the scientific journals of the past year.
652:
After spending three hours or more in witnessing various experiments, I am not only unable to report a single observation which appeared to indicate the existence of the rays, but left with a very firm conviction that the few experimenters who have obtained positive results, have been in some way
252:
The term "N-ray" was added to dictionaries upon its announcement and was described as a real phenomenon until at least the 1940s. For instance, the 1946 Webster's
Dictionary defined it as "An emanation or radiation from certain hot bodies which increases the luminosity without increasing the
163:
and by some treated metals. Most researchers of the subject at the time used the perceived light of a dim phosphorescent surface as "detectors", although work in the period clearly showed the change in brightness to be a physiological phenomenon rather than some actual change in the level of
320:
reported that the book uses the N-rays incident to reveal the danger of "scientists insufficiently applying skepticism", because "Three hundred scientific papers were published by one hundred experimenters over three years, all declaring this imaginary phenomenon to be real."
770:
27:
225:
asked him to repeat the French experiments and, after two weeks, Rubens had to report his failure to do so. Rubens, however, felt it would look better if Wood went since
Blondlot had been most polite in answering his many questions.
293:
in 1779. It is clear that
Reichenbach was aware of Mesmer's work and that researchers in Paris working with Blondlot were aware of Reichenbach's work, although there is no proof that Blondlot was personally aware of it.
159:, and approximately 120 other scientists in 300 published articles claimed to be able to detect N-rays emanating from most substances, including the human body, with the peculiar exceptions that they were not emitted by
249:'s account of the affair, attributed a subsequent decline in mental health and eventual death of Blondlot to the resulting scandal, but there is evidence that this is at least some exaggeration of the facts.
810:
785:
119:. Blondlot began investigating the nature of X-rays shortly after their discovery, trying to determine whether they behaved as particles or electromagnetic waves. (This was before
330:
237:
that was supposed to be giving off N-rays with an inert piece of wood, yet the N-rays were still "observed". His report on these investigations were published in
335:
573:
M. d’Arsonval (11 April 1904). "Remarques à propos des
Communications de M. A. Charpentier et des revendications de priorité auxquelles elles ont donné lieu".
310:
704:
221:
to travel to
Blondlot's laboratory in France to investigate further. Wood suggested that Rubens should go since he had been the most embarrassed when
836:
Ashmore, M. (1993). "The
Theatre of the Blind: Starring a Promethean Prankster, a Phoney Phenomenon, a Prism, a Pocket, and a Piece of Wood".
1005:
305:
reported that many citizens of Nancy and members of the faculty at the university did not remember having heard about N-rays or of
Blondlot.
30:
Fig. 6,7 from
Prosper-René Blondlot: "Registration by Photography of the Action Produced by N Rays on a Small Electric Spark". Nancy, 1904.
345:
314:, the section titled "Iconic Cautionary Tales from History" recounts the story of the "discovery" of N-rays. A review of the book in
191:
The "discovery" excited international interest and many physicists worked to replicate the effects. However, the notable physicists
107:. Blondlot was a respected member of the scientific community: he was one of eight physicists who were corresponding members of the
233:
from the experimental apparatus, yet the experimenters still said that they observed N-rays. Wood also stealthily swapped a large
556:
Guilleminot, H. ""N" rays do not influence the resistivity of selenium nor modify the influence of light upon that resistivity".
283:
Researches on
Magnetism, Electricity, Heat, Light, Crystallization, and Chemical Attraction in their relations to the Vital Force
956:
985:
802:
277:. Nearly identical properties of an equally unknown radiation had been recorded about 50 years before in another country by
558:
19:
This article is about the hypothetical form of radiation described in 1903. For the genuine nuclear decay product, see
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111:
and was awarded the
Academy's Gaston Planté prize in 1893 and the LaCaze prize in 1899. His attempts to measure the
222:
180:
108:
46:
104:
96:. This created an expectation within the scientific community that other forms of radiation might be discovered.
207:
failed to do so. Following his own failure, self-described as "wasting a whole morning", the American physicist
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is named after Blondlot. He left his house and garden to the city, which transformed it into a public park.
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In 1903, Blondlot announced his discovery while working at the University of Nancy and attempting to
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The N-ray affair occurred shortly after a series of major breakthroughs in experimental physics.
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In the darkened room during Blondlot's demonstration, Wood surreptitiously removed an essential
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placed in an X-ray beam which he photographed, and he later attributed to the novel form of
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in 1903. They were initially confirmed by others, but subsequently found to be illusory.
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Season 2 Episode 7 "Tuskegee STD, Do You See What I See?, Cold War, Cold Case"(2012)
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even claimed the discovery as their own, leading to a commission of the
589:"Robert W. Wood: Photographing the Invisible, Debunking the Incredible"
99:
At this time, Prosper-René Blondlot was a professor of physics at the
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521:
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613:
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73:
25:
377:"N-rays: An episode in the history and psychology of science"
957:"Randi at Caltech: A report from the Paranormal Trenches"
135:
X-rays. He had perceived changes in the brightness of an
665:
Weart, Spencer (1978). "A Little More Light on N-Rays".
474:
Lagemann, R.T. (1977). "New light on old rays: N rays".
787:
Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions
265:
among scientists on the dangers of error introduced by
803:"The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe: A Book Review"
931:Wood as a Debunker of Scientific Cranks and Frauds
331:List of experimental errors and frauds in physics
730:. The New World Publishing Company. p. 496
992:segment is a dramatisation of the N-Rays story
336:List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
92:, showing that they were the constituents of
8:
935:Doctor Wood, Modern Wizard of the Laboratory
422:Klotz, I.M. (May 1980). "The N-Ray Affair".
291:MĂ©moire on the Discovery of Animal-Magnetism
253:temperature: as yet, not fully determined."
384:Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
727:Webster's New School and Office Dictionary
469:
467:
465:
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123:became widely accepted among scientists.)
706:Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
575:Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences
536:
534:
937:. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.
417:
415:
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151:for the University of Nancy. Blondlot,
285:in 1850, and before that in Vienna by
370:
368:
366:
269:. N-rays were cited as an example of
7:
311:The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
910:10.1038/scientificamerican0580-168
813:from the original on 21 March 2021
784:James Randi (1982). "Chapter 10".
446:10.1038/scientificamerican0580-168
14:
612:Wood, R.W. (29 September 1904).
245:, referencing Wood's biographer
801:Palmer, Rob (2 November 2018).
559:Archives d'électricité médicale
986:Dark Matters: Twisted But True
942:Epstein, Mike (Apr 30, 1999).
115:were commended by Thomson and
113:speed of electromagnetic waves
41:) were a hypothesized form of
16:Hypothetical form of radiation
1:
944:"The Rise and Fall of N-Rays"
917:"50, 100 and 150 years ago".
1006:Obsolete theories in physics
955:Randi, James (Spring 1992).
884:Klotz, I M (May 1980). "The
223:Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany
667:American Journal of Physics
520:. translated by Garcin, J.
477:American Journal of Physics
1027:
967:(1): 22–31. Archived from
850:10.1177/030631293023001003
543:"The Skeptic's Dictionary"
261:The incident is used as a
109:French Academy of Sciences
18:
838:Social Studies of Science
526:Longmans, Green & Co.
164:illumination. Physicists
105:electromagnetic radiation
724:Devlin, Joseph (1946).
84:in 1896, and, in 1897,
990:Do You See What I See?
771:"Parc Blondlot, Nancy"
31:
971:on December 10, 2003.
873:"Blondlot and N-Rays"
807:skepticalinquirer.org
577:(in French): 884–885.
512:Prosper-René Blondlot
351:Scientific misconduct
181:Académie des sciences
121:wave-particle duality
50:Prosper-René Blondlot
29:
877:Skeptic's Dictionary
341:Pathological science
271:pathological science
183:to decide priority.
153:Augustin Charpentier
919:Scientific American
902:1980SciAm.242e.168K
890:Scientific American
679:1978AmJPh..46..306W
632:1904Natur..70..530W
490:1977AmJPh..45..281L
438:1980SciAm.242e.168K
425:Scientific American
101:University of Nancy
68:radiation in 1893,
752:Revue Scientifique
711:Dover Publications
593:boole.stanford.edu
375:Nye, M.J. (1980).
317:Skeptical Inquirer
297:A park in central
147:, naming this the
86:J. J. Thomson
66:vacuum ultraviolet
32:
927:Seabrook, William
626:(1822): 530–531.
308:In the 2018 book
267:experimenter bias
157:Arsène d'Arsonval
21:neutron radiation
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972:
951:
946:. Archived from
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929:(1941). "Chp 17
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921:: 14. Feb 2004 .
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247:William Seabrook
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275:Irving Langmuir
263:cautionary tale
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205:Heinrich Rubens
197:William Crookes
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78:Henri Becquerel
70:Wilhelm Röntgen
62:Victor Schumann
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950:on 2006-12-12.
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888:-Ray Affair".
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866:External links
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701:Martin Gardner
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209:Robert W. Wood
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137:electric spark
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815:. Retrieved
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755:. Series 5.
750:
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732:. Retrieved
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709:. New York:
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614:"The N-Rays"
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596:. Retrieved
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257:Significance
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174:spiritualist
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94:cathode rays
59:
38:
34:
33:
303:James Randi
201:Otto Lummer
193:Lord Kelvin
170:P. Audollet
88:discovered
80:discovered
72:discovered
64:discovered
1000:Categories
896:(5): 130.
734:13 October
673:(3): 306.
598:2023-07-14
562:: 243–244.
357:References
346:Retraction
177:Carl Huter
161:green wood
56:Background
858:143770755
145:radiation
141:spark gap
127:Discovery
103:studying
90:electrons
76:in 1895,
43:radiation
817:21 March
811:Archived
749:"None".
703:(1957).
517:"N" Rays
514:(1905).
454:24966330
404:27757473
325:See also
215:journal
187:Response
133:polarize
961:Skeptic
898:Bibcode
809:. CFI.
675:Bibcode
648:4063030
628:Bibcode
486:Bibcode
434:Bibcode
289:in his
213:British
1011:X-rays
856:
646:
619:Nature
522:London
452:
402:
239:Nature
218:Nature
203:, and
149:N-rays
74:X-rays
39:N rays
35:N-rays
854:S2CID
759:(22).
644:S2CID
450:JSTOR
400:JSTOR
380:(PDF)
299:Nancy
231:prism
139:in a
982:IMDb
819:2021
736:2014
235:file
172:and
168:and
37:(or
980:at
933:".
906:doi
894:242
846:doi
683:doi
636:doi
494:doi
442:doi
430:242
392:doi
273:by
1002::
988:,
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805:.
681:.
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591:.
533:^
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492:.
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412:^
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388:11
386:.
382:.
365:^
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886:N
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23:.
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