René-Prosper Blondlot

October 27th, 2006

René-Prosper Blondlot was a French physicist working at the turn of the century at the University of Nancy, France. During his career there he was able to demonstrate the speed of electricity in a conductor was close to that of light, and won three prizes from the Académie des Sciences. In 1903, he announced the discovery of N rays, a form of radiation which turned out to be non-existent. The experiment in question involved measuring the change in brightness of a spark across a spark gap. Attributing this change to a form of radiation which he named N rays, Blondlot went on to demonstrate these N rays emanating from many substances, most notably the human body. This last discovery added fuel to the (still) enduring belief in the existence of a “biofield” that surrounds the human body.

The discovery provoked worldwide interest, and when American physicist Robert W. Wood was unable to replicate these N rays, he travelled to France to inspect Blondlot’s equipment. The experiment took place in almost complete darkness so that the reseachers could perceive the subtle changes in brightness of a dim phosphorescent surface. Wood took advantage of this to secretly remove a vital prism from Blondlot’s apparatus, yet the experimenters were still able to detect N rays. Wood published these findings, declaring N rays to be a totally subjective phenomenon.

Although the rest of the world moved on, the idea stuck in Blondlot’s home country, and to this day it is home to clinics offering better living through N rays.

Entry Filed under: Bad Scientists

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