René Blondlot

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Prosper-René Blondlot (around 1910)

Prosper-René Blondlot (born July 3, 1849 in Nancy , † November 24, 1930 ) was a French physicist . He became known as the "discoverer" of N-rays , a phenomenon that was later exposed as self-delusion.

Life

Blondlot studied in Nancy, Heidelberg , Zurich and Paris and was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD. He taught physics at the Natural Science Faculty of the University of Nancy , from 1886 as a professor ( Professeur adjoint , from 1896 Professeur titulaire ). For his experimental work on conclusions from Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism , he was awarded three prestigious prizes from the Académie des Sciences .

Together with Ernest Bichat , he demonstrated that a Kerr cell reacts to an applied electric field within a few tens of microseconds . For this purpose he used the rotating mirror method used by Léon Foucault to measure the speed of light and developed it further in order to be able to measure the speed of conducted (→ electrical conductor ) electricity . This enabled him to photograph the sparks between two electrical conductors, one 1.8 km longer than the other, and measure the relative offset of their images. In this way he was able to prove that the speed of the electric current within a conductor is very close to the speed of light.

In 1891 he was the first to measure the speed of radio waves with the help of Lecher lines . For these measurements he used 13 frequencies between 10 and 30 MHz; as a result he received an average value of 297,600 km · s −1 , a deviation of less than 1% of the current value for the speed of light. This result was an important confirmation of Maxwell's theory that light is electromagnetic waves .

In 1903 Blondlot announced the discovery of a new form of radiation , the N-rays. This "discovery" attracted a great deal of attention during the following year and in the following years up to 1906 almost 300 scientific articles by over 100 authors appeared on the subject until finally Robert Williams Wood was able to show that the described phenomenon was only in the subjective perception of those involved Researcher existed and had no physical basis.

Little is known about Blondlot's subsequent life in Nancy. William Seabrook claims in the biography he wrote, Doctor Wood , that Blondlot became insane as a result of exposure by Wood and eventually died: "This tragic exposure eventually led to Blondlot's madness and death" . This statement was adopted by Martin Gardner in 1957 , possibly unchecked: "Wood's exposure led to Blondlot's madness and death" . In fact, Blondlot continued his position as professor of physics until his early retirement in 1910 and was in contact with the faculty afterwards and published further editions of his textbooks. He died childless and bequeathed his house with a large garden to the city of Nancy as a place of recreation for the citizens, a purpose that today's Parc Blondlot still serves.

Awards

Blondlot was elected to the corresponding member ( Section de Physique Générale ) of the Académie des Sciences in Paris on May 15, 1894 . For his work in the field of electromagnetic waves , he received three prizes from the Académie des Sciences: the prix Planté , the prix Lacaze and the prix Leconte (1904).

Publications

  • Research expérimentales on the capacité de polarization voltaïque. Gauthier-Villars, Paris 1881
  • Ernest Bichat, René Blondlot: Introduction à l'étude de l'électricité statique. Gauthier-Villars, Paris 1885
  • Introduction à l'étude de la thermodynamique. Gauthier-Villars, Paris 1888
  • Rayons "N". Recueil des communications faites à l'Académie des sciences. Gauthier-Villars, Paris 1904

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Blondlot, Prosper René . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 3 : Benzene Derivatives Brides . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1915, p. 468-469 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  2. ↑ a b René Blondlot's Parallel Wires and Standing Waves . In: The Speed ​​of Light . New Jersey Society for Amateur Scientists. 2002. Retrieved December 25, 2008., credited to KD Froome and L. Essen, "The Velocity of Light and Radio Waves," Academic Press, 1969
  3. ^ Length of Electric Waves . In: The Electrical Engineer, Ltd. (Ed.): The Electrical Engineer . 8, London, November 20, 1891, p. 482. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
  4. ↑ Jennifer Deaton, Tina Patrick; revised by David Askey: History of the Speed ​​of Light (PDF; 931 kB) In: Junior Lab . Physics Dept. Univ. of Oklahoma. 2002. Retrieved December 25, 2008., p.15
  5. ^ A b Robert T. Lagemann: New Light on Old Rays: N Rays . In: American Journal of Physics . tape 45 , no. 3 , 1977, pp. 281-284 ( rexresearch.com ).
  6. ^ Seabrook William: Doctor Wood, Modern Wizard of the Laboratory Harcourt Brace, New York 1941
  7. ^ Martin Gardner, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (Popular Science) ; Dover Publications, 1957, ISBN 0-486-20394-8
  8. ^ E. Pierret: (title unknown) . In: Bull. Acad. Soc. Lorraines Sci. tape 7 , 1968, p. 240 .
  9. ^ Parc Blondlot. Ville de Nancy, accessed November 4, 2018 (French).
  10. ^ Deceased members of the Académie des Sciences. Retrieved November 4, 2018 (French).
  11. ^ Les Dictionnaires Departementaux, Meurthe et Moselle . 1910
  12. ↑ James R. Wilson: Conduct, Misconduct, and Cargo Cult Science . 1997
personal data
SURNAME Blondlot, René
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blondlot, Prosper-René
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French physicist
DATE OF BIRTH July 3, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH Nancy
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1930
Place of death Nancy