Editing N-ray (section)

== Background ==
The N-ray affair occurred shortly after a series of major breakthroughs in experimental physics. [[Victor Schumann]] discovered [[vacuum ultraviolet]] radiation in 1893, [[Wilhelm Röntgen]] discovered [[X-ray]]s in 1895, [[Henri Becquerel]] discovered [[nuclear radiation|radioactivity]] in 1896, and, in 1897, [[J.&nbsp;J. Thomson]] discovered [[electron]]s, showing that they were the constituents of [[cathode ray]]s.<ref name = nye>
{{cite journal
 |last=Nye |first=M.J.
 |year=1980
 |title=N-rays: An episode in the history and psychology of science
 |journal=Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
 |volume=11
 |issue=1
 |pages=125–156
 |doi=10.2307/27757473
|jstor=27757473
 |url=http://hsns.ucpress.edu/content/ucphsns/11/1/125.full.pdf
 }}</ref> This created an expectation within the scientific community that other forms of radiation might be discovered.<ref name = klotz>
{{cite journal
 |last=Klotz |first=I.M.
 |date=May 1980
 |title=The N-Ray Affair
 |journal=[[Scientific American]]
 |volume=242
 |issue=5
 |pages=168–175
 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0580-168
 |jstor=24966330
|bibcode=1980SciAm.242e.168K
 }}</ref>

At this time, Prosper-René Blondlot was a professor of physics at the [[Nancy-Université|University of Nancy]] studying [[electromagnetic radiation]].<ref name = nye /> Blondlot was a respected member of the scientific community: he was one of eight physicists who were corresponding members of the [[French Academy of Sciences]] and was awarded the Academy's Gaston Planté prize in 1893 and the LaCaze prize in 1899.<ref name=Lagemann>
{{cite journal
 |last=Lagemann |first=R.T.
 |year=1977
 |title=New light on old rays: N rays
 |journal=[[American Journal of Physics]]
 |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=281–284
 |doi=10.1119/1.10643
|bibcode = 1977AmJPh..45..281L }}</ref> His attempts to measure the [[speed of light|speed of electromagnetic waves]] were commended by Thomson and [[Henri Poincaré]].<ref name = nye /> 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 [[wave-particle duality]] became widely accepted among scientists.)<ref name = klotz />