Curious note from history. About 8 years after the discovery of x-rays by a German, we had the discovery of so-called "n-rays" by a Frenchman. (n was for Nancy). Curiously, this radiation was said to be generated by polarizing x-rays. More on that later.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N_ray N-rays were said to be a new form of radiation, discovered by a physicist named Blondlot in 1903, which were confirmed by other Frenchmen - but subsequently found to be illusory by Germans, and then retracted amid much embarrassment and national angst. Heck, the French could have saved face before it went too far, since polarization is a complex phenomenon - but instead things got out of hand with faked experiments. N-rays are often cited as a case of pathological science. Anyone who posits a new form of radiation should be aware of the pitfall of n-rays, since they are one of "Randi's" favs. Details here: http://www.rexresearch.com/blondlot/nrays.htm However ... cough, cough ... few skeptics doubt the Aharonov Bohm effect. The A-B effect is not precisely in the same category as polarized x-rays, but there is a bit of overlap since there is a photonic A-B effect. In fact, one strange thought that comes to mind in imagining what a "new form of photon radiation" could consist of, with energy capable of increasing the decay rate of an isotope like 40K, but not showing up in some types of detectors ... well ... that would generally fit with a polarized x-ray, causing a variation of the Aharonov Bohm effect. It helps to understand the Barker patents on acceleration of nuclear decay. Maybe there are n-rays, after all, Nancy. What goes around, comes around ... as they say. ... well, Blondlot might say "Ce qui circule vient autour" Jones
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