Physics · 1901
On the Law of Distribution of Energy in the Normal Spectrum
Max Planck
Overview
Planck's derivation of the black-body radiation law, which resolved the 'ultraviolet catastrophe' of classical physics. To match the measured spectrum he was forced to assume that energy is exchanged in discrete packets — the birth of the quantum.
Launched quantum theory, the framework underlying all of modern physics and chemistry.
Key findings
Methods
A statistical-mechanical treatment of the entropy of a collection of resonators in thermal equilibrium with radiation, in which Planck counted the ways a finite number of discrete energy elements could be distributed among the resonators.
Keywords
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