What is Planck's quantum hypothesis?
The fundamental question that arose from my work on black-body radiation was how to reconcile experimental observations with existing thermodynamic laws. The classical approach predicted an untenable 'ultraviolet catastrophe.' The experimental evidence compelled us to consider a radical departure. I proposed that energy is not emitted or absorbed continuously, but rather in discrete, indivisible units, or quanta. The amount of energy in each quantum is directly proportional to the frequency of the radiation, a relationship elegantly expressed by the equation E = hν, where 'h' is the universal constant that now bears my name. This principle, I felt, was a necessary step to preserve the integrity of physical laws.
Ask Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck the follow-up →