PHY1701

Engineering Physics
Module 1: Introduction to Modern Physics

Planck’s Concept (Hypothesis)

 Black body radiation:
• Black body is an object that absorbs all the radiation incident upon it
at all frequencies.At constant Temperature

• Consider a piece of hot metal-It glows from red to yellow to white as it

gets hotter and hotter.
Hot metal
• In fact it emits several other frequencies which the human eye cannot
detect.

• When an object is at a
constant temperature
(thermal equilibrium with its
surroundings), it absorbs and
radiates energy in the same
rate.
• Every object above 0K SUN
absorbs and radiates energy.
 Perfect Black body:
• In order to find the spectral distribution of radiation from a solid
object at a constant temperature, the concept of perfect black body
was introduced.
• A perfect black body completely absorbs radiation of all
frequencies incident on it and emits all the radiation at a constant
temperature.
• Since a perfect black body does not exist in nature, an
approximation to it is made in the laboratory.
• Consider a Hollow, spherical, double walled cavity with a tiny hole
on its surface leading into the cavity.
• Any radiation falling upon the hole enters into the cavity and gets
trapped. It undergoes multiple reflections back and forth, until it
gets absorbed.
• By using a heat source the body is maintained in constant
temperature.
• The heated the walls of black body cavity radiates all frequencies
that it absorbed.
• The black body spectrum indicates that the spectral intensities are
higher at elevated temperatures.
• Spectral distribution of energy depends only on the temperature of
the body and not on its shape or elemental constituents.
 Classical Theory : Rayleigh-Jeans law

• Why does the blackbody spectrum have the shape as

shown in the figure here??
• At the end of nineteenth century Lord Rayleigh and
James Jeans examined black body spectra.
• They considered the radiation inside a cavity of
absolute temperature T whose walls are perfect
reflectors.
• The continuous reflected waves formed a series of
standing electromagnetic waves.
• This is the generalization of standing waves in a
stretched string.
• The condition for standing waves in such a cavity is that
the path length from wall to wall must be a whole
number of half wavelengths.
• The node always occurs at the wall surface.
n
L
2
 Classical Theory : Rayleigh-Jean’s law
• Law of Equipartition of energy at thermal equilibrium is used to determine the average
energy of standing waves within the cavity of the black body. (3- Degrees of freedom)
E=(f/2)(R/Na)T=(f/2)kT
3
𝜖 = kT Total Average energy of
2 standing waves

• However, average energy per standing wave, considering one-dimensional

harmonic oscillator is Average Energy per
Oscillator
𝜖 = kT

• By calculating the density of standing waves in the cavity we obtain the total
energy per unit volume in the cavity within the frequency interval from 𝜈 to 𝜈+d𝜈
is Spectral Intensity

8𝜋𝑘𝑇 2
Rayleigh-Jean’s law 𝑢 𝜈 𝑑𝜈 = 3 𝜈 𝑑𝜈
𝑐
formula
Boltzmann constant k  1.38110 23 J / K
Wein’s displacement law:
The peak in the black body spectrum shifts
progressively towards shorter wavelengths as the
temperature increases.
𝑏
𝜆𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝑇

Where, 𝑏 = 2.898 ×10-3 m.K

Wien’s approximation: The equation does accurately describe the

short wavelength (high frequency) spectrum of thermal emission from objects, but
it fails to accurately fit the experimental data for long wavelengths (low frequency)
emission
Stefan-Boltzmann law:
Thermal energy radiated by a black body is
proportional to the fourth power of its
absolute temperature.
Intensity of Radiation emitted (W/m2)
𝐸 = 𝑎𝜎𝑇 4
Emissivity 0<a< 1, a=1 for perfect black body
𝜎=Stefan-Boltzmann constant=5.67x10-8 W.m-2.K-4

In 1884, Boltzmann derived this behavior from theory by applying classical thermodynamic
reasoning to a box filled with electromagnetic radiation, using Maxwell’s equations. That is, the tiny
amount of energy coming out of the hole of a black body cavity would of the same temperature as
the radiation intensity inside it.
 The Ultraviolet Catastrophe
Failure of Classical physics in explaining the black body radiation

• As the frequency 𝜈 increases, the spectral intensity of the black

body radiation should increase indefinitely.
• By integrating the above equation and applying limits of
frequencies we have the following observation Tends to 0
• At lower frequencies, 𝜈=0, the energy density or radiated
intensity of the black body becomes zero.
• However, at higher frequencies, 𝜈=∞, the intensities tend to
increase infinitely.
• Infinite intensities do not occur in nature. That is,
experimentally observed spectral distribution of black body do
not show infinite energy densities at higher frequencies near
UV end of the spectrum.
• Hence, Rayleigh-Jean’s law hold good only to explain the
spectral distribution of the black body curve at lower
frequencies. But cannot explain high frequency distribution
towards the UV.
The Ultraviolet Catastrophe
Failure of Classical physics in explaining the black body radiation

As the frequency increases towards the

ultraviolet end of the spectrum, the energy
density should increase as 𝜈 2 . This
discrepancy between the theory and
observed spectrum is known as the
Ultraviolet Catastrophe.
 Planck’s Radiation law
• In an attempt to solve the issue of UV Catastrophe, German Physicist Max Planck in the
year 1902 proposed a theory.
• Planck assumed that the walls of the cavity consist of microscopic oscillators.
• In thermal equilibrium the absorption and emission of radiation by these oscillators
take place at equal rate.
• According to Planck’s hypothesis the emission and absorption of radiation by an
oscillator take place in the form of discrete packets of energy called photons, whose
energy is proportional to the frequency of radiation.

𝐸 = 𝑛ℎ𝜈 An oscillator emits radiation of frequency (𝜈) when it

jumps from a higher energy level to the next lower one
n=integer=1,2,3…
Each discrete bundle of 𝐡𝝂 is called a QUANTA
 Planck’s radiation law

• The oscillators in the cavity wall were limited to

energies of E=nhν, where n=0, 1, 2….
Average energy per oscillator
• Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law to find the
number of oscillators. ℎ𝜈
𝜖= ℎ𝜈
𝑒 𝑘𝑇 −1
• Substitute for kT with the average energy per
oscillator in Rayleigh-Jean Eqn we get

Planck’s Formula
 Validation of Planck’s Theory
ℎ𝜈
We know that the approximation of average energy per oscillator using Planck’s theory is 𝜖 = ℎ𝜈
𝑒 𝑘𝑇 −1

• At low frequency, hν <<kT and small,

𝑥 𝑥2 𝑥3
• Consider the expansion series of 𝑒 = 1 + 𝑥 + + 3! +⋯
2!
• For small value of x, 𝑒 𝑥 = 1 + 𝑥
ℎ𝜈
• In this case, x= hν/kT and hence the average energy per oscillator can be written as, 𝜖 = ℎ𝜈
= 𝑘𝑇
1+ −1
𝑘𝑇
8𝜋𝑘𝑇 2
• Substituting in Planck’s formula we get 𝑢 𝜈 𝑑𝜈 = 3 𝜈 𝑑𝜈 Rayleigh-Jean’s formula
𝑐

Hence, at low frequencies, Planck’s law = Rayleigh-jean’s law. Planck’s theory

agrees well with the observed spectral distribution of black body radiation at lower
frequency.
 Validation of Planck’s Theory
ℎ𝜈
We know that the approximation of average energy per oscillator using Planck’s theory is 𝜖 = ℎ𝜈
𝑒 𝑘𝑇 −1

• At higher frequency, hν>>kT

ℎ𝜈
• Hence, 𝑒 𝑘𝑇 → ∞, thereforethe energy density of the black body at higher
1
frequencies is found to be 𝜖 = = 0
∞

Hence, problem of Ultraviolet

Catastrophe is solved.

Planck’s idea of Quantized radiation completely

explains the spectral distribution of black body
radiation.
 Planck’s Radiation law
• The concept that the oscillators in the cavity walls can interchange energy
with standing waves is impossible to understand with classical physics.
• Planck regarded this quantum hypothesis as an act of desperation.
• Quantum theory is further verified by Photoelectric effect.