Mathematical Physics of

BlackBody Radiation
Claes Johnson
All Rights Reserved
Icarus iDucation 202
2
Classical Derivation of Rayleigh!Jeans "a# $%
&' Counting Cavity Degrees of (reedom ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' $%
&'2 De)endence of *)ace Dimension ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' $&
Contents
I +ld Picture $
Black,ody Radiation %
' Birth of Modern Physics ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %
'2 Planck- .instein and *chrodinger ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &
'$ (inite Precision Com)utation ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /
2 Black,ody as Black)iano 0
$ Interaction "ight!Matter $
1 Planck!*tefan!Bolt2mann "a#s /
1' Planck3s "a# ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /
1'2 *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 4
1'$ 5he .nigma of the Photoelectric .ffect ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 2$
1'1 5he .nigma of Black,ody Radiation ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 21
1'% Confusion in Media ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 21
1'& Confessions ,y Confused *cientists ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 2%
1'/ 5o#ards .nigma Resolution ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 2/
% Planck6.instein 5ragedy 20
%' James Jeans ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 20
%'2 Ma7 Planck ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' $0
%'$ Planck and .instein ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' $2
&
$
1 CONTENTS
II 8e# Analysis $0
4 9ave .:uation #ith Radiation 1
4' A Basic Radiation Model ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1
0 *)ectral Analysis of Radiation 1%
0' Basic .nergy Balance R ; F ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1%
0'2 Rayleigh!Jeans "a# ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 14
0'$ Radiation from 8ear!Resonance ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 10
0'1 5hermal .:uili,rium from 8ear!Resonance ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 10
2
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %0
0 Acoustic 8ear!Resonance %$
0' Radiation vs Acoustic Resonance ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %$
0'2 Resonance in *tring Instrument ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %$
0'$ (ourier Analysis of 8ear!Resonance ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %%
0'1 A))lication to Acoustical Resonance ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %&
0'% Com)utational Resonance ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' %/
Model of Black,ody Radiation &$
' (inite Precision Com)utation ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &$
'2 Radiation and <eating ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &1
'$ Planck as Rayleigh!Jeans #ith Cut!off ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &%
'1 Planck3s "a#= R > H ; F ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &%
'% Connection to ?ncertainty Princi)le ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &&
'& *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &&
'/ Radiative Interaction ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &/
'4 <eat Ca)acity ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &/
'0 Radiative Cooling ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &0
'0Interaction ,y *hared (orce ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' &0
'@eneric 8ature of Black,ody ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /0
'2Cut!+ff ,y Residual *ta,ili2ation ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /
'$Cordination "ength ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /
/ *tatistics vs Com)utation $/
/' Cut!+ff ,y *tatistics ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' $/
/'2 Cut!+ff ,y (inite Precision Com)utation ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' $/
0'% 5he Poynting Aector vs f

' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

CONTENTS %
2 ?niversal Black,ody /$
2' Birchhoff and ?niversality ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /$
2'2 Black,ody as Cavity #ith @ra)hite 9alls ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /%
$ Model of ?niversal Black,ody //
1 Radiative <eat 5ransfer /0
1' *tefan!Bolt2mann for 5#o Black,odies ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' /0
1'2 8on!Physical 5#o!9ay <eat 5ransfer ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 40
% @rey,ody vs Black,ody 4$
& 2nd "a# of Radiation 4%
&' Irreversi,le <eating ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 4%
&'2 Mystery of 2nd "a# ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 4&
&'$ *tefan!Bolt2mann "a# as 2nd "a# ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 4&
/ Reflection vs Black,ody A,sor)tion6.mission 4/
4 Black,ody as 5ransformer of Radiation 40
0 <ot *un and Cool .arth 0
0' .mission *)ectra ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0
20 Black,ody Dynamics 0$
20' Recollection of Model ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0$
20'2 Radiative Interaction of 5#o Black,odies ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0%
2 5he Photoelectric .ffect 0/
2' 8o,el Pri2e to .instein ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0/
2'2 5he )hotoelectric effect I ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0/
2'$ Remark on Aiscosity Models ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0
2'1 5he Photolelectric .ffect II ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0
22 5he Com)ton .ffect 0$
22' 5he Com)ton .ffect I ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0$
22'2 5he Com)ton .ffect II ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0$
& CONTENTS
Preface
5he mystery of ,lack,ody radiation triggered the ,irth of modern )hysics
in 000- #hen Planck in an Cact of des)airD invented the idea of a smallest
:uantum of energy- #hich 8ature assem,les according to la#s of statistics
#ith high fre:uency high energy #aves ,eing rare- ,ecause they re:uire many
:uanta' But Planck vie#ed :uanta to ,e merely a mathematical trick to
resolve a scientific deadlock of classical #ave mechanics- a trick #ithout real
)hysical meaning'
8evertheless- .instein used a similar idea of C:uanta of lightD later called
)hotons- to come u) #ith a Esim)leF formula for the )hotoelectric effect-
#hich gave him the 8o,el Pri2e in 02G for the formula ,ut not its deriva!
tion ,ased on :uanta- ,ecause *#edish scientists did not ,elieve in any reality
of light :uanta or light )articles' In late years .instein confessed that nei!
ther he ,elieved in light :uanta- ,ut the reservations of the inventors
#ere over#helmed ,y the sno#,all of :uantum mechanics starting to roll
in the
020s'
<undred years later ,lack,ody radiation is ,ack at the center of discus!
sion- no# as the cornerstone of climate alarmism ,ased on the idea of atmo!
s)heric C,ackradiationD from so!called Cgreenhouse gasesD causing Dglo,al
#armingD' 5he #eakness of this cornerstone is e7)osed in the ,ook Slaying
the Sky Dragon: Death of the Greenhouse Gas Theory H0I using arguments
from this ,ook'
5he ,asic idea is to use a classical deterministic continuum #ave me!
chanics com,ined #ith a ne# feature of finite precision computation- #hich
8ature is su))osed to use in analog form and #hich can ,e modeled ,y a
com)uter in digital form' 5his leads to a form of com)utational ,lack,ody
radiation #ith close connections to the com)utational thermodynamics and
the 2nd "a# of thermodynamics develo)ed in the ,ook Com)utational 5her!
modynamics H22I'

2 CONTENTS
*tatistical models ,ased on microsco)ic randomness #ere introduced in
thermodynamics ,y Bolt2mann in order to )rove and e7)lain the 2nd "a#-
#hich seemed im)ossi,le usinng classical deterministic continuum models'
Planck used the same DtrickD to avoid the seemingly unavoida,le Cultra!
violet catastro)heD in classical deterministic continuum #ave mechanics of
,lack,ody radiation' <o#ever- it is in )rinci)le im)ossi,le to directly test
the validity of a model of microsco)ic randomness- since that #ould re:uire
in microsco)ics of microsco)ics' +n the other hand- the effect of finite )re!
cision com)utation E#hich can ,e vie#ed as a testa,le rudimentary form of
statisticsF can in ,e determined #hich makes model verification )ossi,le in
)rinci)le'
5he )resent ,ook can ,e read as a more detailed account of my arguments
in H0I related to radiation- ,ut can also ,e seen as an attem)t to resuscitate
classical deterministic continuum mechanics Eas o))osed to statistical )ar!
ticle mechanicsF from the Jultraviolet catastro)heD ,y fusing it #ith a ne#
conce)t of finite )recision com)utation'
*tockholm in 8ovem,er 20
Claes Johnson
Part I
+ld Picture
$
Cha)ter
Black,ody
Radiation
All these fifty years of conscious ,rooding have ,rought me no nearer
to the ans#er to the :uestion- C9hat are light :uantaKD' 8o#adays
every 5om- Dick and <arry thinks he kno#s it- ,ut he is mistaken'
E.instein 0%1F
Lou are the only )erson #ith #hom I am actually #illing to come
to terms' Almost all other fello#s do not look from the facts to the
theory ,ut from the theory to the factsG they cannot e7tricate them!
selves from a once acce)ted conce)tual net- ,ut only flo) a,out in
it in a grotes:ue #ay' E.instein to *chrodinger a,out the statistical
CCo)enhagen inter)retationD of :uantum mechanicsF
9ould it not ,e )ossi,le to re)lace the hy)othesis of light :uanta
,y another assum)tion that #ould also fit the kno#n )henomenaK
If it is necessary to modify the elements of the theory- #ould it not
,e )ossi,le to retain at least the e:uations for the )ro)agation of
radiation and conceive only the elementary )rocesses of emission and
a,sor)tion differently than they have ,een until no#K E.insteinF
' Birth of Modern Physics
Modern )hysics in the form of :uantum mechanics and relativity theory #as
,orn in the ,eginning of the 20th century from an a))arent colla)se of clas!
sical deterministic )hysics e7)ressing in mathematical terms the rationality
of the .nlightenment and scientific revolution as .uler!"agrange differential
%
& CH!TER "# $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
e:uations of Calculus- cro#ned ,y )a*+ell,s e-uations for
electromagnetics
formulated in 4&% ,y the British )hysicist Clerk Ma7#ell'
5he colla)se resulted from a cou)le of scientific )arado7es- #hich a)!
)eared unsolva,le using classical )hysics- ,oth connected to light as electro!
magnetic #aves descri,ed ,y Ma7#ell3s e:uations=
ultra./iolet catastrophy of 0lack0o1y ra1iation = infinite energy-
non.e*istence of an aether as a medium carrying electromagnetic
#aves' 5heoretical science cannot tolerate )arado7es or contradictions-
,ecause in
a contradictory mathematical theory everything is ,oth true and false at the
same time- and thus a )arado7 )resented ,y some critics of a theory must
,e handled one #ay or the other ,y the )ro)onents of the theory' A )arado7
can ,e deconstructed ,y sho#ing that it is only an a))arent )arado7- not a
real )arado7- #hich is the only scientifically acce)ta,le solution'
5he ultra!violet catastro)hegave ,irth to :uantum mechanics and the
non!e7istence of an aether to relativity theory' 5oday- hundred years and
t#o 9orld 9ars later- modern )hysics has again reached an im)asse
descri,ed in David "indleys The En1 of !hysics: The )yth of a 2nifie1
Theory #ith string theory as an ultimate e7)ression of a de)art from
rationality in modern )hysics'
'2 Planck- .instein and *chrodinger
5he task of resolving the )arado7 of the ultraviolet catastro)he of ,lack,ody
radiation #as taken on ,y the young am,itious )hysicist Ma7 Planck in his
role as scientific leader of the emerging @erman .m)ire' After much agony
and ,attle #ith his scientific soul- in 000 Planck came u) #ith a resolution
#hich involved a de)art from the conce)t of light as a deterministic #ave
)henomenon descri,ed ,y Ma7#ell3s e:uations- to a descri)tion ,y statistics
of )articles or -uanta of energy named photons'
Planck thus returned to 8e#ton3s cor)uscular theory of light- #hich had
,een re)laced ,y Ma7#ell3s #ave theory in the late 0th century- no# in a
com,ination #ith the ne# )article statistics of thermodynamics develo)ed
,y "ud#ig Bolt2mann' In an Dact of des)airD Planck gave u) deterministic
continuum )hysics for statistics of of )articles and thus o)ened the door
to modern )hysics #ith +a/e.particle 1uality vie#ed as a resolution of the
inesca)a,le contradiction ,et#een #ave and )article'
"#3# F(N(TE !REC(S(ON CO)!2TT(ON /
.instein )icked u) Planck3s :uanta as a )atent clerk in one of his five ar!
ticles during his Dannus mira,ilisD in 00%- and suggested an e7)lanation of a
la# of )hotoelectricity #hich had ,een discovered e7)erimentally' 5his gave
Planck3s :uanta a ,oost and in 02$ .instein the 8o,el Pri2e in Physics-
not for his e7)lanation ,ased on light as )articles- #hich the 8o,el Com!
mittee did not ,uy- ,ut for the DdiscoveryD of a la# #hich had already ,een
discovered e7)erimentally'
Both Planck and .instein introduced discrete :uanta of energy as a
Dmathematical trickD #ithout )hysical reality in order to avoid the ultravio!
let catastro)helong ,efore the :uantum mechanics of atoms #as formulated
in the 020s in the form of *chrodinger3s #ave e:uation- even ,efore the
e7istence of atoms had ,een e7)erimentally confirmed'
Planck- .instein and *chrodinger refused to em,race the ne# :uantum
mechanics #ith the #ave function as the solution of the *chrodinger3s #ave
e:uation ,eing inter)reted as a )ro,a,ility distri,ution of discrete )articles'
5hey #ere therefore left ,ehind as modern )hysics took off on a mantra of
#ave!)article duality into a ne# era of atomic )hysics- #ith the atomic ,om,
as evidence that the direction #as correct'
5he inventors of :uantum mechanics #ere thus e7)elled from the ne#
#orld they had created- ,ut the :uestion remains today= Is light #aves or
)articlesK 9hat is really #ave!)article dualityK
5here is massive evidence that light is #aves- #ell descri,ed ,y Ma7#ell3s
e:uations' 5here are some as)ects of light connected to the interaction of
light and matter in emission and a,sor)tion of light #hich are vie#ed to ,e
difficult to descri,e as #ave mechanics- #ith 0lack0o1y ra1iation as the ,asic
)ro,lem'
If ,lack,ody radiation ca)tured in !lanck,s %a+ of Ra1iation can ,e
derived ,y #ave mechanics- then a main motivation of )article statistics
disa))ears and a return to rational determinism may ,e )ossi,le' And after
all *chrModinger3s e:uation is a #ave e:uation and *chrodinger firmly
,elieved that there are no )articles- only #aves as solutions of his #ave
e:uation'
'$ (inite Precision Com)utation
In this ,ook I )resent an analysis of ,lack,ody radiation #ith a ne# )roof of
Planck3s "a# ,ased on a deterministic #ave model su,Nect to a certain limita!
tion of finite precision computation #hich re)laces the full )article statistics
4 CH!TER "# $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
used ,y Planck in his original )roof' (inite )recision com)utation models
)hysics as an analog com)utational )rocess #ith in)ut data ,eing trans!
formed to out)ut data- #hich can ,e simulated ,y digital com)utation' 5he
idea of finite )recision com)utation is also used in an alternative theory of
thermodynamics in the form of Com)utational 5hermodynamics H22I- #ith!
out any statistics'
I follo# u) in Many!Minds Ouantum Mechanics H$I follo#ing the original
idea of *chrModinger to vie# the *chrodinger #ave e:uation as a model
of interacting electrons and atomic in the form of a cou)led set #ave
functions #ithout any need of statistical inter)retation' 5he idea of
many!minds is also also used in a ne# a))roach to relativity H1I #ithout
the )arado7es of .insteins s)ecial theory of relativity'
Cha)ter 2
Black,ody as Black)iano
.7)eriments on interference made #ith )article rays have given ,ril!
liant )roof that the #ave character of the )henomena of motion as
assumed ,y the theory does- really- corres)ond to the facts' 5he de
Broglie!*chrodinger method- #hich has in a certain sense the charac!
ter of a field theory- does indeed deduce the e7istence of only discrete
states- in sur)rising agreement #ith em)irical facts' It does so on the
,asis of differential e:uations a))lying a kind of resonance argument'
E.instein- 02/F
A ,lack,ody is a theoretical ideali2ed o,Nect descri,ed as something Da,!
sor,ing all incident radiationD commonly )ictured as a cavity or em)ty ,ot!
tle6,o7 in #hich #aves6)hotons are ,ouncing ,ack and forth ,et#een #alls
at a certain tem)erature defining the tem)erature of the cavity' 5he ,ottle
has a little )ee)hole through #hich radiation is esca)ing to ,e o,served- as
indicated in the a,ove common illustration of a ,lack,ody'
A ,lack,ody is su))osed to ca)ture an essential as)ect of the radiation
from a real ,ody like the visi,le glo# from a lum) of iron at 000 C- the *un
at &000 C or the invisi,le infrared faint glo# of a human ,ody at $/ C'
But #hy is a lum) of iron- the *un or a human ,ody thought of as an
em)ty ,ottle #ith a )ee)holeK
Les- you are right= It is ,ecause Planck used this image in his )roof of
Planck3s "a# of ,lack,ody radiation ,ased on statistics of energy
:uanta6)hotons in a ,o7' Planck3s mathematical )roof re:uired a certain set u)
and that set
u) came to define the ideali2ed conce)t of a ,lack,ody as an em)ty ,ottle
#ith )ee)hole' But to actually construct anything near such a ,lack,ody is
im)ossi,le'
0
0 CH!TER 4# $%C&$OD' S $%C&!(NO
It is natural to ask if #ith another )roof of Planck3s "a#- the conce)t of
,lack,ody #ould ,e different- )ossi,ly closer to realityK
5his ,ook gives a )ositive ans#er in a different )roof of Planck3s "a# #ith
a different conce)t of ,lack,ody as a lattice of vi,rating atoms a,sor,ing and
emitting radiation as electromagnetic #aves- #hich models a real ,ody like
a lum) of iron- and not a fictional em)ty ,ottle #ith a )ee)hole' 9e shall
see that here is a close acoustical analog of a such a ,lack,ody in terms of
the strings and sound,oard of a grand )iano= a ,lack,ody as a ,lack)ianoP
5his sho#s the role of mathematics in the formation of conce)ts of the
9orld=
9ith a strange mathematical )roof the 9orld may a))ear strange and
incom)rehensi,le'
9ith a natural mathematical )roof the 9orld my ,ecome
com)rehen! si,le'
(igure 2'= Black,ody as a cavity filled #ith )hotons ,ouncing ,ack and
forth'

(igure 2'2= Black,ody as strings and sound,oard of a grand )iano'

2 CH!TER 4# $%C&$OD' S $%C&!(NO
Cha)ter $
Interaction "ight!Matter
"ight and matter are ,oth single entities- and the a))arent duality
arises in the limitations of our language' E<eisen,ergF
9hat #e o,serve as material ,odies and forces are nothing ,ut sha)es
and variations in the structure of s)ace' Particles are Nust schaumkom!
men Ea))earancesF'5he #orld is given to me only once- not one e7ist!
ing and one )erceived' *u,Nect and o,Nect are only one' 5he ,arrier
,et#een them cannot ,e said to have ,roken do#n as a result of re!
cent e7)erience in the )hysical sciences- for this ,arrier does not e7ist'
E*chrodingerF
+ne of the ,ig mysteries of )hysics is the interaction ,et#een immaterial
light and material matter- or in a #ider conte7t the interaction ,et#een
immaterial soul6mind and material ,ody'
Descartes ,elieved that the interaction soul!,ody took )lace in the little
)ineal gland in the center of the ,rain' Modern neuro,iology does not give
much su))ort to Descartes3 idea ,ut has not really any ,etter theory and so
the mystery of ho# soul and ,ody interact remains to ,e resolved'
9hat does then modern )hysics say a,out the interaction of light and
matterK 5here are t#o com)eting theories de)ending on the nature of light
as Deterministic electromagnetic #aves descri,ed ,y Ma7#ell3s e:uations'
*tatistics of massless )articles' 2' connects to 8e#ton3s old cor)uscular
theory of light- #hich #as revived ,y .instein in 00% after it had ,een
declared dead and had ,een re)laced ,y Ma7#ell3s #ave theory in the late
0th century'
2' ,ecame )o)ular ,ecause it offered a resolution to the light!matter in!
teraction )ro,lem ,y sim)ly side!ste))ing the #hole :uestion ,y claiming
$
1 CH!TER 3# (NTERCT(ON %(GHT.)TTER
that everything is Estatistics of F )articles= If light is not an immaterial
elec! tromagnetic #ave )henomenon- ,ut sim)ly some sort of material
)articles Eal,eit #ithout mass- ,ut never mindF then there is no #ave!matter
)ro,lem to resolveP
Clever- ,ut may,e too clever since after all light is an electromagnetic
#ave )henomenon' 5his ,rings us ,ack to ' and the real :uestion of ho#
an immaterial #ave can interact #ith a material ,odyK
In Mathematical Physics of Black,ody Radiation I suggest a resolution
#ith immaterial #aves interacting #ith matter ,y #ave resonance and statis!
tics re)laced ,y finite )recision com)utation' 5his is a resolution in terms
of #aves #ith electromagnetic #ave motion interacting #ith #ave motion in
matter ultimately also consisting of electromagnetic #aves'
5he #ave!matter interaction )ro,lem is thus in this case resolved ,y
understanding that everything is Efinite )recisionF #ave and #ave resonance-
,oth light and matter' In the #ider conte7t= everything is soul and soul
resonance'
9e have thus t#o )ossi,le solutions of the light!matter interaction )ro,!
lem=
.verything is Efinite )recisionF deterministic #ave and #ave resonance'
.verything is statistics of )articles and collision of )articles'
Ma7#ell and *chrdinger said 2' 5his ,ook says 2'
%
(igure $'= Interaction of soul and ,ody through the )ineal gland according
to Descartes'
& CH!TER 3# (NTERCT(ON %(GHT.)TTER
kT
kT
Cha)ter 1
Planck!*tefan!Bolt2mann "a#s
5he s)ectral density of ,lack ,ody radiation ''' re)resents something
a,solute- and since the search for the a,solutes has al#ays a))eared
to me to ,e the highest form of research- I a))lied myself vigorously
to its solution' EPlanckF
1' Planck3s "a#
5he )article nature of light of fre:uency 5 as a stream of photons of energy
h5 #ith h Planck3s constant- is su))osed to ,e motivated ,y .instein3s
model of the )hot o electric effect HI vie#ed to ,e im)ossi,le H$I to e7)lain
assuming light is an electromagnetic #ave )henomenon satisfying Ma7#ell3s
e:uations' 5he idea of light in the form of energy :uanta of si2e h5 #as
introduced ,y Planck H%I in Can act of des)airD to e7)lain the ra1iation
energy R
5
ET F emitted , y a ,la c k ,o dy as a function of fre:uency 5 and
tem)erature T - )er unit fre:uency- surface area- vie#ing solid angle and
time=
2k
R
5
ET F ; 6T 5
2
7E58 T F8 6
;
#ith the high.fre-uency cut.off factor
8 E1'F
c
2
7E58 T F ;
h5
kT
h5
e
kT

8 E1'2F
#here c is the s)eed of light in vacuum- k is Bolt2mann3s constant- #ith
7E58 T F 0 for
h5
9 0 say and 7E58 T F for
h5
: ' *ince h;k 0
<0
-
/
4 CH!TER =# !%NC&.STEFN.$O%T>)NN
%?S
h
h
T
c
2
%c
2
h
$
5 ;
this effectively means that only fre:uencies 5 T 0

#ill ,e emitted-
#hich fits #ith the common e7)erience that a ,lack surface heated ,y the
high! fre:uency light from the *un- #ill not itself shine like the *un- ,ut
radiate
only lo#er fre:uencies' 9e refer to
kT
as the cut.off fre:uency- in the sense
that fre:uencies 5 9
kT
#ill ,e radiated su,Nect to strong dam)ing' 9e see
that the cut!off fre:uency scales #ith T - #hich is ?ien,s Displacement %a+'
In other #ords- the cut!off distance in terms of #ave!length scales #ith

as
sho#n in (ig' 1''
Belo# #e shall for sim)licity leave out the constant of )ro)ortionality in
E1'F and #rite R
5
ET F T 5
2
7E58 T F e7)ressing the de)endence on T
and 5 - #ith denoting )ro)ortionality' But it is im)ortant to note that
the
constant 6 ;
2k
is very small= 9ith k 0
<2$
@;& and c $ 0
4
m;s-
#e
have 6 0
<10
' In )articular- 65
2
:: if 5 0
4
including the
ultraviolet s)ectrum- a condition #e #ill meet ,elo#'
1'2 *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a#
By integrating6summing over fre:uencies in Plancks radiation la# E1'F- one
o,tains Stefan.$oltmann,s %a+ stating the the total radiated energy RET F
)er unit surface area emitted ,y a ,lack!,ody is )ro)ortional to T
1
=
RET F ; AT
1
E1'$F
#here A ;
2B
%
k
1
; %#&/ 0
<4
?
<
m
<2
&
<1
is Stefan.$oltCmann,s
constant'
+n the other hand- the classical Rayleigh.@eans Ra1iation %a+ R
5
ET F
T 5
2
#ithout the cut!off factor- results in an Cultra!violet catastro)hyD #ith
infinite total radiated energy- since
Q
n
5
2
n
$
as n '
*tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# fits Ereasona,ly #ellF to o,servation- #hile the
Rayleigh!Jeans "a# leads to an a,surdity and so must someho# ,e incorrect'
5he Rayleigh!Jeans "a# #as derived vie#ing light as electromagnetic #aves
governed ,y Ma7#ell3s e:uations- #hich forced Planck in his Cact of des)airD
to give u) the #ave model and re)lace it ,y statistics of C:uantaD vie#ing
light as a stream of )articles or )hotons' But the scientific cost of a,andoning
the #ave model is very high- and #e no# )resent an alternative #ay of
avoiding the catastro)he,y modifying the #ave model ,y finite precision
computation- instead of resorting to )article statistics'
9e shall see that the finite )recision com)utation introduces a high!
fre:uency cut!off in the s)irit of the finite )recision com)utational model
(igure 1'= Radiation .nergy vs #ave length at different tem)eratures of a
radiating ,ody- )er unit fre:uency' +,serve that the cut!off shifts to higher
fre:uency #ith higher tem)erature according to 9ien3s Dis)lacement "a#
(igure 1'2= Planck 000= ###the +hole proce1ure +as an act of des)air
0ecause a theoretical interpretation ha1 to 0e foun1 at any price8 no
matter ho+ high that might 0e###
(igure 1'$= Planck to .instein= ( here0y a+ar1 you the !lanck )e1al
0e. cause you e*pan1e1 my 1esperate i1ea of -uantum of energy to the e/en
more 1esperate i1ea of -uantum of light#
(igure 1'1= 5he )hotoelectric effect according to .instein'
for thermodynamics )resented in H22I'
5he )hoton is considered to ,e a D)articleD #ith no mass and no charge-
,ut to o,serve individual )hotons a))ears to ,e e7tremely difficult' In fact-
the e7istence of )hotons seems to ,e highly hy)othetical #ith the main )ur!
)ose of e7)laining ,lack!,ody radiation and the )hotoelectric effect' If e7!
)lanations of these )henomena may ,e given using classical #ave mechanics-
may,e the e7istence of )hotons as )articles #ithout ,oth mass and charge
may ,e seriously :uestioned- including statistical )article mechanics- as .in!
stein himself did during the later half of his life H&- 0- - 2- 1- 4I'
(igure 1'%= 9ien3s Dis)lacement "a#'
5he scientific )rice of resorting to statistical mechanics is high- as #as
clearly recogni2ed ,y Planck and .instein- ,ecause the ,asic assum)tion of
statistical mechanics of microsco)ic games of roulette seem ,oth scientifically
illogical and im)ossi,le to verify e7)erimentally' 5hus statistical
mechanics runs the risk of re)resenting pseu1o.science in the sense of Po))er
HKI ,ecause of o,vious difficulties of testa,ility of ,asic assum)tions'
5he )ur)ose of this note is to )resent an alternative to statistics for ,lack!
,ody radiation ,ased on finite )recision com)uation in the form of @eneral
@alerkin @2' 9e also e7tend to include as)ects of )hoto!electricity and the
Com)ton effect'
=#3# THE EN(G) OF THE !HOTOE%ECTR(C EFFECT 2$
(igure 1'&= 9ilhelm 9ien E4&1!024F'
1'$ 5he .nigma of the Photoelectric .ffect
5he most convincing evidence of the )article nature of light is su))osed to
,e that the )hotoelectric effect has a de)endence on the fre:uency of the
incident light- #hich is not )resent in a ,asic linear #ave mechanical model
#ithout viscosity effects= A electric current of electrons eNected ,y incident
light re:uires the fre:uency to ,e larger than a certain threshold- and morover
the kinetic energy of the eNected electrons scales #ith the fre:uency a,ove
the threshold' Photoelectricity thus has a fre:uency de)endence- #hich is
not )resent in a linear #ave model #ith solutions scaling #ith the intensity
of the forcing'
But a #ave model #ith a small viscosity acting on derivatives of the state-
also e7hi,its fre:uency de)endence- and can ,e designed to model ,asic as!
)ects of )hotoelectricity' In )articular #e shall find that @2 finite )recision
com)utation introduces a fre:uency de)endent viscosity acting a,ove a cer!
tain threshold and thus shares features #ith )hotoelectricity' 5he argument
that the only )article models are ca)a,le of descri,ing )hotoelectricity thus
is #eak' *ince this is the main argument- it a))ears that the evidence against
the )article nature of light suggested ,y 8e#ton- )resented ,y Loung- (resnel
21 CH!TER =# !%NC&.STEFN.$O%T>)NN
%?S
and Ma7#ell in the 0th century- is still strong'
1'1 5he .nigma of Black,ody Radiation
5he ,asic enigma of ,lack,ody radiation can ,e given different formulations=
9hy is a ,lack,ody ,lack6invisi,le- ,y emitting infrared
radiation #hen CilluminatedD ,y light in the visi,le s)ectrumK
9hy is radiative heat transfer ,et#een t#o ,odies al#ays directed
from the #armer ,ody to the colderK
9hy can high fre:uency radiation transform to heat energyK
9hy can heat energy transform to radiation only if the tem)erature is
high enoughK
9hy is lo#!fre:uency radiative heating inefficientK
9e shall find that the ans#er is resonance in a system of resonators Eoscil!
lating moleculesF=
incoming radiation is a,sor,ed ,y resonance-
a,sor,ed incoming radiation is emitted as outgoing radiation- or is
stored as internal6heat energy-
outgoing radiation has a fre:uency s)ectrum T 5
2
for 5 ' T -
assum! ing all fre:uencies 5 have the same tem)erature T - #ith a
cut!off to 2ero for 5 R T -
incoming fre:uencies ,elo# cut!off are emitted-
incoming fre:uencies a,ove cut!off are stored as internal heat energy'
1'% Confusion in Media
5he mystery of ,lack,ody radiation o)ened to the mystery of :uantum me!
chanics )ermeating modern )hysics=
.instein vs 8iels Bohr
=#D# CONFESS(ONS $' CONF2SED SC(ENT(STS 2%
*ol v a y Conference 02/
Ma7 Plan c k and Bla c k ,o dy Radiation
Ma7 Plan c k and Bla c k ,o dy Radiation 2
5heory of <eat Radiation , y Ma7 Plan c k
1'& Confessions ,y Confused *cientists
5o motivate that a rene#ed analysis of ,lack,ody radiation is needed- 0
years after Planck- #e recall some statements of famous scientists indicat!
ing #hat they really think a,out the :uantum mechanics- light :uanta and
)hotons forming the ,asis of Planck3s descri)tion of ,lack,ody radiation Ein!
cluding the introductory :uotes ,y .instein and Planck3s Cact of des)airDF'
If #e are going to have to )ut u) #ith these damned :uantum Num)s-
I am sorry that I ever had anything to do #ith :uantum mechanics'
E*chrodinger to Bohr 02&F
5o derive the Planck radiation la#- it is essential that the energy of
the atom have discrete values and changes discontinuously' EBohr to
*chrodinger 02&F'
5he discussion ,et#een Bohr and *chrodinger ,egan at the rail#ay
station in Co)enhagen and #as carried out every day from early morn!
ing to late night' Bohr a))eared to me like a relentless fanatic- #ho
#as not )re)ared to concede a single )oint to his interlocutor or to
allo# him the slightest lack of )recision' It #ill scarely ,e )ossi,le to
re)roduce ho# )assionate the discussion #as carried out from ,oth
sides' E<eisen,erg in Der 5eil und das @an2eF
8iels Bohr ,rain#ashed a #hole generation of theorists into thinking
that the No, of inter)reting :uantum theory #as done %0 years ago'
EMurray @ell!MannF
It is nonsense to talk a,out the traNectory of an electron inside an atom
E*chrodinger to Born 02/ at the %th *olvay Conference in BrusselsF'
2& CH!TER =# !%NC&.STEFN.$O%T>)NN
%?S
Contem)orary )hysicists come in t#o varieties' 5y)e )hysicists are
,othered ,y .PR and Bell3s 5heorem' 5y)e 2 Ethe maNorityF are
not- ,ut one has to distinguish t#o su,varieties' 5y)e 2a )hysicists
e7)lain #hy they are not ,othered' 5heir e7)lanations tend either to
miss the )oint entirely Elike Born3s to .insteinF or to contain )hysical
assertions that can ,e sho#n to ,e false' 5y)e 2, are not ,othered
and refuse to e7)lain #hy' EDavid MerminF
I think it is safe to say that no one understands :uantum mechanics'
Do not kee) saying to yourself- if you can )ossi,ly avoid it- JBut ho#
can it ,e like thatK3 ,ecause you #ill go 3do#n the drain3 into a ,lind
alley from #hich no,ody has yet esca)ed' 8o,ody kno#s ho# it can
,e like that' ERichard (eynmanF
.instein )resented an e7tended criti:ue of the Co)enhagen inter)re!
tation of :uantum mechanics Eat the %th *olvay Conference 02/ in
BrusselsF- and his de,ate #ith Bohr continued inside and outside the
conference rooms- It )rovided the greatest e7citement of the meet!
ing and #as a historic occasion- a ,attle of titans over the e)istemo!
logical foundations of )hysics and over the #ay in #hich scientists
should understand the #orld' 9hen the meeting ended- ho#ever-
most of the )hysicists de)arted #ith the ,elief that the )ositivist
Co)enhagen vie# had )revailed- a ,elief nourished ,y the anti!realist
)hilos)hical tradition of central .uro)e' But .instein- de Broglie
and *chrodinger #ere not convinced- and they left #hat .instein once
called Dthe #itches sa,,ath at BrusselsD #ith a resolve to fight another
day' EMoore in A "ife of .r#in *chodingerF
I reNect the ,asic idea of contem)orary statistical :uantum theory- in!
sofar as I do not ,elieve that this fundamental conce)t #ill )rovide a
useful ,asis for the #hole of )hysics'''one is driven to the conviction
that a com)lete descri)tion of a single system should- after all- ,e
)ossi,le- ,ut for such com)lete descri)tion there is no room in the
conce)tual #orld of statistical :uantum theory''' If it should ,e )ossi!
,le to move for#ard to a com)lete descri)tion- it is likely that the la#s
#ould re)resent relations among all the conce)tual elements of this de!
scri)tion #hich- )er se- have nothing to do #ith statistics' E.instein3s
Re)ly to Criticisms in Al,ert .instein= Philoso)her!*cientist- "i,rary
of "iving Philoso)hers *eries- Cam,ridge ?niversity Press- 010F
=#E# TO?RDS EN(G) RESO%2T(ON 2/
1'/ 5o#ards .nigma Resolution
9e shall find that finite )recision com)utation- in @2 a))earing from resid!
ual sta,ili2ation- as a small!coefficient viscosity acting on higher derivatives
of the state function- makes it )ossi,le to avoid the seemingly unsurmount!
a,le difficulties ham)ering classical continuum mechanics in the late 0th
century- including Cd3Alem,ert3s )arado7D of tur,ulent fluid mechanics- the
Creversi,ility )arado7D of the 2nd "a# of thermodynamics and the Cultra!
violet catastro)heD of ,lack,ody radiation' 5he difficulties arise from unre!
solved microsco)ics in macrosco)ic continuum models and the only #ay out
#as ,elieved to ,e ,y modeling the microsco)ics ,y statistics of )ointlike
)articles- and this ,ecame the mantra of 20th century )hysics'
<o#ever- a medication #ith microsco)ic )article statistics comes along
#ith several side effects- so severe that e'g' .instein and *chrModinger
refused to acce)t it- and thus a return to deterministic continuum models
#ould seem desira,le- if only the )arado7es and catatsro)hies can ,e dealt
#ith in a resona,le #ay' 9e have sho#n in H2I that finite )recision
com)utation allo#s a resolution of d3Alem,ert3s )arado7 and several of the
mysteries of tur,ulent fluid mechanics- as #ell as a formulation of the 2nd
"a# #ithout entro)y statistics in H22I - and in this ,ook #e use the same
general a))roach for the #ave mechanics of radiation'
+ne can vie# deterministic finite )recision com)utation as a )rimitive
form of statistics- so )rimitive that the side effects do not sho# u)- #hile the
)ositive effect remains'
24 CH!TER =# !%NC&.STEFN.$O%T>)NN
%?S
Cha)ter %
Planck6.instein 5ragedy
%' James Jeans
*ir James Jeans states in The Gro+th of !hysical Science shortly ,efore his
death in 01/=
The ra1iation from a re1.hot 0o1y presente1 the same 1ifficulty in
a slightly 1ifferent form# The theorem of e-uipartition sho+e1 that
the ra1iation from such a 0o1y ought to consist almost entirely of
+a/es of the shortest possi0le +a/e.length# E*periment sho+e1 the
e*act opposite to 0e the case'
The first mo/e to en1 the 1ea1lock +as ma1e 0y )a* !lanck8
!rofessor in $erlin 2ni/ersity8 an1 su0se-uently in the &aiser ?ilhelm
(nstitute# (n an epoch.making paper +hich he pu0lishe1 in "FGG8 he
imagine1 all matter to consist of /i0rators8 each ha/ing its o+n
particular fre-uency of /i0ration8 an1 emitting ra1iation of this
fre-uency8 Hust as a 0ell emits soun1 of its o+n fre-uency of
/i0ration'
This +as completely in accor1ance +ith current i1eas8 0ut !lanck
no+ intro1uce1 the startling assumption that the /i0rators 1i1 notemit
en. ergy in a continuous stream8 0ut 0y a series of instantaneous
gushes# Such an assumption +as in flagrant oppositionto )a*+ell,s
electromag. netic la+s an1 to the Ne+tonian mechanicsI it
1ismisse1 continuity from nature8 an1 intro1uce1 a 1iscontinuity for
+hich there +as so far no e/i1ence# Each /i0rator +as suppose1 to
ha/e a certain unit of ra.
20
$0 CH!TER J# !%NC&;E(NSTE(N TRGED'
1iation associate1 +ith it8 an1 coul1 emit ra1iation only in
complete units#
(t coul1 ne/er emit a fraction of a unit8 so that ra1iation +as
assume1 to 0e atomic# Such an assumption naturally le1 to /ery
1ifferent results from the Ne+tonian mechanics8 0ut !lanck +as a0le to
sho+ that nature si1e1 +ith him# His theory pre1icte1 the o0ser/e1
emission of ra1iation from a hot 0o1y e*actly# !lanck 1escri0e1 his
units of ra1iation as :uanta'
The amount of energy in any unit 1epen1e1 on the /i0rator from
+hich the unit came 0eing e-ual to the fre-uency ofits /i0rations
multiplie1 0y a constant h8 +hich is generally kno+n as !lanck,s
constantI this has pro/e1 to 0e one of the fun1amental constants of
the uni/erse like the charge on an electron or the mass of a proton#
Through all the changes +hich the -uantum theory has e*perience1
an1 they are many h has stoo1 firm as a rock8 0ut +e no+ associate it
+ith ra1iation rather than +ith /i0rators'
%'2 Ma7 Planck
9e cite from H%I=
?e shall no+ 1eri/e strange properties of heat ra1iation 1escri0e1
0y electromagnetic +a/e theory#
?e shall assume that the ra1iation in one 1irection is completely
in1e. pen1ent of the ra1iation in a 1ifferent 1irection8 e/en opposite#
>ur ra1ikalsten ffassung neigt @#@ Thompson un1 # Einstein8 +elche
glau0en8 1as 1ie FortpflanCung 1er elektromagnetischen ?ellen nicht
genau nach 1en )a*+ellshen Fel1gleichungen8 son1ern nach ge+is.
sen Energie-uanten h5 erfolgt# (ch meine 1agegen8 1ass man einst.
+eilen noch nicht genotig ist8 so re/olutionar /orCugehen8 son1ern 1as
mann 1amit auskommen 1uKrfte8 1ie $e1eutung 1es
Energie-uantums h5 le1iglich in 1en ?echsel+irkungen Cu suchen8
mit 1enen 1ie Res.
onatoren einan1er 0eeinflussen# Eine 1efiniti/e Entschei1igung uK0e
r
1iese prinCipiellen Fragen kKonnen a0er erst +eiter Erfahrungen
0rin. gen#
J#4# )L !%NC& $
(igure %'= Ma7 Planck 00 ,eing struck #ith the idea of energy :uanta=
?e shall no+ 1eri/e strange properties of heat ra1iation 1escri0e1 0y
electro. magnetic +a/e theory'
$2 CH!TER J# !%NC&;E(NSTE(N TRGED'
Planck here descri,es that the seemingly a,surd conse:uences of electro!
magnetic #ave theory can ,e handled ,y introducing finite energy :uanta-
,ut he is not #illing to )ay the )ri2e of vie#ing light as a stream of )articles'
Instead he klings to a faint ho)e that someho# #ave theory can ,e saved ,y
some form of interaction ,et#een the resonators' 9hat #e #ill no# do is
to give su,stance to this ho)e ,y re)lacing Cfinite energy :uantaD ,y finite
)recision #ave mechanics'
9e have seen that Planck #as am,igous= <e could not ,elieve in light
as streams of discrete :uanta ,ut yet he made the ,asic assum)tion that
radiation in different directions- even o))osite- is fully inde)endent-
#hich can only ,e motivated from a )article nature of light' 5his dou,le!
)lay has ,ecome a )rinci)le of modern )hysics= light is ,oth #aves and
)articles and you are free to choose #hatever descri)tion that serves you the
,est in every s)ecific case' Planck3s scientific conscience )rotested against
the dou,le! )lay- ,ut #as overuled ,y its effectiveness= It took )hysics
out of its late
0th century trauma' +ver time the dou,le!)lay has ,ecome a virtue- and
is today :uestioned ,y fe# )hysicists' But dou,le!)lay is dou,le!)lay and
fair!)lay is more honora,le- even in science'
Planck3s idea of inde)endent radiation in o))osite directions- is today
,eing used ,y some climate scientists to sell the idea of C,ackradiationD
as a ,asis of Cglo,al #armingD #ith the radiation from the .arth surface
a,sor,ed ,y the atmos)here ,eing C,ackradiatedD to and thus heating the
.arth surface' 9e #ill ,elo# sho# that the #arming effect of
C,ackradiationD is fictitious and ,y +ckham3s ra2or can ,e moved to the
#ardro,e of non! )hysical )hysics'
%'$ Planck and .instein
Both Planck and .instein struggled #ith the )article conce)t of energy and
:uanta- ,y reali2ing its use as a Cmathematical trickD to resolve an a))arent
)arado7 of #ave mechanics and at the same time ,eing una,le to give u)
deterministic #ave mechanics ,y )article statistics=
?e therefore regar1 . an1 this is the most essential point of the entire
calculation . energy to 0e compose1 of a /ery 1efinite num0er of e-ual
packages EPlanck 000F'
The +a/e theory of light8 +hich operates +ith continuous spatial func.
J#3# !%NC& ND E(NSTE(N $$
tions8 has +orke1 +ell in the representation of purely optical
phenomena an1 +ill pro0a0ly ne/er 0e replace1 0y another theory
E.insteinF'
( 1o not seek the meaning of M-uantum of actionN Olight -uantumP
in the /acuum 0ut at the site of a0sorption an1 emission EPlanck
00/F'
Despite the apparently complete success of the Einstein e-uation
Ofor the photoelectric effectP8 the physical theory on +hich it +as
1esigne1 to 0e the sym0olic e*pression8 is foun1 so untena0le that
Einstein himself8 ( 0elie/e8 no longer hol1s to it EMillikanF'
)y futile attempts to fit the elementary -uantum of action into classical
theory continue1 for a num0er of years an1 cost me a great 1eal
of effort# )any of my collegues sa+ in this something
0or1ering on a trage1y EPlanck shortly ,efore his deathF'
Einstein is increasingly aloof an1 sceptical Oa0out the -uantum
1isco/. eries he pioneere1P# )any of us regar1s this as a trage1y
EBornF'
8ote further that the e:uation of :uantum mechanics- *chrModinger3s
e:ua! tion- is a #ave e:uation over a continuum' 5hus :uantum mechanics-
des)ite its confusing name- is not a mechanics of discrete C:uantaD ,ut a
#ace me! chanics- #hich can only ,e decri,ed as a Ca tragedyD' 9e
)resent ,elo# a ha))y end to the tragedy'
$1 CH!TER J# !%NC&;E(NSTE(N TRGED'
(igure %'2= .instein= The more success the -uantum mechanics has8 the
sillier it looks'
Cha)ter &
Classical Derivation of
Rayleigh!Jeans "a#
*ciences usually advances ,y a succession of small ste)s- through a
fog in #hich even the most keen!sighted e7)lorer can seldom see more
than a fe# )aces ahead' +ccasionally the fog lifts- an eminence is
gained- and a #ider stretch of territory can ,e surveyedsometimes
#ith startling results' A #hole science may then seem to undergo a
kaleidosco)ic rearrangement- fragments of kno#ledge sometimes ,eing
found to fit together in a hitherto unsus)ected manner' *ometimes
the shock of readNustment may s)read to other sciencesG sometimes it
may divert the #hole current of human thought' EJames JeansF
&' Counting Cavity Degrees of (reedom
5he classical derivation of Rayleigh!Jeans "a# is ,ased on com)uting the
num,er of standing #aves in a resonating cu,ical cavity of side B- )er unit
fre:uency Q- of the form
uE*8 tF ; sinE5

*

F sinE5
2
*
2
F sinE5
$
*
$
F sinEQtF8 * ; E*

8 *
2
8 *
$
F8 E&'F
as solutions of the #ave e:uation
R
2
u R
2
u R
2
u R
2
u
R*
2
>
R*
2
>
R*
2
;
Rt
2
E&'2F
2 $
#ith the n
i
natural num,ers satisfying
n
2 2 2 2

> n
2
> n
$
;
Q
# E&'$F
$%
$&CH!TER D# C%SS(C% DER(ST(ON OF R'%E(GH.@ENS
%?
5he num,er of modes N EQF of fre:uency less than Q scales like the volume
of a s)here of radius Q and thus N EQF Q
$
- #hich gives
1N
2
1Q
Q
# E&'1F
Postulating e-uipartition in energy that is that all modes radiate the same
energy kT - gives Rayleigh!Jeans "a# on the form R
Q
ET F kT Q
2
- #hich
is the same form as that derived a,ove #ith a different argument'
9e thus arrive at the same Rayleigh!Jeans formula using t#o fundamen!
tally different a))roaches- and one may ask #hich argument is the ,etter in
the sense that it ,est e7)lains the )hysical mechanism ,ehind the formulaK
5he classical argument connects radiance to the num,er of modes #ithout
s)ecifying the cou)ling mechanism and a mechanism for e:ui)artition and in
this sense is a1 hoc' 5his connects to arguments used in statistical mechanics
,ased on com)uting num,ers of )ermutations assigned e:ual )ro,a,ility'
5he a,ove argument ,ased on the #ave e:uation #ith a radiation term
includes more )hysics and and #ill ,e com)lemented #ith model for e:uili!
,ration in fre:uency ,elo#' 5his argument thus may ,e less ad hoc than the
classical argument'
&'2 De)endence of *)ace Dimension
5he classical derivation of Rayleigh!Jeans "a# counts the num,er of modes
in a three!dimensional cavity and #ould give a different la# in one and t#o
dimensions' In contrast our derivation ,ased on a #ave e:uation #ith radi!
ation gives the same la# in any dimension- since the la# reflects the form of
the radiation term #hich is the same in all dimensions'
Cha)ter /
*tatistics vs Com)utation
5his inhi,its us from acce)ting in a naive #ay a C,lurred modelD
as an image of reality'''5here is a difference ,et#een a shaky or not
shar)ly focussed )hotogra)h and a )hotogra)h of clouds and fog,anks'
E*chrodinger a,out the Co)enhagen inter)retationF
/' Cut!+ff ,y *tatistics
5he Rayleigh!Jeans "a# leads to an Cultraviolet catastro)hyD ,ecause #ith!
out some form of high!fre:uency limitation- the total raditation #ill ,e un!
,ounded' Classical #ave mechanics thus a))ears to lead to an a,surdity-
#hich has to ,e resolved in one #ay or the other' In an Cact of des)airD
Planck esca)ed the catastro)he,y an Ale7ander Cut sim)ly re)lacing classi!
cal #ave mechanics #ith a ne# statistical mechanics #here high fre:uencies
#ere assumed to ,e rareG Ca theoretical inter)retation had to ,e found at any
)rice- no matter ho# high that might ,e'''D' It is like kicking out a good old
horse #hich has served fine for many )ur)oses- Nust ,ecause it has a tendency
to Cgo to infinityD at a certain stimulus- and re)lacing it #ith a com)letely
ne# #ild horse #hich you don3t understand and cannot control'
/'2 Cut!+ff ,y (inite Precision
Com)utation
5he )rice of thro#ing out classical #ave mechanics is very high- and it is thus
natural to ask if this is really necessaryK Is there a form of classical mechanics
$/
$4 CH!TER E# STT(ST(CS SS
CO)!2TT(ON
#ithout the ultraviolet catastro)hyK Can a cut!off of high fre:uencies ,e
)erformed #ithout an Ale7ander cut!off K
9e ,elieve this is )ossi,le- and it is certainly highly desira,le- ,ecause
statistical mechanics is difficult to ,oth understand and a))ly' 9e shall
thus )resent a resolution #here Planck3s statistical mechanics is re)laced
,y deterministic mechanics vie#ing )hysics as a form of analog computation
+ith finite precision #ith a certain dissi)ative diffusive effect- #hich #e model
,y digital com)utational mechanics coming along #ith a certain numerical
dissi)ation'
It is natural to model finite )recision com)utation as a viscous dissi)ative
effect- since finite )recision means that small details are lost as in smoothing
,y dam)ing of high fre:uencies #hich is the effect of viscous dissi)ation'
9e consider com)utational mechanics in the form of the General
Galerkin OG4P method for the #ave e:uation- #here the dissi)ative
mechanism arises from +eighte1 least s-uares resi1ual sta0iliCation H2I' 9e
shall first consider a sim)lified form of @2 #ith least s:uares sta,ili2ation of
one of the residual terms a))earing as a viscosity acting only on high
fre:uencies' 9e then comment on full @2 residual sta,ili2ation'
(igure /'= A ,lack,ody acts like a censor or high!)ass filter #hich transforms
coherent high!fre:uency high!interest information into incoherent
noise- #hile it lets lo#!fre:uency lo#!interest information )ass through'
Part II
8e# Analysis
$0
u
u
Cha)ter 4
9ave .:uation #ith Radiation
5here are no :uantum Num)s- nor are there any )articles' E<'D' Seh
H11IF
4' A Basic Radiation Model
9e consider the #ave e:uation #ith radiation- for sim)licity in one s)ace
dimension assuming )eriodicity= (ind u ; uE*8 tF such that
uM u
TT
6
'''
; f8 : *8 t :
E4'F
#here E*8 tF are s)ace!time coordinates-
/T
;
R/
- /
T
;
R/
- f E*8 tF models
Rt
''
R
'
*
forcing in the form of incoming #aves- and the term 6 u models outgoing
radiation #ith 6 9 0 a small constant'
5his models- in the s)irit of Planck H%I ,efore colla)sing to statistics of
:uanta- a system of resonators in the form of a vi,rating string a,sor,ing
energy from the forcing f of intensity f
2
and dissi)ating energy of intensity
6uM
2
as radiation- #hile storing or releasing vi,rational EheatF energy in
energy ,alance'
5he #ave e:uation E4'F e7)resses a force ,alance in a vi,rating system
of charged )articles #ith u re)resenting the dis)lacement from a reference
'''
configuration #ith
uT
velocity and uM accelleration- and 6 u re)resents the
0raham.%orentC recoil force from an accellerating charged )article H1$I' .n!
ergy ,alance follo#s from the force ,alance ,y multi)lication ,y
uT
follo#ed
,y integration- #hich gives the dissi)ated radiated energy 6uM
2
,y
integration ,y )arts Efrom 6
'''
multi)lied ,y uT F- referred to as %amours formula H1$I'
1
12 CH!TER U# ?SE EV2T(ON ?(TH
RD(T(ON
u
u
u
u

In a mechanical analog the dissi)ative radiation term 6

'''
is re)laced ,y
the dissi)ative viscous term
WuT
energy WuT
2
'
#ith W 9 0 a viscosity- #ith no# dissi)ated
In ,oth cases the model includes a dissi)ative mechanism descri,ing en!
ergy loss E,y radiation or viscosityF in the system- ,ut the model does not
descri,e #here the lost energy ends u)- since that #ould re:uire a model for
the rece)tor' 5he mechanical model has a direct )hysical re)resentation as a
forced vi,rating string su,Nect to a viscous dam)ing force WuT ' 5he
radiative model is to ,e vie#ed as a conce)tual model #ith radiative
dam)ing from
an A,raham!"orent2 recoil force 6
'''
'
9e shall see that the form of the dam)ing term determines the energy
s)ectrum- #hich thus is fundamentally different in the viscous and the ra!
diative case'
9e shall see that the e:uation modeling a vi,rating string #ith radia!
tive dam)ing can ,e used as a concrete mathematical model of universal
,lack,ody radiation #ith the coefficient 6 chosen ma7imal as reference' 9e
can vie# this model as concrete reali2ation o)en to analysis of the standard
conce)tual model as an em)ty cavity #ith the )ro)erty of a,sor,ing Eand
re!emittingF all incident radiation' By studying the model #e can e7)lore
as)ects of radiation including universality of ,lack,ody radiation'
4'' Basic .nergy Balance
Multi)lying E4'F ,y uT and integrating ,y )arts over a s)ace )eriod- #e o,tain
U U
EuMuT > uT
T
u
T
F
1*
6
'''
uT 1* ;
U
f uT 1*8
#hich #e can #rite
#here
E
T
; a r
E4'2F
U
2 T 2
EEtF
2
EuT E*8
tF
> u E*8 tF F 1* E4'$F
is the internal energy vie#ed as heat energy- and
U
aEtF ;
U
f E*8 tFuT E*8 tF 1*8 rEtF ;

6
'''
E*8 tFuT E*8 tF1*8
E4'1F
is the a,sor,ed and radiated energy- res)ectively- #ith their difference a r
driving changes of internal energy E'
2
in
U#"# $S(C RD(T(ON )ODE% 1$
Assuming time )eriodicity and integrating in time over a time )eriod- #e
have integrating ,y )arts in time-
U U U
R rEtF 1t ;
6uME*8 tF
2
1*1t 0 E4'%F
sho#ing the dissi)ative nature of the radiation term
'''
If the incoming #ave is an emitted #ave f ; 6
2
of am)litude 2 - then
U U
R
U U
Ef uT 6uM
2
F1*1t ;
6E2
M
uM uM
2
F 1*

ER
V
R
V
F8 E4'&F
#ith R
in
;
U U
62
M
2
1*1t the incoming radiation energy- and R the outgoing'
9e conclude that if EEtF is increasing- then
R
V
R
V
in
- that is- in order for
energy to ,e stored as internal6heat energy- it is re:uired that the incoming
radiation energy is ,igger than the outgoing'
+f course- this is #hat is e7)ected from conservation of energy' It can
also ,e vie#ed as a 2nd "a# of Radiation stating that radiative heat transfer
is )ossi,le only from #armer to cooler' 9e shall see this ,asic la# e7)ressed
differently more )recisely ,elo#'
(igure 4'= *tanding #aves in a vi,rating ro)e'
11 CH!TER U# ?SE EV2T(ON ?(TH
RD(T(ON

Cha)ter 0
*)ectral Analysis of Radiation
But the conce)tion of locali2ed light!:uanta out of #hich .instein got
his e:uation must still ,e regarded as far from esta,lished' 9hether
the mechanism of interaction ,et#een ether #aves and electrons has
its seat in the unkno#n conditions and la#s e7isting #ithin the atom-
or is to ,e looked for )rimarily in the essentially cor)uscular 5homson!
Planck!.instein conce)tion of radiant energy- is the all!a,sor,ing un!
certainty u)on the frontiers of modern Physics ERo,ert A Millikan in
The electron an1 the light.-uanta from the e*perimental point of /ie+-
8o,el "ecture- May 2$- 02$F'
0' Basic .nergy Balance R ; F
9e shall no# )rove a ,asic ,alance in stationary e:uili,rium ,et#een the
forcing F and the radiation- or more )recisley the ra1iance- R in the #ave
e:uation E4'F- #hich #e e7)ress as R ; F in the form=
U U U U
R 6uM
2
1*1t ;

f
2
1*1t f
2
F8 E0'F
#here 6 is a coefficient of emission inde)endent of f - assuming f
satisfies a certain condition of near resonance and #e assume time!
)eriodicity #ith
U
E
T
1t ; 0'
9e #ill ,elo# identify an EidealF ,lack,ody ,y the relation R ; f
2
-
thus ,y ; - and #e #ill find that the #ave model satisfying R ; f
2
#ith 6 thus as announced a,ove is a reali2ation of an ideal ,lack,ody'
1%
1& CH!TER F# S!ECTR% N%'S(S OF RD(T(ON
5 5
u
5 5
m
5
2
f

9e o,serve that ,ecause the radiance R cannot e7ceed the

forcing measured ,y f
2
as the ma7imal flu7 of incidient energy'
A ,lack,ody #ith ; #ill thus a,sor,6emit all incident energy #hile
the case : #ith )artial a,sor)tion6emission #ill re)resent a grey0o1y'
5he )rove E0'F #e first make a s)ectral decom)osition in *- assuming
)eriodicity #ith )eriod 2B=
uM > 5
2
u 6
'''
; f 8 : t : 8 5 ; 08 8 28 ###8
E0'2F
into a set of forced dam)ed linear oscillators #ith
uE*8 tF ;
5
m
Q
5 ;<5
m
u
5
EtFe
i5 *
8
#here 5
m
is a fi7ed ma7imal fre:uency and 65
2
: ' 9e then use (ourier
transformation in t-
U
X
u
5
EtF ;
<X
u
58Q
e
iQt
1Q8 u
58Q
;

U
X
2B
<X
u
5
EtFe
<iQt
1t8
to get- assuming u
E$F
can ,e re)laced ,y 5
2
uT
5
=
EQ
2
> 5
2
Fu
58Q
> iQ65
2
u
58Q
; f
58Q
#
9e have ,y Parseval3s formula-
u
5

U
X
U
X
|u
5
EtF|
2
1t ; 2B
<X <X
|u
58Q
|
2
1Q
U
X
; 2B
|f
58Q
|
2
1Q
E5 QF
2
E5 > QF
2
> 6
2
5
1
Q
2
<X
2B
U
X
|f
58Q
|
2
1Q 2B
U
X
|f
585 >65
2
QV
|
2
1QV

5
2
;
1E5 QF
2
> 6
2
5
1
65
1
<X <X
1QV
2
>
8
#here #e used the change of integration varia,le Q ; 5 > 65
2
QV '
9e no# assume as the definition of near.resonance- that
|f
58Q
|
2

2
B
2
5
for |5 Q|

B
8 E0'$F
1
5
5
5
2
5 5
m
F#"# $S(C ENERG' $%NCE R ; F 1/
#hich re:uires that |f
58Q
|
2
is small else- #here #e use to denote )ro)or!
tionality #ith constant close to ' 9ith this assum)tion #e get noting that
65
2
: -
u
2

f
2
that is-
5

65
1
5
8
R
5
6uM
2
65
1
u
2
6uT
5
5
2
; 6T
5
5
2
f
2
8 E0'1F
5 5 5
#here R
5
is the intensity of the radiated #ave of fre:uency 5 - and #e vie#
T
5
;

EuT
2
> 5
2
u
2
F uT
2
as the tem)erature of the corres)onding fre:uency'
2
5 5 5
5he constant of )ro)ortionality in R
5
f
2
is the emissi/ity denoted ,y
to give R
5
; f
2
'
9e note that is only #eakly de)endent on 6 and 5
Ethrough the near resonance conditionF- #hich means that #e can attri,ute
a certain emissivity close to one to the string and thus vie# the string #ith
radiation as model of an ideal ,lack,ody #ith ; '
*umming over fre:uencies recalling that R ; 2B
Q
R
5
and f
2
;
2B
Q
5
f
5
- #e get the desired energy ,alance E0'F=
U
2B
R ;
0
6uM
2
1* ;

U
2B
0
f
2
1* ; f
2
8 E0'%F
stating that the intensity of the total outgoing radiation R is )ro)ortional to
the intensity of the incoming radiation as measured ,y f
2
'
5he s)ectral analysis is )erformed #ith (ourier transformation in time
over the real line #ith t ranging from to ' A similar analysis can
,e done in the time!)eriodic case #ith integration in time over a )eriod'
9e collect results for ,oth cases in=
5heorem $'= 5he radiation R
5
of the solution u
5
of E0'4F satisfies R
5
;
6uM
2
; f
2
#ith 6 - if f
5
satisfies E0'$F and 65
2
: ' Accordingly-
the radiance R of the solution u of the #ave e:uation E4'F satisfies R ;
U U
6uM
2
1*1t ; f
2
F assuming
65
2
: #ith 5
m
a ma7imal fre:uency'
In the ne7t cha)ter #e make a connection to near!resonance in acoustics
a))earing in the tuning of a )iano #ith the three strings for each tone Ee7ce)t
the single string ,ass tonesF tuned #ith an offset of a,out 0#% <2- #ith the
effect of a longer sustain and singing :uality of the )iano' In this )ers)ective
the radiation of ,lack,ody is like the thick chord o,tained ,y )ressing all the
keys of a )iano'
14 CH!TER F# S!ECTR% N%'S(S OF RD(T(ON
5
5
(igure 0'= *ir James <' Jeans E4//!01&F and forced dam)ed oscillators
as electromagnetic circuit #ith ca)acitor EcondenserF- inductor and resistor-
and as mechanical system #ith s)ring- mass and viscous shock a,sor,er'
0'2 Rayleigh!Jeans "a#
9e read from E0'1F that
R
5
6uM
2
6T
5
5
2
8
E0'&F
#hich can ,e vie#ed to e7)ress Rayleigh!Jeans "a#- here as a direct con!
'''
seu:uence of the form of the radiation term 6 u ' 9e see that the radiation
energy increases linearly #ith tem)erature T
5
- at a given fre:uency= A hotter
string #ill emit more radiation energy'
5heorem $' gives the further information that if f
2
6T 5
2
- then
also R
5
6T 5
2
if T
5
T ' 5he emitted radiation #ill thus mimic an
incoming Rayleigh!Jeans s)ectrum- in thermal e-uili0rium #ith T
5
; T for
all fre:uen! cies 5 ' 9e shall ,elo# use this fact in an analysis of the
interaction ,et#een t#o ,lack,odies through a common force f ' 9e shall
,elo# motivate tem! )erature e:uili,ration as an effect of near!resonance'
Belo# #e #ill e7tend Rayleigh!Jeans "a# in the form R ; F to a Planck
"a# in the form R > H ; F #here H re)resents internal heating #ith a
tem)erature de)endent s#itch from outgoing radiation R to H '
5
5
5 5
u
5 5
5
0'$ Radiation from 8ear!Resonance
5he s)ectral analysis sho#s ho# radiation arises from a )henomenon of near!
resonance= .ach fre:uency f
5
of the incoming #ave f e7cites resonant vi,ra!
tions of the string #ith radiation R
5
; f
2
and tem)erature T
5
determined
,y R
5
; 6T
5
5
2
'
5he effect of the near!reonance #ith 6 small is that the solution u
5
#ill
,e nearly in.phase #ith f
5
- that is uT
5
is nearly out.of.phase #ith f
5
#ith
a )hase shift of a :uarter of a )eriod' 5his is to ,e com)ared #ith the case
6 not small E6 sayF #hen instead uT
5
#ill ,e in!)hase #ith f
5
'
Accordingly- the a,sor)tion f
5
uT
5
is much smaller- relatively
s)eaking- in the case of small dam)ing' More )recisley- #e have the
energy ,alance
o,tained ,y multi)lying E0'4F ,y uT
5
and integrating in time=
f
5
uT
5
; R
5
; f
2
8 E0'/F
even if uT
2
; f
2
;65
2
99 f
2
if 65
2
:: ' 5he effect can ,e seen in the force
5 5 5
,alance of the dam)ed harmonic oscillator
uM > 5
2
u 6
'''
; f 8 E0'4F
#here f
5
in the case 6 is not small is ,alanced mainly ,y the dam)ing force
'''
6 u
5
- and in the case 6 is small mainly ,y the oscillator' 5he Rayleigh!Jeans
"a# results from a non!trivial interaction of radiation #ith a ,ackground of
near!resonant vi,ration'
'''
*ince 6 is small- 6 u re)resents in one sense a small )ertur,ation of
the #ave e:uation- or a small dam)ing of the harmonic oscillator- ,ut this
is com)ensated ,y the third order derivate in the radiation term- #ith the
effect that the radiated energy is not small- ,ut e:ual to the incoming energy
2
measured ,y f

#ith '
0'1 5hermal .:uili,rium from 8ear!Resonance
9e have seen that the assum)tion T
5
; T of thermal e:uili,rium underlies
the formulation of the Rayleigh!Jeans "a# in the form R
5
; 6T 5
2
'
9e shall no# argue that thermal e:uili,rium can ,e seen as a
conse:uence of
near!resonance' 5he idea is that since T
5
uT
2
re)resents the internal en!
ergy of the oscillator of fre:uency 5 - near!resonance means that oscillators

5
of nearly the same fre:uency interact and interaction can ,e e7)ected to de!
crease differences in oscillator energy as a form of s)ectral diffusion and thus
tend to distri,ute energy evenly over different fre:uencies to#ards thermal
e:uili,rium'
9e shall see ,elo# that t#o ,lack,odies in radiative interaction #ill tend
to#ards thermal e:uili,rium of e:ual tem)erature ,y sharing a common force
f ' *imilarly- t#o different oscillators of a ,lack,ody of nearly the
same fre:uency 5 can ,e e7)ected to tend to#ards a common
tem)erature ,y sharing the forcce f
5
in near!resonance interaction '
0'% 5he Poynting Aector vs f
2
5he !oynting /ector E H of an electromagnetic field EE8 ) F #ith E
the electric and H the magnetic field- measures the energy flu7 of EE8 ) F-
#hich connects to our meaure of f
2
and f
2
as a measure of the energy
EintensityF of the forcing f ' 5his motivates the restriction in the
energy ,alance R ; f
2
since the a,sor)tion6emission cannot e7ceed the
electromagnetics energy flu7- and of course to definie a ,lack,ody ,y ;
e7)ressing that all incident energy is a,sor,ed6emitted'
(igure 0'2= 5he ultraviolet catastro)heof the Rayleigh!Jeans "a#'
F#J# THE !O'NT(NG SECTOR SS F
2
%
(igure 0'$= "ord Rayleigh E412!00F'
%2 CH!TER F# S!ECTR% N%'S(S OF RD(T(ON
Cha)ter 0
Acoustic 8ear!Resonance
.7am)les ''' sho# ho# difficult it often is for an e7)erimenter to
inter)ret his results #ithout the aid of mathematics' E"ord RayleighF
0' Radiation vs Acoustic Resonance
9e have seen that the Rayleigh!Jeans Radiation "a# e7)resses near!resonance
in a #ave model #ith dam)ing from a $rd order time derivative and #e no#
make a connection to acoustic resonance in string instruments modeled ,y a
#ave e:uation #ith viscous dam)ing from a st order time derivative'
0'2 Resonance in *tring Instrument
"et us illustrate the ,asic )henomenon of near!resonance in the acoustic
resonance of a string instrument modeled ,y the classical dam)ed harmonic
oscillator
#here
uT
uMEtF > 5
2
uEtF > 6uT EtF ; f EtF8 : t : 8 E0'F
;
1u
- uM ;
12u
- 5 is a given moderate to large fre:uency- 6 9 0 is
1t 1t
2
a dam)ing )arameter and f EtF is a )eriodic forcing' <ere f re)resents the
outgoing sound from a sound,oard Eguitar ,odyF and the dam)ing term the
force from a vi,rating string in contact #ith the sound,oard'
9e are interested in the outgoing sound Eforcing f F resulting from the
force interaction ,et#een the string Edam)ing 6uT F and the sound,oard
Eoscil! lator uM > 5
2
u F' 9e seek )eriodic solutions and measure the relation
,et#een
%$
%1 CH!TER "G# CO2ST(C NER.RESONNCE
R
6
E
;
F
the forcing and the dam)ing ,y the efficiency E ;
F
#ith
U U
F ; f
2
EtF 1t8 R ; 6uT
2
EtF 1t 8
E0'2F
#ith integration over a time )eriod' If the forcing f EtF is )eriodic #ith the
resonance fre:uency 5 - referred to as perfect resonance- then uT EtF ;

f
EtF-
#hich gives E ; 6 #ith
uT
in )hase #ith f EtF'
9e shall distinguish t#o ,asic different cases #ith the forcing f EtF
,al! anced ,y the harmonic oscillator term uMEtF > 5
2
uEtF and the
dam)ing term 6uT EtF in t#o different #ays=
' 6 #ith 6uT f EtF and |uMEtF > 5
2
uEtF| :: |f EtF|-
2' 65 : #ith |6uT EtF| :: |f EtF| and uMEtF > 5
2
uEtF f EtF-
#ith the case 2' re)resenting near!resonance #ith small dam)ing- as the case
of most interest' 9e shall define near!resonance at a given fre:uency 5 ,y
flat s)ectrum centered at 5 of #idth ' A s)ectrum of #idth 6 :: #ould
then corres)ond to shar) resonance E#ith 6 not very small this is sometimes
referred to as ,road resonanceF'
In case ' the dam)ing is large and the force f EtF is ,alanced ,y the
dam)ing 6uT EtF #ith
uT
in )hase #ith f EtF' In this case trivially E '
In case 2' #ith near resonance and small dam)ing- f EtF is ,alanced ,y
the oscillator #ith uT out!of!)hase #ith f EtF- and #e shall see that also in
this case E ' 5he case of near!resonance is to ,e com)ared #ith the
case of )erfect resonance #ith f EtF again ,alanced ,y 6uT - #ith no# uT
EtF in )hase and E ; 6'
If 6 is small there is thus a fundamental difference ,et#en the case of
near! resonance #ith E and the case of )erfect resonance #ith E ; 6
:: '
In a))lications to ,lack,ody radiation #e may vie# F as in)ut and R as
out)ut- ,ut it is also )ossi,le to turn this around vie# R as the in)ut and
F as the out)ut- #ith
R
re)resenting emissivity in the case of
near!resonance'
In the case of near!resonance the force f EtF is ,alanced mainly ,y the
e7cited harmonic oscillator #ith a small contri,ution from the dam)ing term-
#hich gives E '
In the case of )erfect resonance the oscillator does not contri,ute to the
force ,alance- #hich re:uires a large dam)ing term leading to small
efficiency'
"G#3# FO2R(ER N%'S(S OF NER.RESONNCE %%
5he a,ove discussion concerns time!)eriodic Ee:uili,riumF states attained
after a transient start!u) )hase- #ith the forcing no# F in!)hase #ith the
velocity uT - in contrast to out!of!)hase in e:uili,rium'
5he discussion in this note connects to a)ects of #ave vs )article modeling
of light and sound H20- %- &- 2$- 21- %I'
(igure 0'= A *tein#ay @rand Piano as a set of strings over a resonating
,oard'
0'$ (ourier Analysis of 8ear!Resonance
Although E0'F is a may,e the most studied model of all of )hysics- it
a))ears that the )henomenon of near!resonance has received little attention'
As a,ove #e use (ourier transformation in t of E0'F- #riting
to get
uEtF ;
U
X
uWEQFe
iQt
1Q8
#ith
<X

uWEQF ;
2B
U
X
uEtFe
<iQt
1t8
<X
EQ
2
> 5
2
FuWEQF > i6QuWEQF ; f
W
EQF#
%& CH!TER "G# CO2ST(C NER.RESONNCE
<X <X
9e then use Parseval3s formula- to seek a relation ,et#een the mean value
of u
2
EtF and f
2
EtF- assuming f
W
EQF is su))orted around Q ; 5 =
U
X
u
2

U
X
|uEtF|
2
1t ; 2B
U
X
|uWEQF|
2
1Q ; 2B
|f
W
EQF|
2
1Q
2 2 2 2
<X
2B
U
X
<X
|f
W
EQF|
2
1Q
<X
E5 QF E5 >
QF
2B
U
X
|f
W
E5 > 6QV F|
2
F
1QV
> 6 Q

5
2
;
1E5 QF
2
> 6
2
65
2
1QV
2
>
8
#here #e used the change of integration varia,le Q ; 5 > 6QV '
9e no# assume that |f
W
EQF|
2


f
2
for |5 Q|
B
as an e7)ression of
B
2
1
near!resonance- and that |f
W
EQF| is small else#here' 9ith this assum)tion
#e get
6uT
2
65
2
u
2

f
2
8
that is R F and thus E as
stated'
(igure 0'2= (ourier decom)osition of s:uare #ave'
0'1 A))lication to Acoustical Resonance
A musical string instrument consists in )rinci)le of a vi,rating string and a
resonating ,ody or sound,oard- #here #e model the resonator #ith in)ut
from the string- as the force f during start!u) and as a viscous force in
e:uli,rium'
In the case of near resonance in e:uili,rium the in)ut from the vi,rating
string is am)lified ,y the resonator to an efficiency inde7 E - #hile )erfect
resonance #ould give E :: - #ith small dam)ing'
During start!u) #e consider the forcing f to ,e given ,y the vi,rating
string E#ithout dam)ingF and acting in!)hase #ith the velocity
uT
thus is
)um)ing vi,rational energy from the string into the ,ody' +nce e:uili,rium
is reached- #e shift vie# and consider f as the out)ut from the ,ody- #hich
is sustained ,y a still vi,rating string generating the viscous force' 5his
mean that during ,oth start!u) and e:uili,rium the string vi,rates in!)hase
#ith the ,ody- ,y )um)ing energy into the ,ody during start!u)- and
sustaining the out)ut from the ,ody in e:uili,rium'
5he im)ortance of near!reonance forcing is #ell!kno#n to a )iano!tuner-
#ho tunes the three strings of a tone Ee7ce)t single stringed ,ass tonesF at
slightly different )itches Eof a,out 0#% <2F- #hich gives a longer sustain and
a singing :uality to the )iano'
0'% Com)utational Resonance
9e sho# in (ig' !% some com)utations #ith 6 ; 0#00- 5 ; 20 and 5 ;
00 #ith the follo#ing near!resonance forcing=
f EtF ;
%
Q
k;<%8k;0
k
sinEEn > FtF 0# E0'$F
0
starting #ith the intial data uE0F ; 0 and uT E0F ; % and com)uting for
t 9 0' 5he efficiency inde7 is com)uted as the mean value over the entire
time interval' 9e see as e7)ected from the (ourier analysis that the
efficiency inde7 E and that the forcing is out!of!)hase #ith the
dam)ing- as the main characteristics of near!resonance #ith small dam)ing'
(igure 0'$= .instein testing his theory of :uanta to the resonance of his ne#
Ra2or Atomic @uitar
'
(igure 0'1= Position * ; u- velocity / ;
uT
scaled time'
and forcing f #ith n ; 20 over
(igure 0'%= Position * ; u- velocity / ; uT and efficiency f ; E #ith n ;
20 over scaled time'
(igure 0'&= Position * ; u- velocity / ;
uT
and forcing f ; E #ith n ; 20
over ahort time' 8otice a time lag of a :uarter of a )eriod ,et#een
uT
forcing f - re)resenting out!of!)hase forcing'
and
(igure 0'/= Position * ; u- velocity / ;
uT
n ; 00 over scaled time'
and efficiency f ; E #ith
(igure 0'4= Position * ; u- velocity / ;
uT
over short time'
and forcing f ; E #ith n ; 00
Y
T
h
T
Cha)ter
Model of Black,ody
Radiation
Des)ite the great success that the atomic theory has so far enyoyed-
utimately it #ill have to ,e a,andoned in favor of the assum)tion of
continuous matter E#ave mechanicsF EPlanck 442F'
' (inite Precision Com)utation
9e #ill model the effect of com)uting solutions of the #ave e:uation #ith
finite )recision ,y @2 as a viscous force Y
2
uT
TT
#ith viscosity coefficient
Y
2
effectively limiting the resolution to a smallest coor1ination length Y
#ith corres)onding largest resolved fre:uency

'
9e shall choose Y ;
h
#here h is a fi7ed precision )arameter reflecting
atomic dimensions in the )hysical model and T is tem)erature' 5he high!
est fre:uency #hich can ,e re)resented as a coherent #ave motion is
thus
re)resented ,y
T
scaling #ith T - in accordance #ith ?ien,s 1isplacement
la+'
5he choice Y ;
h
reflects that finite )recision com)utation re:uires suffi!
cient variation of a #ave u over the coordination length Y to allo# coherent
emission- #ith sufficient variation e7)ressed as the condition |uT |Y 9

h
since
T

h|uT | as sho#n in the ne7t section'

As an illustration one may think ofCthe Me7ican #aveD around a stadium
#hich cannot ,e sustained unless )eo)le raise hands )ro)erlyG the smaller
the CliftD is E#ith lift as tem)eratureF- the longer is the re:uired coordination
length or #ave length'
5he viscosity introduces dissi)ation of energy of intensity Y
2
EuT
T
F
2
#hich
&$
&1 CH!TER ""# )ODE% OF $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
T
h
m
u
T
#ill sho# u) as a contri,ution to the internal heat energy E'
5he effect of the @2 viscosity from residual sta,ili2ation is restricted to
high fre:uencies leaving lo#er fre:uencies #ithout dissi)ation' Accordingly-
#e shall through a s)ectral decom)osition restrict Y to act only on high
fre:uencies 5 ,y setting Y ; 0 for |5 |
T
' +n the other hand- for |5 |
T
#e
#ill have 6 : Y
2
since 65
2
h
: and

;
T
h
: 5
m
- and #e #ill then effectively
m
Y h
set 6 ; 0 #hen Y ;
h
' 5he #ave e:uation #ith radiation #ill thus ,e su,Nect
to the follo#ing s#itch at
T
in a s)ectral re)resentation=
T
6 9 08 Y ; 0 if |5 |
h
8
h
6 ; 08 Y ;
T
T
if
h
: |5 | : 5
m
8
E'F
#here 65
2
: ' 5his is a shar) s#itch of dissi)ation from e7terior radia!
tion to internal heating for fre:uencies a,ove a certain threshold scaling #ith
tem)erature' 5he s#itch in actual @2 com)utation is less shar) #ith a con!
tinuous transition from e7terior radiation to internal heating over a certain
fre:uency ,and'
'2 Radiation and <eating
9e consider the #ave e:uation E4'F #ith radiation augmented ,y a viscosity
term acting in s)ace #ith coefficient Y
2
and an e:uation for internal heat
energy E=
uM u
TT
6
'''
Y
2
uT
TT
; f8 : *8 t : 8
U
E
T
; f uT
1*
U
6uM
2
1*8
: t
:
E'2F
8
#here Y ;
h
su,Nect to the s#itch E'F and #e define T

hE'
5he
de)endent varia,les in E'2F are thus u and E #ith the s#itch defined ,y
T
X
E
h

h
#here h is a fi7ed constant'
<ere E is the total internal heat energy as the sum of the internal energy
E
5
for each fre:uency defined ,y

2
2
2
E
5
;
2
EuT
5
> 5 u
5
F E'$F
h h
5
h h
5
T
u
h
5
""#3# !%NC& S R'%E(GH.@ENS ?(TH C2T.OFF &%
)lus a contri,ution from the finite )recision dissi)ation
U
Y
2
uT
T
1*1t' 9ith
2
E
5
T and the cut!off |5 | :
T
#e o,tain E
T
and accordanc #ith the
definition of T ;

hE'
'$ Planck as Rayleigh!Jeans #ith Cut!off
5heorem $' gives directly a Planck "a# as a Rayleigh!Jeans "a# #ith cut!
off=
R
5
ET F 6uM
2
6T 5
2
7
h
E58 T F E'1F
#here R
5
ET F ; R
5
; 6uM
2
#ith uT
2
; T '
5 5
T
7
h
E58 T F ; for |5 |
h
T
7
h
E58 T F ; 0 for |5 | 9
h
#
E'%F
9e com)are #ith Planck3s o#n version of the la#=
R
5
ET F ; 6T 5
2
7E58 T F8 6
;
#ith the e7)onential cut!off
2
8 E'&F
c
2
7E58 T F ;
h5
T
h5
e
T

8 E'/F
#here c is the s)eed of light in vacuum- and #e have normali2ed Bolt2mann3s
constant k to - #ith 7E58 T F for |5 | :
T
and 7E58 T F 0 for |5 | 9
0T
'
9e recall that the cutoff distance in terms of #ave length

is )ro)ortional
to

'
'1 Planck3s "a#= R > H ; F
?sing that the dissi)ative effects of 6
'''
and Y
2
uT
T
are similar- #e have ,y
the )roof of 5heorem of $' for fre:uencies #ith |5 | 9
T
H
5
Y
2
EuT
T
F
2
; f
2
and 6
=
E'4F
&& CH!TER ""# )ODE% OF $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
5
h
h
5
h
5 5
5
5
5
h
h
h
e7)ressing that the internal heating a,ove cut!off e:uals the the forcing' 9e
thus o,tain a ,alance of radiation and heating #ith forcing
R
5
> H
5
; f
2
for all 5 E'0F
or ,y summation
R > H ; f
2
F8
E'0F
#here H ;
U U
Y
2
EuT
T
F
2
1*1t and as a,ove R ;
U U
6uM
2
1*1t'
9e summari2e in the follo#ing formulation of Planck3s "a#=
5heorem 4'= 5he radiation R and heating H in the #ave e:uation E'2F
2
#ith forcing f and s#itch E'F satisfies R > H ; f

; F - #here R
5
;
6T 5
2
for |5 |
T
and H
5
; Y
2
T 5
2
for |5 | 9
T
#ith R
5
H
5
; 0- 6 and
uT
2
; T '
8ote that the a,sor)tion as the #ork done ,y force f on the velocity uT
e:uals ;
U U
f uT 1*1t #hich thus can ,e transformed into outgoing
radia!
tion R or internal heating H '
'% Connection to ?ncertainty Princi)le
9e no# make a connection ,et#een the finite )recision s#itch from radiation
to internal heating at 5 ;
T
and <eisen,erg3s ?ncertainty Princi)le' *ince
T ; uT
2
and uT
2
5
2
u
2
the s#itch can ,e #ritten uT
2
; h5 or u
2

5
- from
#hich follo#s ,y multi)lication
uT
2
u
2
h
2
8
E'F
5 5
#hich can ,e inter)reted as a variant of <eisen,erg3s ?ncertainty Princi)le=
5he smaller the am)litude |u
5
| Ethe )ositionF is- the larger must the velocity
|uT
5
| Ethe momentumF ,e- in order for a coherent #ave to ,e emitted6radiated'
'& *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a#
*umming over fre:uencies #ith |5 |
T
- #e o,tain the total radiation R as
R ; 2B
Q
Z5 Z:
T
6T 5
2
; AT
1
E'2F
$h
$
h
h h
h h
1T
1T
""#E# RD(T(SE (NTERCT(ON &/
#ith A
2B6
a constant' 5his is *tefan!Bolt2mann3s Radiation "a# #ith
A *tefan!Bolt2man3s constant' 5he total radiation of the ,lack,ody model
thus scales like T
1
#ith T the common tem)erature of all fre:uencies ,elo#
cut!off
T
'
'/ Radiative Interaction
9e no# consider the interaction of t#o ,lack,odies inde7ed ,y and 2
#ith solutions u

and u
2
of E'2F starting at different different tem)eratures
T

: T
2
at an initial time' 9e assume the ,odies interact ,y sharing a
common forcing f ' (or fre:uencies 5 #ith
T

: |5 | :
T
2
- #e have ,y the
a,ove analysis
R
285
6
2
uM
2
; f
2
; Y
2
EuT
T
F
2
H
85
# E'$F
5
#hich e7)resses a transfer of radiation energy R
285
into internal energy H
85
#ith a corres)onding increase of T

until T

; T
2
' (or fre:uencies 5 #ith
|5 | :
T

#e have R
85
; R
285
#hile fre:uencies #ith |5 | 9
T
2
cannot ,e
)resent #ithout additional e7ternal forcing' Planck3s "a# for t#o ,lack,odies
in radiative interaction can thus ,e e7)ressed as
R

> H

; R
2
> H
2
# E'1F
'4 <eat Ca)acity
9e have seen that E T
2
- #hich gives a heat ca)acity cET F
1E
T
#hich fits #ith e7)eriments for metals like co))er and silver for T : 200 B
and for diamond for & : %00 B- as sho#n in (ig' ''
9e com)are #ith an .instein!De,ye model #ith cET F ; aT > 0T
$
assum! ing 0 :: a'
5here is another #ay of determining the heat ca)acity of a ,lack,ody ,y
e:uating the energy content of the ,lack,ody #ith its emission R ; AT
1
-
#hich gives cET F ;
1R
T
$
as a )art of the .instein!De,ye model #ith
a :: 0'
&4 CH!TER ""# )ODE% OF $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
(igure '= <eat ca)acity'
""#F# RD(T(SE COO%(NG &0
'0 Radiative Cooling
If the forcing f is terminated then the ,lack,ody #ill start cooling according
to
U U
E
T
1t ; 6uM
2
1*1t ; R E'%F
#ith E defined ,y E4'$F' 9ith E T
2
and R T
1
- this gives assuming
f EtF ; 0 for t 9 0
EEtF ;

> C t
EE0F E'&F
#ith C a )ositive constant- and thus the follo#ing cooling curve

T EtF ; T E0FE > C tF

<
2
# E'/F
(or an individual fre:uency 5 #e have since E
5
; T
5
E
T
5
; R
5
65
2
T
5
; 65
2
E
5
E'4F
indicating a decay of E
5
; T
5
according to e7)E65
2
tF #ith faster decay for
higher fre:uencies' 5o maintain that T
5
; T for all 5 - re:uires near!
resonance #ith tendency to#ards thermal e:uili,ration'
8ote that #ith the version of *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# of statistical me!
chanics- the internal energy E is )ro)ortional to T Eand not T
2
as a,oveF-
#hich gives a some#hat different cooling curve

T EtF ; T E0FE > C tF

<
$
8 E'0F
#ith less ra)id decay #ith time' .7)eriments H10I a))ear to favor E'/F
,efore E'0F- see (ig' '2'
'0 Interaction ,y *hared (orce
8ote that #e consider the intercation of t#o ,lack,odies to ,e esta,lished
through a Enon!2eroF shared force f ' 5he a,ove case of cooling #ith f ;
0 thus re)resents an e7treme case #ith one the of the ,odies ke)t at 0 B'
5he normal case is thus f ; 0 descri,ed ,y Planck3s "a# as R > H ;
F #hich covers interaction of t#o ,lack,odies inde7ed ,y and 2 as R

> H

; R
2
> H
2
'
/0 CH!TER ""# )ODE% OF $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
h
;
h
;
h
h
(igure '2= .7)erimental cooling curve'
' @eneric 8ature of Black,ody
Consider t#o ,lack,odies la,eled and 2 descri,ed ,y the model E'2F
#ith different defining )arameters E6

8 h

F and E6
2
8 h
2
F #hich are
interacting ,y a shared force f ' *u))ose the interaction ,odies has
reached a state of radiative e:uili,rium at constant tem)eratures T

and
T
2
#ithout energy transfer ,et#een the ,odies' 5he cut!off fre:uency then
must ,e the same
for ,oth ,odies- that is
T

T
2
and for fre:uencies 5 ,elo# the common
2
cut!off Planck3s la# states that 6

5
2
; 6
2
T
2
5
2
- that is 6

T

; 6
2
T
2
'
9e conclude that 6

h

; 6
2
h
2
- #hich means that the t#o ,lack,odies
have the same effective )hysical )ro)erties- #ith the cut!off condition
T

T
2
2
coordinating the tem)erature scales of the ,odies'
5he #ave model E'2F thus descri,es a generic ,lack,ody defined ,y the
effective )arameter 6h- #hich connects radiative dam)ing to finite )recision'
5he model allo#s ,lack,odies #ith the same 6h to reach radiative e:uili,rium
#ith the same energy s)ectrum and cut!off fre:uency #ithout energy transfer
over fre:uencies'
5#o ,lack,odies #ith different 6h in radiative of e:uili,rium #ill have
different cut!off fre:uencies and energy ,alance then re:uires transfer of en!
m
u
5
2
""#"4# C2T.OFF $' RES(D2% ST$(%(>T(ON /
ergy over fre:uencies'
'2 Cut!+ff ,y Residual *ta,ili2ation
5he discreti2ation in @2 is accom)lished ,y residual sta,ili2ation of a @alerkin
variational method and may take the form= (ind u S
h
such that for all
/ S
h
U U
EEuF f F/ 1*1t >
Y
2
'''
EEuF f FES F 1*1t ; 08 E'20F
#here EuF ; uM u
TT
6 u and S is a )rimitive function to / E#ith S
T
;
/F- and S
h
is a a s)ace!time finite element s)ace continuous in s)ace and
discontinuous in time over a se:uence of discrete time levels'
<ere EuF f is the residual and the residual sta,ili2ation re:uires
Y
2
EEuF f F
2
to ,e ,ounded- #hich should ,e com)ared #ith the
dissi! )ation YuM
2
in the analysis #ith uM
2
,eing one of the terms in the
e7)ression EEuF f F
2
' (ull residual sta,ili2ation has little effect ,elo#
cut!off- acts like sim)lified sta,ili2ation a,ove cut!off- and effectively
introduces cut!off
to 2ero for |5 | 5 since then 6|
'''
| 65
2
|uT | ;
5
|uT | |uT |- #hich signifies
2
m
massive dissi)ation'
'$ Cordination "ength
(re:uencies ,elo# cut!off #ill ,e a,sor,ed and radiated as coherent #aves-
#hile fre:uencies a,ove cut!off #ill ,e a,sor,ed and transformed into inter!
nal energy in the form of incoherent #aves' #hich are not radiated' <igh
fre:uencies thus may heat the ,ody and there,y decrease the coordination
length and there,y allo# a,sor)tion and emission of higher fre:uencies'
/2 CH!TER ""# )ODE% OF $%C&$OD' RD(T(ON
Cha)ter 2
?niversal Black,ody
I had al#ays looked u)on the search for the a,solute as the no,lest
and most #orth #hile task of science'''' My original decision to devote
myself to science #as a direct result of the discovery #hich has never
ceased to fill me #ith enthusiasm since my early youth ! the com)re!
hension of the far from o,vious fact that the la#s of human reasoning
coincide #ith the la#s governing the se:uences of the im)ressions #e
receive from the #orld a,out usG that- therefore- )ure reasoning can
ena,le man to gain an insight into the mechanism of the latter' In this
connection- it is of )aramount im)ortance that the outside #orld is
something inde)endent from man- something a,solute- and the :uest
for the la#s #hich a))ly to this a,solute a))eared to me as the most
su,lime scientific )ursuit in life' EPlanckF
2' Birchhoff and ?niversality
Birchoff got hooked on an idea of universality of ,lack,ody radiation #ith
radiation only de)ending on tem)erature and fre:uency- inde)endent of the
com)osition of the emitting ,ody- an idea #hich he transferred to his student
Planck' (or a )hysicist #orking #ith ,ig ideas at the turn to modernity at
the end of the 0th century- universality as the incarnation of the a,solute
#as highly valued and thus attractive' But in the la,oratory Birchoff o,!
served different materials dis)laying different emission s)ectra #hich
#ere not sim)ly related to tem)erature changes and so seemed to contradict
uni! versality'
<o#ever- Birchhoff o,served that gra)hite #as s)ecial #ith a smooth
/$
/1 CH!TER "4# 2N(SERS% $%C&$OD'
s)ectrum #ith a distinct connection to tem)erature- and so the s)ectrum
of gra)hite #as chosen as model ,y Birchoff follo#ed ,y *tefan- 9ien and
Planck- ,ut the )ro,lem of universality of course remained' Birchhoff no#
asked if gra)hite could ,e eleveated to universiltyK
Birchhoff manufactured a ,o7 from gra)hite )lates into #hich he )laced
various radiating o,Nects and o,served the resulting radiation through a small
)ee) hole- through #hich radiation esca)ed' 5o his satisfaction Birchhoff
found that the the form of the radiation s)ectrum #as de)endent only on
tem)erature and fre:uency and not of the ,ody )ut into the ,o7- and so
found evidence of universality'
But Birchhoff could not re)roduce his results #ith a ,o7 #ith fully re!
flecting metallic #alls- since in this case the emitted s)ectrum de)ended on
the o,Nect )ut into the ,o7' Birchhoff then inserted a small )iece of gra)hite
into the )erfectly reflecting enclosure and again o,tained universality #ith
the gra)hite a))arently acting as DcatalystD to#ards universality'
9e shall no# analy2e Birchhoff 3s )rocedure for reaching universality'
9e shall then find that the gra)hite ,o7 is chosen as a reference ,lack,ody
as a )hysical ,ody characteri2ed ,y
tem)erature e:uili,ration Eall fre:uencies have the same energyF-
a,sor)tion of all incident radiation-
ma7imal high!fre:uency cut!off'
5he gra)hite ,o7 #ill then act as a reference thermometer measuring the
tem)erature of the ,ody )ut into the ,o7 as the tem)erature of the reference
,lack,ody in radiative e:uili,rium' 5he effect of the gra)hite #ould thus ,e
to e:uili,rate the radiation in fre:uency and to determine a ma7imal cut!off'
9e understand that this #ay universality is achieved ,y chosing a
s)ecific ,lack,ody as reference and then referring other ,odies to the reference
,ody' ?niverslity is thus achieved ,y chosing a certain universal standard
rather than o,serving that all ,odies radiate in the same #ay'
9e no# look into the details of this )rocedure #hich re)resents a form
of standari2ation rather than true universality'
"4#4# $%C&$OD' S CS(T' ?(TH GR!H(TE ?%%S
/%
(igure 2'= Model of ?niversal Black,ody'
2'2 Black,ody as Cavity #ith @ra)hite
9alls
(ig' 2' is used to convey the idea of universality of ,lack,ody radiation=
5he radiation s)ectrum from the cavity E#ith #alls of gra)hiteF o,served
through the )ee)!hole of the cavity- is o,served to only de)end on the tem!
)erature of the ,ody )laced in the cavity and not the nature of the ,ody'
Ouestions=
9hy is the model of a ,lack,ody a cavity #ith )ee)!holeK
9hat is the role of the gra)hite #alls of the cavityK
Planck3s "a# e7)resses the radiated energy EET 8 5 F of fre:uency 5 from
a ,lack,ody of tem)erature T as
EET 8 5 F ; 6T 5
2
8 E2'F
#here 6 is su))osed to ,e a universal constant- #hich is the same for all
,lack,odies inde)endent of their com)osition' But ho# can the radiated
energy ,e inde)endent of the )hysics of the radiating ,odyK
/& CH!TER "4# 2N(SERS% $%C&$OD'
h
T
Cha)ter $
Model of ?niversal Black,ody
Birchhoff formed a conce)tual model of a universal ,lack,ody as a cavity
#ith the )ro)erty of a,sor,ing all incident radiation' 9e shall no# see ho#
universality can ,e ca)tured in our #ave model #ith its a))arent de)endence
on the )air of coefficients E68 hF- ,y choosing a s)ecific )air E6V8 h
V
F as
reference or universal standard' 9e recall the elements of our #ave model=
2
tt
2
**
62
ttt
Y
2
2
**t
; f = force ,alance-
2
tt
2
**
= material force from vi,rating string #ith ? dis)lacement-
62
ttt
is A,raham!"orent2 Eradiation reactionF force #ith 6 a small
)ositive )arameter-
Y
2
2
**t
is a friction force acting on fre:uencies larger than the cut!off
fre:uency
T
and then contri,uting to internal heating-
Y ;
h
is a smallest coordination length #ith h a measure of finite
)recision-
T is the common energy6tem)erature of each vi,rating string fre!
:uency-
f is e7terior forcing'
+ue #ave e:uation as a ,lack,ody model is thus defined ,y the )air
of )arameters E68 hF- assuming the coefficients of the vi,rating string are
normali2ed to - #hich can ,e achieved ,y adNusting s)ace and time units'
9e shall no# sho# that E68 hF for a ,lack,ody $ effectively are determined
//
6
/4 CH!TER "3# )ODE% OF 2N(SERS% $%C&$OD'
,y the values E6V8 h
V
F of a chosen reference ,lack,ody $
V
#ith the )ro)erty
that
6V is ma7imal and h
V
minimal'
9e thus assume that 6 6V and h h
V
- #here 6V is a ma7imal
radiation coefficient and h
V
a minimal )recision )arameter and choose the
model #ith
ma7imal 6 and minimal h- that is 6 ;
6V
and h ; h
V
- to ,e the
reference
,lack,ody #hich #ill ,e used as reference thermometer'
Consider no# a ,lack,ody ,ody $ defined ,y E68 hF in radiative e:uili,!
rium #ith the reference ,lack,ody $
V
defined ,y E6V8 h
V
F ,y sharing a
common forcing f
V
; f ' Radiative e:uili,rium re:uires
6T ; 6VT
V
8
E$'F
#hich determines the tem)erature scale for $ as T ;
6V
T
V
' .ffectively-
#e
may then assume that 6 ; 6V ,y asking that T ; T
V
in radiative
e:uili,rium' If #e ask $ to have the same cut!off as the reference $
V
- #e
#ill then also have h ; h
V
'
9e may thus choose the model defined ,y E6V8 h
V
F as a model of a
univer! sal ,lack,ody #ith radiation only de)ending on tem)erature and
fre:uency e7)ressing universality of ,lack,ody radiation= All ,lack,odies
defined ,y 6 6V and h h
V
#ith 6h ; 6Vh
V
- #ill then have the same
radiation s)ectrum given ,y Planck3s la# as 6VT
V
5
2
'
By choosing
6V
ma7imal #e ensure that a ,lack,ody re)resents a refer!
ence of ma7imal a,sor)tion6emission to #hich a grey0o1y #ith less a,sor)!
tion6emission #ill ,e com)ared- as e7)anded ,elo#'
9e understand that the universality reflects the choice of the ,lack,ody
$
V
as universal thermometer- #hich thus can ,e seen as a concrete model
of
Birchhoff 3s conce)tual model in the form a cavity #ith gra)hite #alls'
5he role of gra)hite #alls- o,served ,y Birchhoff in his e7)eriments- is to
e:uili,rate the tem)erature over fre:uency- inde)endent of the o,Nect )laced
in the cavity- #hich is re:uired for universality' Birchhoff o,served that #ith
reflecting #alls this #as not achieved as the radiation s)ectrum sho#ed to
de)end on the nature of ,ody )laced in the cavity'
(or an introduction to classical #ork #ith an em)ty cavity as an a,stract
universal reference ,lack,ody- An Analysis of ?niversality in Black,ody Ra!
diation ,y P'M' Ro,itaille'
Cha)ter 1
Radiative <eat 5ransfer
.ither the :uantum of action #as a fictional :uantity- then the #hole
deduction of the radiation la# #as essentially an illusion re)resenting
only an em)ty )lay on formulas of no significance- or the derivation of
the radiation la# #as ,ased on sound )hysical conce)tion' EPlanckF
1' *tefan!Bolt2mann for 5#o Black,odies
Consider a ,lack,ody $

of tem)erature T

in radiative contact #ith another
,lack,ody $
2
of tem)erature T
2
#ith T
2
9 T

,oth modeled ,y E'2F and
sharing a common forcing f ' Consider $
2
to ,e a source of heat energy
#ith the forcing f ,alanced ,y radiation from $
2
according to Planck3s la#-
setting here for sim)licity h ; so that 5
T
; T =
5
; 6T
2
5
2
for
|
5
|
: T
2
8 f
5
; 0 else# E1'F
f
2 2
5he momentary total heating V
2
of $

,y $
2
through f is given ,y Planck3s
"a# as
V
2
;
Q
E6T
2
5
2
6T

5
2
F >
Q
6T
2
5
2
Z5 Z[T
6
$
1
6
1
T

:Z5 Z[T
2
$
6
1 1
E1'2F
that is-

$
ET
2
T

T

F >
$
ET
2
T
2
T

F ;
$
ET
2
T

F8
V
2
; AET
1
T
1
F #ith T
2
9 T

8 E1'$F
2
/0
40 CH!TER "=# RD(T(SE HET TRNSFER
2

#hich e7)resses *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# for the radiative heat transfer from
a one ,ody in radiative contact #ith a ,ody of lo#er tem)erature' 9e see
that the heat transfer has a contri,ution from fre:uencies ,elo# the cut!off
T

for $

as the difference 6ET
2
T

F5
2
and one contri,ution from
fre:encies a,ove T

as 6T
2
5
2
'
9e can vie# the *tefan!Bolt2mann "a# E1'$F as form of (ourier "a#
stating a )ositive rate heat transfer from a higher tem)erature T
2
to a lo#er
tem)erature T
2
' In differentiated form this la# can ,e e7)ressed as
V
2
1AT
$
ET
2
T

F for some T

: T : T
2
E1'1F
#hich mimics a (ourier "a# e7)ressing heat flo# as ,eing )ro)ortional to a
tem)erature gradient'
1'2 8on!Physical 5#o!9ay <eat
5ransfer
8otice the re:uirement in E1'$F that T
2
9 T

' In the literature one finds the
la# #ithout this re:uirement in the form
V
2
; AT
1
AT
1
8 V
2
; AT
1
AT
1
; V
2
E1'%F
2 2
#here V
2
is the heat transfer from $

to $
2
as the negative of V
2
'
5his form has led to a misinter)retation of *tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# as
e7)ressing heat transfer from $
2
to $

of si2e AT
1
,alanced ,y a transfer
AT
2
from $

to $
2
- as if t#o o))osing transfers of heat energy is taking
)lace ,et#een the t#o ,odies #ith their difference determining the net flo#'
*uch a misinter)retation #as antici)ated and countered in *tefan3s orig!
inal article H12I from 4/0=
The a0solute /alue the heat energy emission from a ra1iating 0o1y
can. not 0e 1etermine1 0y e*periment# n e*periment can only
1etermine the surplus of emission o/er a0sorption8 +ith the a0sorption
1etermine1 0y the emission from the en/ironment of the 0o1y'
Ho+e/er8 if one has a formula for the emission as a function of tem.
perature Olike Stefan.$olCmann,s %a+P8 then the a0solute /alue of the
emission can 0e 1etermine18 0ut such a formula has only a hypothetical
meaning'
"=#4# NON.!H'S(C% T?O.?' HET TRNSFER 4
*tefan!Bolt2mann3s "a# E1'$F thus re:uires T
2
9 T

and does not contain
t#o!#ay o))osing heat transfer- only one!#ay heat transfer from #arm to
cold' ?nfortunately the misinter)retation has led to a ficititious non!)hysical
D,ackradiationD underlying C O
2
glo,al #arming alarmism'
42 CH!TER "=# RD(T(SE HET TRNSFER
Cha)ter %
@rey,ody vs Black,ody
9e no# consider a grey,ody $ defined ,y the #ave model #ith E68 hF
and assume the tem)erature T of $ is cali,rated so that T ; T
V
in radiative
e:ui! li,rium #ith the reference ,lack,ody $
V
#ith ma7imal 6 and cut!off
Eminimal hF' .nergy ,alance can ,e e7)ressed as
6T ; \6VT E%'F
#here \ is a coefficient of a,sor)tivity of $- assuming ,oth ,odies follo#
Planck3s "a#'
9e ask a ,lack,ody to have ma7imal emissivity ; a,sor)tivity and
#e thus have \ and 6 6V reflecting that a ,lack,ody is has ma7imal
6V and cut!off'
A ,ody $ #ith 6 : 6V #ill thus ,e termed grey0o1y defined ,y the
coeffi! cient of a,sor)tivity
6
\ ; : E%'2F
6
V
and #ill have a coefficient of emissivity ; \'
A grey,ody $ thus interacts through a reduced force f ;

\f
V
#ith a
,lack,ody
$
V
#ith full force f
V
' 9e thus o,tain a connection through the
factor

\ ,et#een force interaction and a,sor)tivity'

5he s)ectrum of a grey,ody is dominated ,y the s)ectrum of a
,lack,ody- here e7)ressed as the coefficient \ ; : ' A grey,ody at a
given tem)era! ture may have a radiation s)ectrum of a ,lack,ody of lo#er
tem)erature as seen in the front )age )icture'
4$
41 CH!TER "J# GRE'$OD' SS $%C&$OD'
Cha)ter &
2nd "a# of Radiation
5here is only one la# of 8aturethe second la# of thermodynamic!
s#hich recognises a distinction ,et#een )ast and future more )rofound
than the difference of )lus and minus' It stands aloof from all the rest'
''' It o)ens u) a ne# )rovince of kno#ledge- namely- the study of or!
ganisationG and it is in connection #ith organisation that a direction
of time!flo# and a distinction ,et#een doing and undoing a))ears for
the first time' E.ddingtonF
Just as the constant increase of entro)y is the ,asic la# of the universe-
so it is the ,asic la# of life to ,e ever more highly structured and to
struggle against entro)y' EAaclav <avelF
&' Irreversi,le <eating
Radiative heating of a ,lack,ody is an irreversi,le )rocess- ,ecause the heat!
ing results from dissi)ation #ith coherent high fre:uency energy a,ove cut!off
,eing transformed into internal heat energy'
9e assume that the dissi)ation is only active a,ove cut!off- #hile the
radition is active over the #hole s)ectrum' Belo# cut!off radiation is a re!
versi,le )rocess since the same s)ectrum is emitted as a,sor,ed' (ormally-
the radiation term is dissi)ative and thus #ould ,e e7)ected to transform
the s)ectrum- and the fact that it does not is a remarka,le effect to the
resonance'
4%
4& CH!TER "D# 4ND %? OF
RD(T(ON
&'2 Mystery of 2nd "a#
5he 2nd "a# of thermodynamics has )osed a mystery to science ever since it
#as first formulated ,y Clausius in the mid 0th century- ,ecause it involve
the mysterious conce)t of entropy #hich is )ostulated to never decrease ,y
some mysterious mechanism'
In H22I I state and )rove a 2nd "a# of thermodynamics in terms of kinetic
energy- heat energy- #ork and tur,ulent dissi)ation- #ithout reference to
entro)y'
&'$ *tefan!Bolt2mann "a# as 2nd "a#
*imilarly- the ne# derivation of Planck3s and *tefan!Bolt2mann3s la#s of this
,ook )roves a 2nd la# for radiative transfer ,et#een t#o ,lack,odies #ithout
any reference to entro)y- #hich can ,e e7)ressed as follo#s
V
2
; AET
1
T
1
F if T

9 T
2
E&'F
2
#here T

is the tem)erature of the ,lack,ody and T
2
that of ,lack,ody 2-
assuming that T

9 T
2
- and V
2
9 0 is transfer of heat energy from to 2'
5he transfer of energy is thus from hot to cold'
5he e:uality E&'F is often #ritten in the form
V
2
; AT
1
AT
1
E&'2F
2
#ithout s)ecifying that T

9 T
2
and is then inter)reted as e7)ressing transfer
of heat energy of si2e AT
1
from to 2 and a transfer of AT
1
in the o))osite
2
direction from 2 to ' But this inter)retation lacks )hysical rationale and
results from a )urely formal alge,raic o)eration of s)litting the one term
in E&'F into the differenec of t#o terms in E&'2F' 5his is the origin of
the D,ackradiationD underlying climate alarmism #hich thus lacks )hysical
reality'
'

u
f
Cha)ter /
Reflection vs Black,ody
A,sor)tion6.mission
A ,lack,ody emits #hat it a,sor,s Ef
2
RF- and it is thus natural
to ask #hat makes this )rocess different from sim)le reflection Ee'g' f
f #ith f
2
f
2
FK 5he ans#er is that the mathematics6)hysics of
,lack,ody
'''
radiation f uM u
TT
6 - is fundamenatlly different from sim)le
reflection
f 5he string re)resenting a ,lack,ody is ,rought to vi,ration in
resonance to forcing and the vi,rating string string emits resonant radiation'
Incoming #aves thus are a,sor,ed into the ,lack,ody6string and then are
emitted de)ending on the ,ody tem)erature' In sim)le reflection there is no
a,sor,ing6emitting ,ody- Nust a reflective surface #ithout tem)erature'
4/
44CH!TER "E# REF%ECT(ON SS $%C&$OD' $SOR!T(ON;E)(SS(ON
Cha)ter 4
Black,ody as 5ransformer
of
Radiation
5he .arth a,sor,s incident radiation from the *un #ith a Planck fre:uency
distri,ution characteristic of the *un surface tem)erature of a,out %//4 B
and an am)litude de)ending on the ratio of the *un diameter to the distance
of the .arth from the *un' 5he .arth as a ,lack,ody transforms the incom!
ing radiation to a outgoing ,lack,ody radiation of tem)erature a,out 244 B-
so that total incoming and outgoing energy ,alances'
5he .arth thus acts as a transformer of radiation and transforms in!
coming high!fre:uency lo#!am)litude radiation to outgoing lo#!fre:uency
high!am)litude radiation under conservation of energy'
5his means that high!fre:uency incoming radition is transformed into
heat #hich sho#s u) as lo#!fre:uency outgoing infrared radiation- so that
the .arth emits more infrared radiation than it a,sor,s from the *un' 5his
increase of outgoing infrared radiation is not an effect of ,ackradiation- since
it #ould ,e )resent also #ithout an atmos)here'
5he s)ectra of the incoming ,lack,ody radiation from the *un and the
outgoing infrared ,lack,ody radiation from the .arth have little overla)-
#hich means that the .arth as a ,lack,ody transformer distri,utes incom!
ing high!fre:uency energy so that all fre:uencies ,elo# cut!off o,tain the
same tem)erature' 5his connects to the ,asic assum)tion of statistical me!
chanics of e-ui1istri0ution in energy or thermal e:uili,rium #ith one common
tem)erature'
In the a,ove model the a,sor,ing ,lack,ody inherits the e:uidistri,ution
of the incoming radition E,elo# cut!off F and there,y also emits an e:uidis!
40
00 CH!TER "U# $%C&$OD' S TRNSFOR)ER OF RD(T(ON
tri,uted s)ectrum' 5o ensure that an emitted s)ectrum is e:uidistri,uted
even if the forcing is not- re:uires a mechanism driving the system to#ards
e:uidistri,ution or thermal e:uili,rium'
Cha)ter 0
<ot *un and Cool .arth
0' .mission *)ectra
5he am)litude of the radiation6light emitted from the surface of the *un
at %//4 B #hen vie#ed from the .arth is scaled ,y the vie#ing solid angle
Escaling #ith the s:uare of distance from the *un to the .arthF- #hile the
light s)ectrum covering the visi,le s)ectrum centered at 0#% Wm remains the
same' 5he .arth emits infrared radiation Eoutside the visi,le s)ectrumF at
an effective ,lack,ody tem)erature of 2%% B Eat a height of % kmF- thus #ith
almost no overla) #ith the incoming *unlight s)ectrum' 5he .arth thus a,!
sor,s high!fre:uency reduced!am)litude radiation and emits lo#!fre:uency
radiation- and there,y acts as a transformer of radiation from high to lo#
fre:uency= Coherent high!fre:uency radiation is as,or,ed and dissi)ated into
incoherent heat energy- #hich is then emitted as coherent lo#!fre:uency
ra! diation'
5he transformation only acts from high!fre:uency to lo#!fre:uency- and
is an irreversi,le )rocess re)resenting a 2nd la#'
0
02 CH!TER "F# HOT S2N ND COO% ERTH
(igure 0'= Black,ody s)ectrum of the *un and the .arth'
h
T
Cha)ter 20
Black,ody Dynamics
20' Recollection of Model
9e no# study the dynamics of radiative transfer of heat energy ,et#een
t#o ,lack,odies' 9e recall our model for one ,lack,ody su,Nect to radiative
forcing as a #ave e:uation e7)ressing force ,alance=
2
tt
2
**
62
ttt
Y
2
2
**t
; f8 E20'F
#here here the su,indices indicate differentiation #ith res)ect to s)ace late**
and time late*t- and
2
tt
2
**
is out!of!e:uili,rium force of a vi,rating string #ith
dis)lace! ment 2 -
62
ttt
is the A,raham!"orent2 Eradiation reactionF force #ith 6 a
small )ositive )arameter-
Y
2
2
**t
is a friction force re)lacing the radiation reaction force for
fre:uencies larger than a cut!off fre:uency
T
and then contri,uting to
the internal energy-
Y ;
h
is a smallest coordination length #ith h a measure of finite
)recision-
T is the common energy6tem)erature of each fre:uency of the
vi,rating string-
0$
01 CH!TER 4G# $%C&$OD' D'N)(CS
tt *t
58t
58t
U
Y
2
2
2
so 2 ;
f is e7terior forcing'
5he model is s)ecified ,y the )arameters 6 and h' It is sho#n in ?niversality
of Black,ody Radiation that all ,lack,odies can ,e assumed to have the same
value of the radiation coefficient 6 and the cut!off E)recision hF- given as the
values of a chosen reference ,lack,ody #ith the )ro)erty that 6 is ma7imal
and h minimal'
9e have sho#n that stationary )eriodic solutions 2 satisfy the energy
,alance
#here
R > H ; F E20'2F
U U
R ; 62
2
1*1t8 H ;
U
Y
2
2
2
1*1t8 F ; f
2
1*1t8 E20'$F
#hich e7)resses that all incident radiation F is a,sor,ed and is either re!
emitted as radiation R or stored as internal energy from heating H #ith a
s#itch from R to H at the cut!off fre:uency' 9e here assume that all fre:uen!
cies have the same energy
U
2
2
1*1t- #here 2
5
is the am)litude of fre:uency
5 - and #e refer to the common value
U
2
2
1*1t ; T as the
tem)erature'
9ith dynamics the #ave e:uation EF e7)ressing force ,alance is com)le!
mented ,y an e:uation for the total energy E=
U
t
U
EEtF EE0F > R ;
0
f 2 1*1s E20'1F
e7)ressing that the change EEtF EE0F is ,alanced ,y the outgoing radiation
R and a,sor,ed energy from the forcing
U
f 2 1*1t- #here E ; e > #ith
e
the string energy and the internal energy as accumulated dissi)ated energy
*t
1*' .:uivalently- the change of the internal energy is given as EtF

E0F ; H ' 5he tem)erature T connects to E ,y T

hE- assuming
all
fre:uencies 2
5
of 2 have the same energy 2
2
; T - ,ecause e
Q
T and
2 T
2
58t
h
assuming is dominated ,y e'
58t 5 [
h
+ur model thus consists of E20'F and E20'1F com,ined #ith a mechanism
for e:uidistri,ution of energy over all fre:uencies'
20'2 Dynamic Radiative Interaction
"et us no# consider t#o ,lack,odies in radiative contact- one ,ody $ #ith
am)litude 2 sharing a common forcing f #ith another ,lack,ody
$
V
#ith
tt
4G#4# D'N)(C RD(T(SE (NTERCT(ON 0%
am)litude 2
V
- modeled ,y the #ave e:uation=
2
tt
2
**
62
ttt
Y
2
2
**t
; f ; 2
V
tt
2
V
**
62
V
ttt
Y
2
2
V
**t
U
E
t
> R ;
U
E
V
t
> R
V
;
f 2
1*1t8
f 2
V
1*1t#
E20'%F
5his system descri,es the dynamic interaction of $ and $
V
- #ith given
initial values of 2 - 2
t
and E for $ and the same for $
V
'
In dynamic interaction different fre:uencies #ill have different times
scales and thus to maintain that all fre:uencies have the same tem)erature
some mechanism to this effect #ill have to ,e adNoined to the model' 9e
may think of this effect as a form of diffusion acting on fre:uencies'
9e com)are #ith the case of acoustic dam)ing #ith an acoustic dam)ing
term of the form W2
t
in #hich case all fre:uencies #ill have the same dam)!
ing and thus #ell tem)ered distri,utions #ill ,e )reserved under dynamic
interaction' Recall that a )iano as a ,lack,ody #ith acoustic dam)ing is
isotem)ered in the sense that the sustain of different tones is the same'
"et us no# see #hat the model tells in different ,asic cases=
20'2' Both ,elo# cut!off
"et us no# consider the ,asic case of interaction #ith all fre:uencies ,elo#
cut!off for ,oth $ and
dam)ed #ave e:uation
$
V
' 5he difference ? ; 2
2
V
then satisfies the
?
tt
?
**
6?
ttt
; 08 E20'&F
#hich u)on multi)lication ,y ?
t
and integration in s)ace and time gives for
t 9 0 Emodulo t#o terms from integration ,y )arts in time #ith small effect
if the time scale is not shortF=
#here
GEtF ; GE0F
U

U
t
U
0
6?
2
1*1s8 E20'/F
GEtF ; E?
2
> ?
2
F1*# E20'4F
2
t *
0& CH!TER 4G# $%C&$OD' D'N)(CS
It follo#s that GEtF decays in time #hich effectively means e:uili,ration in
energy #ith a transfer of energy from the #armer to the colder ,ody'
5he effect of the dissi)ative radiation term E62
ttt
F is that the difference
in energy Eand thus tem)eratureF ,et#een the t#o ,odies decreases #ith
time= .nergy is transferred from the #armer to the colder ,ody' 9e have
thus )roved a 2nd "a# as an effect of dissi)ative radiation'
20'2'2 +ne ,elo# one a,ove cut!off
(or fre:uencies ,elo# cut!off for $ and a,ove cut!off for $
V
- assuming $
is
the #armer- the model sho#s a transfer from R into
H
V
on $
V
as a result of the energy ,alance R > H ;
R
V
> H
V
late*R
V
; 0'
20'2'$ Both a,ove cut!off
5his is analogous to case '
#ith a heating effect
#ith late*H ; 0 and
h
T
Cha)ter 2
5he Photoelectric .ffect
2' 8o,el Pri2e to .instein
.instein #as a#arded the 8o,el Pri2e in 02$ for Dthe discovery of the la#
of the )hoto!electric effectD=
h5 ; ? > !8 E2'F
#here here h is Planck3s constant- & 9 0 is the kinetic energy of an electron
eNected ,y incident light of fre:uency 5 on a surface and ? is the
energy re:uired to release the electron from the surface' .instein #as
e7)licitely not a#arded the Pri2e for his derivation of la# ,ased on light as
a stream of )articles'
9e see that .instein3s la# defines a cut!off6s#itch at fre:uency
?
,elo#
#hich no electrons #ill ,e eNected' 9e see here a connection to the s#itch at
h
from radiation to internal heating in our radiation model= In ,oth cases
the energy of incident light #ith fre:uency a,ove the cut!off is a,sor,ed and
transformed into a different form of energy'
9e shall ,elo# derive the la# of )hotoelectricity from a model analo!
gous to the radiation model and thus counter the reservations of the 8o,el
Commitee'
2'2 5he )hotoelectric effect I
5he .instein model of the )hotoelectric effect Estudied e7)erimentally ,y
<ert2 in 44& and "enard H/I in 002F- #hich .instein )resented on three
0/
04 CH!TER 4"# THE !HOTOE%ECTR(C EFFECT
)ages in one of his five famous 00% )a)ers H&I earning him the 8o,el Pri2e
in 02- has the sim)le form
& > ? ; h58
#here & is the kinetic energy of an electron eNected ,y light of fre:uency 5
hitting a surface and ? 0 is the energy re:uired to release the electron
from the surface' In )articular- there is a threshold fre:uency 5
crit
; ?;h
,elo# #hich no electrons #ill ,e emitted' .instein motivated his model
sim)ly ,y vie#ing light of fre:uency 5 as a stream of )article!like )hotons
of energy h5 - each of #ill ,e a,sor,ed ,y an atom and eNect an electron of
kinetic energy & ; h5 ? if h5 ? - #hile it #ill ,e reflected
#ithout eNection other#ise'
5he )rediction that the kinetic energy & #ould scale linearly #ith the
fre:uency Emodulo the shift ? F #as confirmed in e7)eriments in 0& ,y
Millikan in the Ryerson "a,oratory at the ?niversity of Chicago E)resently
a cite of (inite .lement Center and (.niC*F' 5his e7)eriment #as received
as a convincing )roof of the e7istence of )hotons- al,eit Millikan had set
u) the e7)eriment in order to dis)rove the )hoton conce)t- #hich he did
not ,elieve in= C#hile .instein3s )hotoelectric e:uation #as e7)erimentally
esta,lished''' the conce)tion of locali2ed light!:uanta out of #hich .instein
got his e:uation must still ,e regarded as far from ,eing esta,lished'D
Millikan3s success #as a,ove all attri,uta,le to an ingenious device he
termed Da machine sho) in vacuo'D A rotating shar) knife- controlled from
outside the evacuated glass container ,y electromagnetic means- #ould clean
off the surface of the metal used ,efore e7)osing it to the ,eam of monochro!
matic light' 5he kinetic energy of the )hotoelectrons #ere found ,y mea!
suring the )otential energy of the electric field needed to sto) them ! here
Millikan #as a,le to confidently use the uni:uely accurate value for the charge
e of the electron he had esta,lished #ith his oil dro) e7)eriment'
Ironically- it #as Millikan3s e7)eriment #hich convinced the
e7)erimentalist! inclined committee in *tockholm to give the 02 8o,el
Pri2e in )hysics to .instein- #hile Millikan received it in 02$ for his #ork
on the elementary electric charge- and the )hotoelectric effect'
In 0%0- at age 42- Millikan conceeded in his Auto,iogra)hy- in Cha)ter
0 entitled The E*perimental !roof of the E*istence of the !hoton . Einstein,s
!hotoelectric E-uation = D5he e7)eriment )roved sim)ly and irrefuta,ly-
I thought- that the emitted electron that esca)es #ith the energy h5 gets
that
4"#4# THE !HOTOE%ECTR(C EFFECT ( 00
(igure 2'= 5he motivation of the 02 8o,el Pri2e to .instein= (or his
services to theoretical )hysics- in )articular for his discovery of the la# of
the )hotoelectric effect & > ? ; h5 Eand in )articular not his
derivation ,ased on light )articles- #hich the 8o,el Committee reNectedF'
00 CH!TER 4"# THE !HOTOE%ECTR(C EFFECT

| |
form
ZuT
5
Z
energy ,y the direct transfer of h5 units of energy from the light to the
electron- and hence scarcely )ermits of any other inter)retation than that
#hich .instein had originally suggested- namely that of the semi!cor)uscular
or )hoton theory of light itself'D In the end- Millikan thus seemed to have
re!imagined the com)le7 )ersonal history of his s)lendid e7)eriment to fit
the sim)le story told in so many of our )hysics te7t,ooks- ,ut it a))ears
that Millikan #as never really convinced- may,e Nust getting old '''
*u))ose no#- follo#ing Millikan3s reservations to )hotons- that #e seek
to model )hotoelectricity in the a,ove #ave model' 5his can readily ,e done
,y a fre:uency de)endent non!linear viscosity in a model of the
follo#ing form after s)ectral decom)osition E#ith for sim)licity W ; \ ; 0F=
''' '''
uM
5
> 5
2
u
5
6 u
5
> Y
2
Eu
5
F u
5
; f
5
8
E2'2F
#here the viscosity coefficient Y
2
Eu
5
F is given as
Y
2
Eu
5
F ; \ET
5
FEh
|
uM
5
|
? F
>
|uT
5
|
#ith \ET
5
F some )ositive coefficient' and /
>
; ma7E/8 0F' 5he factor Y
2
Eu
5
F
#ould then corres)ond to the kinetic energy of eNected electrons )er unit
incident intensity f
2
- #ith a threshold h5 ? 0 since
ZuM
5
Z
5 '
ZuT
5
Z
9e see that YEu
5
F 9 0 models eNection under a threshold condition of the
Zu
5
Z
?;h- #hich reflects a certain Drelative shar)nessD of the
a,sor,ed #ave corres)onding sim)ly to its fre:uency' In )ractice- ultraviolet
light of #avelength 0
<&
#ill ,e a,le to eNect electrons ,ut not infrared
light of #ave!length 0
<1
# But even ultraviolet light has a #ave!length
much larger
than the atomic scale- so eNection must ,e a )henomenon on a larger scale
than atomic scale- )ossi,ly a result of su)er)osition of large and small scale
#avesK
9e can thus model )hotoelectricity as a dissi)ative effect acting for fre!
:uencies a,ove a certain threshold- similar to the com)utational dissi)ation
discussed a,ove'
It thus #ould a))ear that it is )ossi,le to set u) a very sim)le model for
the )hotoelectric effect again #ithout any statistics' RightK
u
5
EtF|
5
4"#3# RE)R& ON S(SCOS(T' )ODE%S 0
2'$ Remark on Aiscosity Models
Dissi)ative effects de)ending on high fre:uencies can ,e modeled ,y viscosity
terms in force ,alance e:uations de)ending on different derivatives of the
state varia,le' In several cases of ,asic im)ortance including tur,ulence and
radiation- the viscosity coefficients are small #hich results in states #ith a
range of fre:uencies from small to large' In these cases mean!values of the
state have a #eak de)endence on the a,solute si2e of the small viscosity-
#hich allo#s accurate modeling #ithout kno#ing the details of the viscous
effect- only that the viscosity coefficient is small' 5his DmiracleD results
from a su,tle )henomenon of cancellation in fluctuating states- and allo#s
com)utational simulation of e'g' tur,ulence #ithout resolving the details of
the tur,ulent flo#'
2'1 5he Photolelectric .ffect II
As a model of the )hotoelectric effect consider a #ave e:uation model of the
form
#here
uM > u
TT
6
'''
EY
2
EuFuT
T
F
T
; f8 E2'$F
Y
2
EuFuT
T
E*8 tF ;
Q
\ET FEh
|uT
T
? F
>
uT
T
e
i5 *
#
5
|uT
5
EtF|
02 CH!TER 4"# THE !HOTOE%ECTR(C EFFECT
Cha)ter 22
5he Com)ton .ffect
22' 5he Com)ton .ffect
I
5he one o,servation ,elieved to demonstrate the )hoton theory most con!
vincingly is the effect discovered 02$- again in the Ryerson "a,oratoy at
the ?niversity of Chicago- ,y Arthur Com)ton E402!0&2F #hile investi!
gating the scattering of Y!rays' Com)ton o,served that incoming light of
fre:uency of a certain fre:uency 5 could eNect electrons and at the same
time ,e scattered into light of a lo#er fre:uency W : 5 #ith the change in
fre:uency corres)onding to the kinetic energy of the eNected electrons- as!
suming the electrons #here the outmost electrons of car,on atoms #ith ?
com)aratively small' 5his red!shift is called the Com)ton effect'
Can #e alternatively model the Com)ton effect in the a,ove modelK Les-
it seems so= In the a,ove ]!model high!fre:uency #aves are a,so,ed and eNect
electrons according to the .instein3s formula- #hile lo#!fre:uency #aves #ill
,e a,sor,ed and radiated' .vidently- this could ,e vie#ed as a red!shift in
radiated #aves- if #e assume multi)le fre:uencies of incoming light'
22'2 5he Com)ton .ffect II
9e could alternatively set u) a model #ith direct shift in fre:uency of the
form=
uM
5
> 5
2
u
5
> ]Eu
5
FuT
5
> uM
W
; f
5
8 E22'F
0$
2
01 CH!TER 44# THE CO)!TON EFFECT
'''
uM
W
> W u
W
6 u
W
> uM
5
; 08
E22'2F
reflecting a Ct#o!,ody )ro,lemD #ith t#o cou)led ,odies of different eigen!
fre:uencies 5 9 W'
Bi,liogra)hy
HI J' <offman and C' Johnson- Computation Tur0ulent (ncompressi0le Flo+-
*)ringer 2004'
H2I J' <offman and C' Johnson- Computational Thermo1ynamics-
h tt)=66###'nada'kth'se6c g Noh6a m ,sthermo' ) df
H$I C' Johnson- Many!Minds Ouantum Mechanics- Icarus iBooks- 20'
H1I C' Johnson- Many!Minds Relativity- Icarus iBooks- 20'
H%I Ma7 Planck- Acht Aorlesungen uM,er 5heoretische Physik- (uMnfte Aor!
lesung= 9Marmestrahlung und .lektrodynamische 5heorie- "ei)2ig- 00'
H&I A' .instein- +n a <euristic Poimt of Aie# 5o#ard the .mission and
5ransformation of "ight- Ann' Phys' /- $2- 00%'
H/I P' "enard- Ann' Phys' 4- 002'
H4I '''Mechanically- the task seems im)ossi,le- and #e #ill Nust have to get
used to it E:uantaF EPlanck 000F'
H0I I consider it :uite )ossi,le that )hysics cannot ,e ,ased on the field
conce)t- i'e'- on continuous structures' In that case- nothing remains of
my entire castle in the air- gravitation theory included- and of the rest of
)hysics' E.instein 0%1F
H0I *ince the theory of general relativity im)lies re)resentations of )hysical
reality ,y a continuous field- the conce)t of )articles or material )oints
cannot have a fundamental )art- nor can the conce)t of motion' E.insteinF
0%
0& $($%(OGR!H'
HI Lou ,elieve in the @od #ho )lays dice- and I in com)lete la# and order
in a #orld #hich o,Nectively e7ists- and #hich I- in a #ild s)eculative #ay-
am tryin to ca)ture' I ho)e that someone #ill discover a more realistic
#ay- or rather a more tangi,le ,asis than it has ,een my lot to find' .ven
the great initial success of Ouantum 5heory does not make me ,elieve
in the fundamental dice!game- although I am #ell a#are that younger
collegues inter)ret this as a conse:uence of senility' 8o dou,t the day
#ill come #hen #e #ill see those instictive attitude #as the correct one'
E.instein to Born- 011F
H2I *ome )hysicists' among them myself- cannot ,elieve that #e must a,an!
don- actually and forever- the idea of direct re)resentation of )hysical re!
ality in s)ace and timeG or that #e must acce)t then the vie# that events
in nature are analogous to a game of chance' E.instein- +n Ouantum
Physics- 0%1F
H$I If @od has made the #orld a )erfect mechanism- <e has at least conceded
so much to our im)erfect intellects that in order to )redict little )arts of
it- #e need not solve inumera,le differential e:uations- ,ut can use dice
#ith fair success' EBorn- on Ouantum PhysicsF
H1I 5he theory E:uantum mechanicsF yields a lot- ,ut it hardly ,rings us
closer to the secret of the +ld +ne' In any case I am convinced that He
does not thro# dice' E.instein to Born 02&F
H%I A' .instein- +n a <euristic Point of Aie# 5o#ard the .mission and
5ransformation of "ight- Ann' Phys' /- $2- 00%'
H&I .instein= ( consi1er it -uite possi0le that physics cannot 0e 0ase1 on
the fiel1 concept8 i#e#8 on continuous structures# (n that case8 nothing
remains of my entire castle in the air8 gra/itation theory inclu1e18 an1
of the rest of physics' E.instein 0%1F
H/I *hut u) and calculate' EDirac on :uantum mechanicsF
H4I 5he more success the :uantum theory has- the sillier it looks' E.insteinF
H0I C' Johnson- Com)utational Black,ody Radiation- in Slaying the Sky
Dragon: Death of the Greenhouse Gas Theory- *tair#ays Press- 200'
$($%(OGR!H' 0/
H20I C' Johnson- Com)utational Black,ody Radiation- Icarus eBooks- 20-
h tt)=66###'nada'kth'se6c g Noh6a m ,s,la c k' ) df '
H2I J' <offman and C' Johnson- Computation Tur0ulent (ncompressi0le
Flo+- *)ringer 2004'
H22I J' <offman and C' Johnson- Computational Thermo1ynamics-
h tt)=66###'nada'kth'se6c g Noh6a m ,sthermo' ) df
H2$I 5homas Buhn- Black!Body 5heory and the Ouantum Discontinuity-
401!02- +7ford ?niv Press 0/4'
H21I Millikan- R A- A Direct Photoelectric Determination of Plancks h- Phys!
ical Revie# /- $%%!$44- 0&= CIt #as in 00% that .instein made the
first cou)ling of )hoto effects and #ith any form of :uantum theory ,y
,ringing for#ard the ,old- not to say reckless- hy)othesis of an electro!
magnetic light cor)uscle of energy h- #hich energy #as transferred u)on
a,sor)tion to an electron' 5his hy)othesis may #ell ,e called reckless-
first ,ecause an electromagnetic distur,ance #hich remains localised in
s)ace seems a violation of the very conce)tion of an electromagnetic dis!
tur,ance- and second ,ecause it flies in the face of the thoroughly esta,!
lished facts of interference'''' if the e:uation ,e of general validity- then
it must certainly ,e regarded as one of the most fundamental and far
reach! ing of the e:uations of )hysicsG for it must govern the
transformation of all short!#ave!length electromagnetic energy into
heat energy' Let the semi!cor)uscular theory ,y #hich .instein arrived
at his e:uation seems at )resent to ,e #holly untena,le ''' '''a
modification of Planck3s latest idea seems to me a,le to account for
all the relations thus far kno#n ,et#een cor)uscular and ethereal
radiations If any )articular fre:uency is incident u)on Ha su,stance
containing oscillators of every conceiva,le fre:uencyI the oscillators in it
#hich are in tune #ith the im)ressed #aves may ,e assumed to a,sor, the
incident #aves until the energy content as reached a critical value #hen
an e7)losion occurs and a cor)uscle is shot out #ith an energy h 'It is
to ,e ho)ed that such a theory #ill soon ,e sho#n to ,e also
reconcila,le #ith the facts of ,lack ,ody radiation'
H2%I *chrodinger- 5he Inter)retation of Ouantum Physics' +7 Bo# Press-
9ood,ridge- C8- 00%=C9hat #e o,serve as material ,odies and forces
are nothing ,ut sha)es and variations in the structure of s)ace' Particles
04 $($%(OGR!H'
are Nust schaumkommen Ea))earancesF' ''' "et me say at the outset- that
in this discourse- I am o))osing not a fe# s)ecial statements of :uantum
)hysics held today E0%0sF- I am o))osing as it #ere the #hole of it- I am
o))osing its ,asic vie#s that have ,een sha)ed 2% years ago- #hen Ma7
Born )ut for#ard his )ro,a,ility inter)retation- #hich #as acce)ted ,y
almost every,ody'
H2&I CI don3t like it- and I3m sorry I ever had anything to do #ith itD' E.r#in
*chrodinger talking a,out Ouantum PhysicsF
H2/I (ritNof Ba)ra- 0/%= CA careful analysis of the )rocess of o,servation
in atomic )hysics has sho#n that the su,atomic )articles have no mean!
ing as isolated entities- ,ut can only ,e understood as interconnections
,et#een the )re)aration of an e7)eriment and the su,se:uent measure!
ment' Ouantum )hysics thus reveals a ,asic oneness of the universe' 5he
mathematical frame#ork of :uantum theory has )assed countless suc!
cessful tests and is no# universally acce)ted as a consistent and accurate
descri)tion of all atomic )henomena' 5he ver,al inter)retation- on the
other hand- i'e' the meta)hysics of :uantum )hysics- is on far less solid
ground' In fact- in more than forty years )hysicists have not ,een a,le to
)rovide a clear meta)hysical modelD'
H24I "am,- 9illis . Jr'- Anti)hoton- A))lied Physics B &0- //!41 E00%F
H20I *hankland- R *- An a))arent failure of the )hoton theory of scattering-
Physical Revie# 10- 4!$ E0$&F
H$0I *te)hen <a#king- 044= CBut may,e that is our mistake= may,e there
are no )article )ositions and velocities- ,ut only #aves' It is Nust that #e
try to fit the #aves to our )reconceived ideas of )ositions and velocities'
5he resulting mismatch is the cause of the a))arent un)redicta,ility'
H$I Arthur C' Clarke=DIf a scientist says that something is )ossi,le he is
almost certainly right- ,ut if he says that it is im)ossi,le he is )ro,a,ly
#rongD'
H$2I C*chrodinger3s )oint of vie# is the sim)lestG he thought that ,y his
devel)oment of de Broglie3s #save mechanics the #hole )ardo7ical )ro,!
lem of the :uanta had ,een settled= there are no )articles- no 3:uantum
$($%(OGR!H' 00
Num)s3Z there are only #aves #ith their #ell!kno#n vi,rations- charac!
teri2ed ,y integral num,ers' 5he )articles are narro# #ave!)ackets' 5he
o,Nection is that one generally needs #aves in s)aces of many diemnsions-
#hich are something entirely different from the #aves of classical )hysics-
and im)ossi,le to visuali2eD EBorn in the Born!.instein "ettersF
H$$I *chrodinger #as- to say the least- as stu,,orn as .instein in his conser!
vative attitude to#ards :uantum mechanicsG indeed- he not only reNected
the statitical inter)retation ,ut insisted that his #ave mechanics meant a
return to a classical #ay of thinking' <e #ould not acce)t any o,Nection to
it- not even the most #eighty one- #hich is that a #ave in $n!dimensional
s)ace- such as needed to descri,e the n- is not a classical conce)t and
cannot ,e visuali2ed' EBorn in the Born!.instein "ettersF
H$1I D9hat #anted to say #as Nust this= In the )resent circumstances the
only )rofession I #ould choose #ould ,e one #here earning a living had
nothing to do #ith the search for kno#ledgeD' E.instein3s last letter to
Born Jan / 0%% shortly ,efore his death on the 4th of A)ril- )ro,a,ly
referring to Born3s statistical inter)retation of :uantum mechanicsF'
H$%I CDe Broglie- the creator of #ave mechanics- acce)ted the results of :uan!
tum mechanics Nust as *chrModinger did- ,ut not the statistical inter)re!
tation'D EBorn in the Born!.instein "ettersF
H$&I CI cannot understand ho# you can com,ine an entirely mechanistic uni!
verse #ith the freedom of the ethical #illD' EBorn in the Born!.instein
"ettersF
H$/I CAt any moment- the kno#ledge of the o,Nective #orld is only a crude
a)! )ro7imation from #hich- ,y a))lying certain rules such as the
)ro,a,ility of :uantum mechanics- #e can )redict unkno#n Ee'g' futureF
conditionsD EBorn in the Born!.instein "ettersF
H$4I It seems to me that the conce)t of )ro,a,ility is terri,ly mishandled
these days' A )ro,a,ilistic assertion )resu))oses the full reality of its
su,Nect' 8o reasona,le )erson #ould e7)ress a conNecture as to #hether
Caesar rolled a five #ith his dice at the Ru,icon' But the :uantum me!
chanics )eo)le sometimes act as if )ro,a,ilistic statements #ere to ,e
a))lied Hust to events #hose reality is vague' E*chrodinger in a letter to
.instein 0%0F
0 $($%(OGR!H'
H$0I 5homas Buhn- Black!Body 5heory and the Ouantum Discontinuity-
401!02- +7ford ?niv Press 0/4'
H10I D' "oke- Convective and Radiative Cooling- De!
)artment of Physics- ? of British Colum,ia- 200/-
htt)=66###')hysics'u, c'ca6 lueshi6)2006term26formal6re)ort')s
H1I ''' those #ho have talked of 3chance3 are the inheritors of anti:ue su)er!
stition and ignorance'''#hose minds have never ,een illuminated ,y a ray
of scientific thought' E5' <' <u7leyF
H12I J' *tefan- ?e,er die Be2iehung 2#ischen der 9armestrahlung und der
5em)eratur' 9ien Akad' *it2,er' Aol' /0- ))' $0!124- 4/0'
H1$I A,raham!"orent2 force- 9iki)edia http =
;;en#+ikipe1ia#org;+iki;0raham%orentC
f
orce '
H11I <'D' Seh- Physics "etters A /2- 40!02- 00$'