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Tutorial 2
Conceptual Questions
ANS
The classical theory explanation of the blackbody
radiation by Rayleigh-Jeans fails in the limit (or
equivalently, when frequency ), i.e. R ( ) at
The failure prompted Planck to postulate that the
energy of electromagnetic waves is quantised (viah as
opposed to the classical thermodynamics description
(). With Planck’s postulate, radiation now has
particle attributes instead of wave.
ANS
Planck made two new assumptions: (1) Radiation oscillator
energy is quantized and (2) they emit or absorb energy in
discrete irreducible packets. The “oscillator” here
actually refers to the molecules or atoms that made up the
walls of the blackbody cavity. These assumptions
contradict the classical idea of energy as continuously
divisible.
ANS
The first flaw is that the Rayleigh–Jeans law predicts that the intensity of short
wavelength radiation emitted by a blackbody approaches infinity as the wavelength
decreases. This is known as the ultraviolet catastrophe. The second flaw is the
prediction much more power output from a black-body than is shown experimentally.
The intensity of radiation from the blackbody is given by the area under the red
I ( , T vs. curve in Figure 40.5 in the text, not by the area under the blue curve.
Planck’s Law dealt with both of these issues and brought the theory into agreement
with the experimental data by adding an exponential term to the denominator that
SESSI 04/05/ TUTORIAL 2
1
depends on . This both keeps the predicted intensity from approaching infinity as
the wavelength decreases and keeps the area under the curve finite.
Fig. 40.5
Particle Wave
Complete localized Cannot be confined to any
particular region of space.
A wave can be
“simultaneously everywhere”
at a given instance in time
Mass and electric charge can No mass is associated with a
be identified with infinite wave.
precision
Energy carried by a particle Energy carried by wave
is concentrated in it and is spreads over an infinite
not spreading over the regions of space along the
boundary that define its direction the wave
physical location propagates
Momentum and position can be Wavelength and position of a
identified with infinite wave cannot be
precision. simultaneously measured to
infinite precision, they
must obey the classical wave
uncertainty relation x
There is not definition of There is not definition of
wavelength for a particle momentum for waves
Does not undergo diffraction Waves undergo diffraction
and interference and interference
SESSI 04/05/ TUTORIAL 2
…(others) …(others)
Problems
ANS
Intensity of thermal radiation I T4. Hence, when T is
double, ie. T 2T, I I’(2)4 = 16I, i.e. the total
intensity of thermal radiation increase by 16 times.
ANS
(a) Converting to absolute temperature, T = 293 K, and
from Wien's displacement law, maxT 2.898 �10-3 m �
K
max= 2.898×10-3 m·K/293K = 9.89 m
4
T24 4460
5.37 10 4
T14 2934
Be sure to notice the use of absolute (Kelvin)
temperatures.
ANS
<<T
In long wavelength limit, hcλk B , the exponential term
is approximated to
2
hc 1 � hc � hc
e hcλk T
B
1+ + � �+ ... �1+ . Hence, substituting
λkBT 2 ! �λkBT � λk BT
hc
e hcλk TB �1+ into the Planck’s distribution, we have
λkBT
2πhc 2 2πhc 2 2πhc 2 2πhc 2 λkBT 2πckBT
I ( λ ,T �
(
λ5 e hcλk BT - 1 �
� hc
λ5 �
�1+
� � 5 �hc �
-
� �1 λ �λk T �
λ5 hc λ4 ,
� λkBT
� � � � B �
which is nothing but just the RJ’s law.