The discovery of the Planck relation is generally regarded as the starting point of quantum physics. Planck’s constant h is now regarded as one of the most important universal constants. The physical nature of h , however, has not been well understood. It was originally suggested as a fitting constant to explain the black-body radiation. Although Planck had proposed a theoretical justification of h , he was never satisfied with that. To solve this outstanding problem, we use the Maxwell theory to directly calculate the energy and momentum of a radiation wave packet. We find that the energy of the wave packet is indeed proportional to its oscillation frequency. This allows us to derive the value of Planck’s constant. Furthermore, we show that the emission and transmission of a photon follows the all-or-none principle. The “strength” of the wave packet can be characterized by ζ , which represents the integrated strength of the vector potential along a transverse axis. We reason that ζ should have a fixed cut-off value for all photons. Our results suggest that a wave packet can behave like a particle. This offers a simple explanation to the recent satellite observations that the cosmic microwave background follows closely the black-body radiation as predicted by Planck’s law.
The discovery of the Planck relation is generally regarded as the starting point of quantum physics. Planck’s constant h is now regarded as one of the most important universal constants. The physical nature of h , however, has not been well understood. It was originally suggested as a fitting constant to explain the black-body radiation. Although Planck had proposed a theoretical justification of h , he was never satisfied with that. To solve this outstanding problem, we use the Maxwell theory to directly calculate the energy and momentum of a radiation wave packet. We find that the energy of the wave packet is indeed proportional to its oscillation frequency. This allows us to derive the value of Planck’s constant. Furthermore, we show that the emission and transmission of a photon follows the all-or-none principle. The “strength” of the wave packet can be characterized by ζ , which represents the integrated strength of the vector potential along a transverse axis. We reason that ζ should have a fixed cut-off value for all photons. Our results suggest that a wave packet can behave like a particle. This offers a simple explanation to the recent satellite observations that the cosmic microwave background follows closely the black-body radiation as predicted by Planck’s law.
One of the first inklings of a problem in physics at the end of the 19th century was the nature of the radiation emission spectrum from a black body. This could not be explained in terms of established and irrefutable methods of statistical mechanics. It was Planck’s idea to divide up the energy spectrum of a series of harmonic oscillators each with a different state of energy but whose energy steps depended upon the frequency of the oscillation that marked the beginning of quantum physics. As a result, Planck introduced a fundamental constant of nature, Planck’s constant.
Abstract In stochastic mechanics, one of the interpretations of realistic quantum mechanics, the Schrödinger equation can be derived by assuming the Brownian motion (BM) of minute particles. In this study, we theoretically derive Planck’s constant (h), a fundamental constant of quantum physics, by assuming same BM. Einstein investigated the BM of a resonator caused by photons in a black body; meanwhile, in this study, BM is considered to be caused by the particle and wave natures of light. As a result, as the functional form of h, hN=cε04πe2β1 h N = 4 π e 2 c ε 0 1 β (e: elementary charge, ε0 ε 0 : permittivity, c: speed of light) was derived, where the undetermined coefficient 2β β 2 represents the probability that the interaction between electrons and electromagnetic waves becomes particle-like absorption in one cycle of oscillation. The theoretical value of h was calculated to be cε04πe2π3 4 π e 2 c ε 0 π 3 by obtaining β from the transition conditions of the BM model and uncertainty relation. This theoretical value is within 0.3% of the most recent value of h. Besides, Nelson’s assumed diffusion coefficient in the stochastic mechanics, which is essential in obtaining Schrödinger’s equation, was proved to be obtained from the BM model and the uncertainty relation. This finding and the conclusion that the Planck’s constant can be mathematically derived, provide support for Nelson’s stochastic mechanics.
Light occupies a special position in our attempts to understand nature both classically and quantum mechanically. We recall that Newton, who made so many fundamental contributions to optics, championed a particle description of light and was not favorably disposed to the wave picture of light. However, the beautiful unification of electricity and magnetism achieved by Maxwell clearly showed that light was properly understood as the wave-like undulations of electric and magnetic fields propagating through space. The central role of light in marking the frontiers of physics continues on into the twentieth century with the ultraviolet catastrophe associated with black-body radiation on the one hand and the photoelectric effect on the other. Indeed, it was here that the era of quantum mechanics was initiated with Planck's introduction of the quantum of action that was necessary to explain the black-body radiation spectrum. The extension of these ideas led Einstein to explain the photoelectric effect, and to introduce the photon concept. It was, however, left to Dirac to combine the wave-and particlelike aspects of light so that the radiation field is capable of explaining all interference phenomena and yet shows the excitation of a specific atom located along a wave front absorbing one photon of energy. In this chapter, following Dirac, we associate each mode of the radiation field with a quantized simple harmonic oscillator, this is the essence of the quantum theory of radiation.
Quantum Mechanics and its Interpretations Peter E. Hodgson (bio) Quantum Mechanics is an elegant and indeed beautiful formalism, and enables the results of many physical measurements to be calculated with great accuracy. But from the earliest days there has been intense debate about the interpretation of quantum mechanics, and it shows no signs of being settled; if anything, it is becoming more intense over the years. It should therefore be evident that the most that can be done here is to try to show where the real difficul-ties lie, and how the failure to recognize that quantum mechanics is an essentially statistical theory has led to a series of confusing quantum paradoxes. It is just these paradoxes that have often been used to support theological speculations. The Discovery of the Quantum The quantum nature of the physical world was discovered by Max Planck in the early years of the twentieth century. He was studying thermodynamics and his attention was drawn to the frequency distribution of black-body radiation. This radiation is emitted from a small hole in a heated enclosure with rough walls, which ensures [End Page 62] that the radiation reaches statistical equilibrium before emission. The frequency distribution is found to be independent of the material lining the walls of the oven, so Planck realized that it must be a fundamental characteristic of all matter. This frequency distribution had been measured by several experimentalists, and Planck resolved to try to see how it can be derived theoretically. Already Rayleigh and Jeans had used classical radiation theory to derive an expression that fitted the data well at low frequencies but tended to infinity at high energies, which was of course unacceptable. The physicist Wien had derived a formula that fitted the data at high frequencies but failed at low frequencies. Planck used an ingenious argument based on entropy to interpolate between these two formulae and obtained a formula, now known as the Planck distribution, that fitted the data perfectly. His next task was to understand the physics behind his formula. He used the familiar technique of assuming that the energy is emitted in small finite amounts, and then let their size tend to zero, so as to represent a continuous distribution. To his great surprise, the intermediate formula with discrete amounts of energy, called quanta, gave the Planck distribution, but the final result, with infinitely small quanta, did not. All his instincts as a physicist rebelled against this conclusion. Surely energy must be emitted continuously. He tried hard to find a way to avoid this unwelcome conclusion, but without success. He had to admit that it is a feature of the world. Soon it was confirmed by Einstein’s interpretation of the photoelectric effect. This story shows clearly that physicists do not impose their ideas on the world, but recognize and accept what they find, whether or not it agrees with their original ideas. The world is made by God in ways that often we cannot imagine. [End Page 63] The Old Quantum Theory A few years later Rutherford discovered that the atom has a small central nucleus containing most of its mass surrounded by a number of electrons. Bohr used the idea of the quantum to build his model of the atom. He assumed that the electrons go around the nucleus in discrete orbits, and that radiation is emitted when an electron falls from one orbit to a lower one. With this model, he was able to calculate to high accuracy the frequencies of the radiation emitted from an excited hydrogen atom. This was a great achievement, but to get his result he had to assume that the electrons stayed in their orbits, whereas classical theory predicted that they would continuously lose energy and rapidly spiral into the nucleus. Quantum Mechanics and its Interpretations These problems were solved by the development of quantum mechanics in the 1920s by Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Dirac, and others. This enabled what is called the wave function to be calculated for any physical system, and from the wave function the probabilities of occurrence of measurable quantities can be found. It is a beautiful theory, and is the indispensable means of calculation for atomic, nuclear...
Re-examination of the work of Max Karl Planck has revealed hidden variables in his famous quantum work, consistent with Einstein's famous sentiment that quantum mechanics is incomplete due to the existence of "hidden variables". The recent discovery of these previously hidden variables, which have been missing from the foundational equations of quantum theory for more than one hundred years, has important implications for all the sciences as well as for understanding the interactions of electromagnetic radiation with matter. Planck's quantum formula, E = hν, is missing the variable for measurement time. Planck had included the missing time variable in his earlier electromagnetic work, but omitted it in his famous work that sparked the quantum revolution. Restoration of measurement time to Planck's quantum formula produces the more complete, E = h~ ν t. The numerical value Planck calculated for his action constant "h" takes on new meaning as an energy constant "h~" for light. Planck's energy constant is the mean energy of a single oscillation of light, namely 6.626 X 10-34 J/oscillation. The mean oscillation energy of light is constant, and does not vary with frequency or wavelength. The photon, as historically defined, is a time dependent packet of energy, based on the arbitrary measurement time of one second. An arbitrary, one second increment of energy cannot be a truly indivisible and elementary particle of nature. Omission of the time variable from Planck's quantum formula contributed to numerous paradoxes in quantum mechanics, such as uncertainty relating to formulations involving time, wave-particle duality, the need for normalization of wave functions, lack of dimensions for the fine structure constant, and irreconcilability of quantum mechanics and general relativity (Einstein's gravitational theory). Many of these paradoxes are simplified or eliminated altogether with a re-interpretation of quantum mechanics with Planck's hidden time variable and energy constant.
A well-known mystery in quantum mechanics is wave–particle duality: Is an electron a point mass or a physical wave? What is the physical meaning of its wave function? About a hundred years ago, there was a famous debate between Bohr and Einstein on this topic. Their question is still open today. This paper reviews a new theoretical framework to address this problem. Here, it is hypothesized that both photons and electrons are quantized excitation waves of the vacuum, the physical properties of which can be modeled based on the Maxwell theory. Using the method of Helmholtz decomposition, one can show that the wave function of the particle is associated with an electric vector potential called “ Z”, which plays the role of basic field for the excitation wave. Using this framework, the quantum wave equations can be derived based on a quantization of the Maxwell theory. This work suggests that, the quantum wave function truly represents a physical wave; the wave packet looks like a “particle” only in the macroscopic view. Because the vacuum excitation obeys the principle of all-or-none, the probability of detecting this “particle” is related to the wave function as suggested in the Copenhagen interpretation.