Comments on the Development of the Rayleigh-Jeans Law
The Rayleigh-Jeans Law was an important step in our understanding of the equilibrium radiation from a hot object, even though it turned out not to be an accurate description of nature. The careful work in developing the Rayleigh-Jeans law laid the foundation for the quantum understanding expressed in the Planck radiation formula. In outline form, here are the steps which led to the Rayleigh-Jeans law.| Equilibrium standing wave electromagnetic radiation in a cubical cavity of dimension L must meet the condition: |
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| The number of modes in the cavity is: |
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| The number of modes per unit wavelength is: |
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| The energy per unit volume per unit wavelength is: |
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| The average radiated energy per unit wavelength is: |
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| Which when expressed in terms of frequency is: |
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Wavelength plot | Radiation curve examples |
Rayleigh- Jeans references
Blackbody radiation concepts