In this paper, the author aims to address the issue of pseudo-histories surrounding the development of quantum physics. They specifically investigate the myth of the ultraviolet catastrophe and its supposed role in motivating Planck’s introduction of quantum physics. However, upon closer examination, it is revealed that this story has the timeline completely reversed. The ultraviolet catastrophe was actually discussed after Planck published his radiation law, so it played no part in his motivation. Instead, Planck was primarily concerned with finding a theoretical derivation of the law for blackbody radiation. Through an elaborate fit to data, Planck devised his own radiation law by using statistical mechanics and dividing energy into packages, which he viewed as a mathematical trick to calculate the entropy of oscillators.
Controversial information: None highlighted.
Unique/Interesting content: The paper challenges the notion of presenting quantum physics in a historical context and encourages a more accurate depiction of its development.
http://www.arxiv.org/abs/2402.03405