Question

Briefly describe what Planck and Einstein contributed to the concept of Quantum Theory

Answer 1

Max Planck was studying the emission of light by hot objects. He believed that the hot objects did not emit energy continuously, as would be expected if it were in the form of waves. Instead he suggested that the object emits the energy in small, specific amounts called quanta. A quantum is the minimum quantity of energy that can be lost or gained by an atom. He proposed the following relationship between a quantum of energy and the frequency of the radiation: E = hn. E represents the energy in joules of a quantum of radiation, n is the frequency of the radiation emitted, and h is a constant known as Planck’s constant. Albert Einstein introduced the idea that electromagnetic radiation has a dual wave-particle nature. Example: white light exhibits many wavelike particles, it can also be thought of as a stream of particles. Each particle of light carries a quantum of energy. He called these particles photons. A photon is a particle of electromagnetic radiation having zero rest mass and carrying a quantum of energy.