ultraviolet catastrophe
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Coined by Paul Ehrenfest in 1911 in German. From the explosion of energy at the ultraviolet end of the spectrum (away from visible and infrared light) caused by the Rayleigh-Jeans Law theory. The use of UV is to represent that end of the spectrum, given that the visible spectrum represents a stand-in for the whole electromagnetic spectrum, and infrared and ultraviolet are stand-ins for the endpoints. This usage is similar to that represented by the logic behind the terms "redshift" and "blueshift", which assume endpoints of red and blue.
Noun[edit]
- (physics) A fault in classical physics, from the Rayleigh's Law/Rayleigh-Jeans Law outcomes at short wavelengths/high frequencies, that causes infinite amplification of shorter wavelength/higher frequency radiation inside a cavity, due to the application of equipartition theorem on black body radiation within a cavity.
Usage notes[edit]
- This does not literally refer to the explosion of ultraviolet radiation, rather any radiation shorter than a specific limiting size of propagating radiation in a set sized cavity, dependent on the size of the cavity.
Synonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
- black body / Kirchoff's black body
- black body radiation
- Kirchoff's challenge
- molecular theory (Wien's displacement law)
- equipartition theorem (Rayleigh-Jeans law)
- Rayleigh's Law (classical physics; 1900-1905) (suitable for low-frequency/long-wavelength radiation)
- Rayleigh-Jeans Law (classical physics; post-1905) (suitable for low-frequency/long-wavelength radiation)
- Wien's distribution law (classical physics) (suitable for high-frequency/short-wavelength radiation)
- Planck's Law (quantum physics) (a combination of Raleigh and Wien laws)