Light Quantum Hypothesis Research Articles

Measuring Citation Impact of Bose's Paper Planck's Law and the Light Quantum Hypothesis

Measuring Citation Impact of Bose's Paper Planck's Law and the Light Quantum Hypothesis

A Reappraisal of Einstein’s Light-Quantum Hypothesis

A Reappraisal of Einstein’s Light-Quantum Hypothesis

Planck’s radiation law, the light quantum, and the prehistory of indistinguishability in the teaching of quantum mechanics

Planck’s law for black-body radiation marks the origin of quantum theory and is discussed in all introductory (or advanced) courses on this subject. However, the question whether Planck really implied quantisation is debated among historians of physics. We present a simplified account of this debate which also sheds light on the issue of indistinguishability and Einstein’s light quantum hypothesis. We suggest that the teaching of quantum mechanics could benefit from including this material beyond the question of historical accuracy.

Intrinsic Lorentz violation in Doppler effect from a moving point light source

Abstract. — Einstein’s Doppler formula is not applicable when a moving point light source is close enough to the observer; for example, it may break down or cannot specify a determinate value when the point source and the observer overlap. In this paper, Doppler effect for a moving point light source is analyzed, and it is found that the principle of relativity allows the existence of intrinsic Lorentz violation. A conceptual scheme to experimentally test the point-source Doppler effect is proposed, and such a test could lead to an unexpected result that the frequency of a photon may change during propagation, which questions the constancy of Planck constant since the energy conservation in Einstein’s lightquantum hypothesis must hold.

暗物质的本质研究——暗物质的粒子即为中基子

在普朗克量子假说和爱因斯坦光量子假说的基础上，提出了中基子(一种新的基本粒子)假说，揭示了光子的实质和质量起源及万有引力的量子性和暗物质的本质。结果表明，光子实质上是中基子的集合，光是由中基子组成的，光的本质是粒子性的，光的性质由中基子的性质决定，光的量子性本质上就是光的中基子性；中基子是宇宙中最基本的粒子；中基子是质量的起源，它是赋予其他粒子以质量的粒子；中基子是传递万有引力的粒子，万有引力的传递速度等于光速；万有引力的量子性本质上即为万有引力是由中基子传递的性质；所谓的暗物质本质上就是充满宇宙的、传递引力的中基子，中基子即为所谓的暗物质粒子。 Based on the Planck quantum hypothesis and the Einstein’s light quantum hypothesis, zhongjizi (a new elementary particles) hypothesis is proposed, it reveals that the essence of photon and quality origin, and gravitation quantum property and the nature of dark matter. The results show that light quantum (that is, photon) is essentially a collection of zhongjizi, light is composed of zhongjizi, the essence of light is the nature of particle, and the nature of light is determined by the nature of the zhongjizi, quantum nature of light is essentially zhongjizi nature light. In the universe zhongjizi is the most basic particle; zhongjizi is the origin of the quality. It is given to the quality of the particles of the other particles; zhongjizi are the particles that transferring the gravitation, the speed of transferring the gravitation equals the speed of light. The quantum nature of gravitation is gravitation, and it is the nature of the zhongjizi transferring; the so-called dark matter is essentially filled in the universe that transferring gravitational zhongjizi, zhongjizi is the so-called dark matter particles.

Can the Abraham Light Momentum and Energy in a Medium Constitute a Lorentz Four-Vector?

By analyzing the Einstein-box thought experiment with the principle of relativity, it is shown that Abraham’s light momentum and energy in a medium cannot constitute a Lorentz four-vector, and they consequentially break global momentum and energy conservation laws. In contrast, Minkowski’s momentum and energy always constitute a Lorentz four-vector no matter whether in a medium or in vacuum, and the Minkowski’s momentum is the unique correct light momentum. A momentum-associated photon mass in a medium is exposed, which explains why only the Abraham’s momentum is derived in the traditional “center-of-mass-energy” approach. The EM boundary-condition matching approach, combined with Einstein light-quantum hypothesis, is proposed to analyze this thought experiment, and it is found for the first time that only from Maxwell equations without resort to the relativity, the correctness of light momentum definitions cannot be identified. Optical pulling effect is studied as well.

Atom the Electronic Structure and Atomic Extranuclear Movement State of Research

Based on the Planck's quantum hypothesis and the Einstein's light quantum hypothesis , the Zhongjizi (a new elementary particles) hypothesis is proposed. It revealed the quantum nature of light. Light quantum (which is photon) was essentially a collection of Zhongjizi, light was constituted of Zhongjizi, the essence of light was the nature of particle, and the quantum nature of light was essentially the Zhongjizi nature of light. The quantum nature of light revealed out: atomic spectra was produced by the light of different frequencies that emitted and absorbed by the extranuclear electrons of different motion states (different rotation frequencies) under certain conditions. The rotation frequency of extranuclear electrons was equal to the frequencies of light that emitted and absorbed by the electrons. By using this law, and according to the atomic spectra, we can know the state of the electron structure of atoms and the movement of electrons ,according to the frequency (the cycle )that rotate round the nuclear of the extranuclear electron in a state of motion , and the relationship of the distance between the electrons and the atomic nucleus .

Remembering Einstein: lectures on physics and astrophysics

In 1905, Albert Einstein wrote five papers which marked a watershed between classical and modern physics. These papers dealt with the problem of 'Reality of Atoms'; 'Theory of Special Relativity', which overthrew Newtonian conceptions of space and time; and his most revolutionary 'Light-Quantum Hypothesis', which together with Planck's work on black body radiation started the Quantum Revolution. The year 2005 was celebrated by UNESCO as 'International Year of Physics' commemorating the centenary of the Relativity Principle. To celebrate this landmark, Nehru Centre, Mumbai organized a Lecture Series. Projecting the influence that Einstein's work has had on fundamental issues in physics, these lectures were delivered by eminent scientists and researchers. This volume includes the nine lectures delivered on the occasion. The first lecture by Virendra Singh highlights Einstein's novel contribution in 1905. Then Arvind Kumar elaborates on the route that Einstein took to resolve the problems of black body radiation. While Jayant Narlikar presents a historical account of how cosmology has developed since Einstein's 1917 paper, S.M. Chitre elaborates on how relativity has played a crucial role in solving the central problem concerning the source of energy for stars. While T. Padmanabhan writes on Einstein's role in shaping our understanding of astronomy and cosmology, Sandip Trivedi shows that Einstein had a quest, a central focus that increasingly dominated his scientific life after 1915. Abhay Ashtekar writes on how, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Einstein revolutionized the notions of space and time, and Naresh Dadhich narrates that in his monumental discoveries, the driving force for Einstein was consistency of concept and principle rather than conflict with experiment. The final lecture by B.N. Jagtap discusses one of the most fascinating topics associated with two great scientists of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein and Sathyendra Nath Bose.

Albert Einstein: Revolutionär oder “Bewahrer des Alten”?

AbstractAlbert Einstein: Revolutionary or “Preserver of the Old”? Usually, Albert Einstein and his contributions to the special and general theory of relativity, to cosmology and to quantum physics are considered as “revolutionary”. However, Einstein himself named only one of the papers published in his annus mirabilis 1905 as “very revolutionary”, namely the paper about the light quantum hypothesis. He neither considered his papers about atomic theory nor the papers about the “Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” as “revolutionary”. In the special and general theory of relativity Einstein did not see the redemption of Newtonian physics but rather its completion. In cosmology which was started off by Einstein's “Cosmological Considerations” in 1917 he adhered to the assumptions of a static and spherically closed universe which originally were introduced by him. His influence on the quantum theory can hardly be overestimated as he was the first to take Planck's light quantum hypothesis as serious physics. Moreover he introduced the concepts of probability and chance into quantum theory. Nonetheless he remained sceptical about quantum physics since he considered it as an incomplete and preliminary description of physical reality. Taking this into consideration one has to state that Einstein saw himself rather as a “preserver of classical physics” than as a revolutionary.

How ideas became knowledge: The light-quantum hypothesis 1905–1935

How ideas became knowledge: The light-quantum hypothesis 1905–1935

C. V. Raman and the Discovery of the Raman Effect

In 1928 the Indian physicist C. V. Raman (1888-1970) discovered the effect named after him virtually simultaneously with the Russian physicists G. S. Landsberg (1890-1957) and L. I. Mandelstam (1879-1944). I first provide a biographical sketch of Raman through his years in Calcutta (1907-1932) and Bangalore (after 1932). I then discuss his scientific work in acoustics, astronomy, and optics up to 1928, including his views on Albert Einstein's light-quantum hypothesis and on Arthur Holly Compton's discovery of the Compton effect, with particular reference to Compton's debate on it with William Duane in Toronto in 1924, which Raman witnessed. I then examine Raman's discovery of the Raman effect and its reception among physicists. Finally, I suggest reasons why Landsberg and Mandelstam did not share the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1930 with Raman.

The Compton effect: Transition to quantum mechanics

The discovery of the Compton effect at the end of 1922 was a decisive event in the transition to the new quantum mechanics of 1925-1926 because it stimulated physicists to examine anew the fundamental problem of the interaction between radiation and matter. I first discuss Albert Einstein's light-quantum hypothesis of 1905 and why physicists greeted it with extreme skepticism, despite Robert A. Millikan's confirmation of Einstein's equation of the photoelectric effect in 1915. I then follow in some detail the experimental and theoretical research program that Arthur Holly Compton pursued between 1916 and 1922 at the University of Minnesota, the Westinghouse Lamp Company, the Cavendish Laboratory, and Washington University that culminated in his discovery of the Compton effect. Surprisingly, Compton was not influenced directly by Einstein's light-quantum hypothesis, in contrast to Peter Debye and H.A. Kramers, who discovered the quantum theory of scattering independently. I close by discussing the most significant response to that discovery, the Bohr-Kramers-Slater theory of 1924, its experimental refutation, and its influence on the emerging new quantum mechanics.

Hyperbolic multi-topology and the basic principle in quantum mechanics

In this paper, applying the direction strangeness of the hyperbolic space-time, we introduce the double metric space and the multi-topological structure, and in the wave-particle topology, we give one kind of imaginary metric representation for light-quantum hypothesis, uncertainty principle, energy level transition and interference conditions, etc. in quantum mechanics.

Planck’s law and the light quantum hypothesis

The phase space of a light quantum in a given volume is subdivided into “cells” of magnitudeh3. The number of possible distributions of the light quanta of a macroscopically defined radiation over these cells gives the entropy and with it all thermodynamic properties of the radiation.

Einstein and the quantum theory

This is an account of Einstein's work and thoughts on the quantum theory. The following topics will be discussed: The light-quantum hypothesis and its gradual evolution into the photon concept. Early history of the photoelectric effect. The theoretical and experimental reasons why the resistance to the photon was stronger and more protracted than for any other particle proposed to date. Einstein's position regarding the Bohr-Kramers-Slater suggestion, the last bastion of resistance to the photon. Einstein's analysis of fluctuations around thermal equilibrium and his proposal of a duality between particles and waves, in 1909 for electromagnetic radiation (the first time this duality was ever stated) and in January 1925 for matter (prior to quantum mechanics and for reasons independent of those given earlier by de Broglie). His demonstration that long-known specific heat anomalies are quantum effects. His role in the evolution of the third law of thermodynamics. His new derivation of Planck's law in 1917 which also marks the beginning of his concern with the failure of classical causality. His role as one of the founders of quantum statistics and his discovery of the first example of a phase transition derived by using purely statistical methods. His position as a critic of quantum mechanics. Initial doubts on the consistency of quantum mechanics (1926-1930). His view maintained from 1930 until the end of his life: quantum mechanics is logically consistent and quite successful but it is incomplete. His attitude toward success. His criterion of objective reality. Differences in the roles relativity and quantum theory played in Einstein's life. His vision regarding quantum theory in the context of a unified field theory. His last autobiographical sketch, written a few months before his death, concluding with a statement about the quantum theory, a subject to which (by his own account) he had given more thought than even to general relativity.

Philipp Lenard and the Photoelectric Effect, 1889-1911

Philipp Lenard discovered 1902 that the maximum velocity with which electrons leave a metal plate after it is illuminated with ultra violet light is independent of the intensity of the light. He concluded that in the process of emission the light plays only the role of trigger ing [the release of] a motion which already exists with full velocity inside the atoms of the body.2 He felt that he had found a tool to probe the internal structure of the atom just when atomic theory was coming to the center of physicists' attention. Evidence from the pro duction and absorption of photoelectrons suggested to him 1903 that the atom is dynamic. The atomic volume, he thought, is filled not by a material substance, but by rapidly moving, electrically neutral subatomic units. By 1908, five years before the Bohr atom, Lenard was convinced that discrete spectral lines are emitted whenever an electron returns to a stable configuration the atom. Lenard's early investigation of the photoelectric effect laid the foundation for several influential, if short-lived, ideas about atoms. But Lenard's work on the photoeffect is usually cited a different context today; his study is supposed to have been instrumental the genesis of the light quantum hypothesis. It is frequently claimed that, following Lenard's work, the photoelectric effect constituted one of several difficulties for the wave theory of light.3 The claim would

William H. Bragg's Corpuscular Theory of X-Rays and γ-Rays

The modern corpuscular theory of radiation was born in 1905 when Einstein advanced his light quantum hypothesis; and the steps by which Einstein's hypothesis, after years of profound scepticism, was finally and fully vindicated by Arthur Compton's 1922 scattering experiments constitutes one of the most stimulating chapters in the history of recent physics. To begin to appreciate the complexity of this chapter, however, it is only necessary to emphasize an elementary but very significant point, namely, that while Einstein based his arguments for quanta largely on the behaviour of high-frequency black body radiation or ultra-violet light, Compton experimented with X-rays. A modern physicist accustomed to picturing ultra-violet light and X-radiation as simply two adjacent regions in the electromagnetic spectrum might regard this distinction as hair-splitting. But who in 1905 was sure that X-rays and γ-rays are far more closely related to ultra-violet light than to α-particles, for example ? This only became evident after years of painstaking research, so that moving without elaboration from Einstein's hypothesis to Compton's experiments automatically eliminates from consideration an important segment of history—a segment in which a major role was played by William Henry Bragg.

On the nature of X-rays

Einstein’s statistical-thermodynamic calculations of the random variations of the radiation density constitute the ground upon which the light quantum hypothesis was originally based. According to these calculations such a variation of the radiation energy prevails—superposed above the fluctuations caused by the interferences calculated according to the classical theory—as if the radiation consisted of mutually independently mobile quanta hv of energy. According to Einstein, Maxwell’s theory correctly renders mean time values, which alone have been directly observable, as proved by the complete agreement between theory and experiment in optics; but Maxwell’s theory leads to laws respecting the thermic properties of radiation which are incompatible with the entropy-probability relation. After the wave-mechanical theory of de Broglie and Schrödinger had been generally accepted, the idea concerning the statistical character of the wave-field—already presented by Einstein in 1905—has, of course, been taken up again by Born in a more general way. As is well known, Bohr and Heisenberg have tried to conquer the difficulties to which the radiation theory has led by a radical change in our conception of energy.

General forms of statistical mechanics with special reference to the requirements of the new quantum mechanics

It is well known that a new form of statistical mechanics has been recently developed by Einstein for an ideal gas of structureless mass-points. This starts from a discussion by Bose of the laws of temperature radiation based on the light quantum hypothesis, and has been further analysed by Schrödinger. Yet another new form has been proposed independently by Fermi and Dirac. The latter based his theory on a discussion of lightly coupled systems with the help of Schrödinger’s equation. Combined with Heisenberg’s work on the many-body problem, Dirac’s work forces us to conclude at least that the classical form of statistical mechanics must be changed. It indicates that the true form, which satisfies the laws of the new mechanics, is almost certainly that of Fermi and Dirac, which is the natural generalization of Pauli’s principle of exclusion for electronic orbits in an atom. The work of Heisenberg and Dirac already quoted has shown that Pauli’s principle and its extension are satisfied in the new mechanics by a complete self-consistent solution of the equations of motion. So far as I am aware, the discussions of the new forms have as yet dealt only with the statistics of a gas of structureless mass-points (and, of course, temperature radiation). There has, moreover, been as yet no attempt to define the entropy (and the absolute temperature) in strict analogy with rational thermodynamics by means of the equation d Q = T d S. If another definition is preferred, then this equation must be deduced from it. It has, therefore, seemed worth while to reopen the discussion by examining ab initio a quite general form of statistical mechanics of which the classical form and instein’s and Fermi-Dirac’s are special cases. This is rendered possible by using the powerful method of complex integration already applied to the classical form. The sequence of the argument is then to take the general form, which covers a very large range of ways of assigning possibilities and counting complexions, and construct on that basis exact integral expressions for the number of complexions possible to the assembly and for the average number of systems of the assembly in their various quantum states. We then derive from these the average energies and external reactions and so the form of d Q, deduce from d Q the existence of S and so define S and T. This can be done in the general form for assemblies of ideal systems just as general as can be handled in the classical way—ideal gases of molecules of any structure and crystals and radiation. Such assemblies are in all cases thermodynamical systems.