Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, 1894-1912

by Thomas S. Kuhn

Book Overview

"A masterly assessment of the way the idea of quanta of radiation became part of 20th-century physics. . . . The book not only deals with a topic of importance and interest to all scientists, but is also a polished literary work, described (accurately) by one of its original reviewers as a scientific detective story."--John Gribbin, New Scientist

"Every scientist should have this book."--Paul Davies, New Scientist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226458008
• ISBN13: 9780226458007
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An extremely challenging book

Anyone who has learned quantum mechanics has been told, in a general way, what Planck did and how it fits into the history of quantum physics. Kuhn shows that Planck thought about his goals and his results very differently than do textbook writers today. Warning! This is a very tough read: - You will not get much out of this book unless you are able and willing to follow detailed arguments in thermodynamics and statistical physics, in fairly gory mathematical detail. Quantum history-lite this isn't! - You will also not get much out of this book unless you are willing to relax about the "right" way of thinking about thermodynamics and quantum theory. However YOU may think about it, Planck thought about it differently -- and Kuhn attempts to follow his thought, zigging & zagging as he did. If you're not willing to follow along closely and attentively for the ride, you will miss the story. The payoff from reading this book is a more vivid understanding and appreciation for how very very differently we think about physics than the way it physicists saw it 100 years ago.

All you wanted to know about q.m. but were afraid to ask

The solution to the blackbody radiation problem is often quoted in Physics books as the formal bridge between the classic and quantum world viewpoints. However, as Kuhn points out, the full solution and not just the answer is nowhere else to be found.Well beyond the satisfaction that reading this book should present to any serious Quantum Physics related student it is an absoulte requirement in the History of Physics. Yes, the mathematical arguments get quite dense and most are not trivial. However, little is needed beyond basic calculus, statiscal mechanics and thermodynamics. View this as an excellent excuse to get going in those areas.If every time you hear something about the beginnings of q.m. something stirs in your guts telling you that something is not quite right about the story you're being fed, that the full story isn't being told, then who could be better than Kuhn to show you that you were after right, after all?

How the Quantum came to be

Excellent book, as Kuhn's usually are, on the origin of quantum theory. "Everyone" knows Planck arrived at the quantum by studying black-body radiation, but what you are never told is *why* he was doing that! Kuhn reaches back as to why Planck was, and has an interesting story to tell for it (the question of thermodynamic irreversability vs reversability in classical mechanics). Another major part of Kuhn's tale is that even after he arrived at his quantum hypothesis, Planck still saw it as a direct extension of classical physics. It was others, mainly Einstein, who realized the revolutionary nature of the quantum (and who ran with the idea), and physicists like Planck had to conceptually play catch up in the quantum revolution in the first decade of the 20th century. One serious WARNING: while interesting and well written, the book has some very technical parts, requiring at least intermediate college physics. While not flooded with equations, Kuhn freely gets into thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (entropy, free energy, H-theorem,...) in explaining the core of Planck's early work. The reader should be prepared for some technical physics on the journey!