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Old 21-12-2019, 10:41 AM
bgilbert (Barry gilbert)
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Join Date: Oct 2015
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Max Plank and Albert Einstein had a serious disagreement about the nature of "the light quanta". Plank insisted quantization only occurred in 'matter', at the point of creation or detection of the radiated field. Moreover, the radiated field behaved entirely according to Maxwell’s equations, and therefore, was not quantized. Einstein was not convinced, and continued with the notion that the field itself was quantized.

The term "photon" was later adopted for the "light quanta" by the scientist, Gilbert N Lewis. It took some years before the notion of the "photon " was finally accepted by the mainstream scientists, but Max Plank was not one of them. The relationship between Max and Albert was never the same after this disagreement.


It is interesting to note, that Niels Bohr, who later was to be an adversary of Albert’s, resisted the notion of Albert’s "photon", for quite some time, before finally acquiescing.

Towards the end of Albert’s life he was said to have stated;

"All the fifty years of conscious brooding have brought me no closer to answer the question, “What are light quanta?” Of course today every rascal thinks he knows the answer, but he is deluding himself."
— Albert Einstein

Last edited by bgilbert; 22-12-2019 at 12:07 AM.
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