XII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2020

The outstanding French mathematician A. Poincare wrote: "Planck's Quantum theory is, without any doubt, the greatest and most profound revolution that natural philosophy has undergone since the time of Newton."

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born on April 23, 1858 in the Prussian city of Kiel, the son of civil law Professor Johann Julius Wilhelm von Planck and Emma (nee Patzig) Planck.

In 1867, the family moved to Munich. Planck later recalled:"in the company of my parents and sisters, I spent my early years happily." In the Royal classical gymnasium Maximilian Max was a good student. Early on, his bright mathematical abilities were also revealed: in middle and high school, it became common for him to replace sick math teachers. Planck recalled the lessons of Hermann Muller, "a sociable, insightful, witty man who was able to explain the meaning of the physical laws that he told us, the students, by vivid examples."

After graduating from the gymnasium in 1874, he studied mathematics and physics for three years at the University of Munich and a year at the University of Berlin. Physics was taught by Professor F. von Jolly. Of him, as of others, Planck later said that he had learned a lot from them and kept a grateful memory of them, "but in scientific terms they were, in fact, limited people." Max decided to complete his education at the University of Berlin. Although here he studied with such luminaries of science as Helmholtz and Kirchhoff, but here he did not get complete satisfaction: he was upset that the luminaries read lectures poorly, especially Helmholtz. He got much more from reading the publications of these outstanding physicists. They contributed to the fact that Planck's scientific interests were focused on thermodynamics for a long time.

Planck received his doctorate in 1879 with a dissertation at the University of Munich "On the second law of the mechanical theory of heat" - the second principle of thermodynamics, which States that no continuous self-sustaining process can transfer heat from a colder body to a warmer one. A year later, he defended his thesis "the Equilibrium state of isotropic bodies at different temperatures", which earned him a position as a Junior assistant in the physics Department of the University of Munich.

As the scientist recalled: "Being a privatdozent in Munich for many years, I waited in vain for an invitation to the professorship, which, of course, there was little chance, since theoretical physics was not yet a separate subject. All the more urgent was the need to get ahead in the scientific world in one way or another.

With this intention, I decided to develop a problem about the essence of energy, put by the Göttingen faculty of philosophy for the prize for 1887. Before this work was completed, in the spring of 1885, I was invited as an extraordinary Professor of theoretical physics at the University of Kiel. This seemed to me a salvation; the day when the ministerialist Director Althof invited me to his hotel Marienbad and gave me more detailed information about the conditions, I considered the happiest of my life. Although I led a carefree life in my parents ' home, I still wanted to be independent...

I soon moved to Kiel; my göttingen work was soon completed there and crowned with a second prize."

In 1888, Planck became an associate Professor at the University of Berlin and Director of the Institute for theoretical physics (the post of Director was created specifically for him).

By then, Planck had published a number of papers on thermodynamics. His theory of the chemical equilibrium of unsaturated solutions is particularly well known.

In 1896, Planck became interested in measurements made at the State Institute of physics and technology in Berlin. Experimental work on the study of the spectral distribution of "black body" radiation, performed here, attracted the attention of the scientist to the problem of thermal radiation.

At that time, there were two formulas for describing the "black body" radiation: one for the short-wave part of the spectrum (VIN's formula), and the other for the long-wave part (Rayleigh's formula). The task was to connect them.

The researchers called the discrepancy between the radiation theory and the experiment an" ultraviolet catastrophe". A discrepancy that could not be resolved. A contemporary of the "ultraviolet catastrophe", the physicist Lorenz, sadly remarked: "the Equations of classical physics were unable to explain why the dying furnace does not emit yellow rays along with radiation of large wavelengths...»

Planck was able to" stitch " the formulas of VIN and Rayleigh and derive a formula that accurately describes the spectrum of black body radiation.

Here is how the scientist himself writes about it:

"It was at this time that all outstanding physicists turned, both from the experimental and theoretical side, to the problem of energy distribution in the normal spectrum. However, they looked for it in the direction of representing the intensity of radiation as a function of temperature, whereas I suspected a deeper connection as a function of entropy and energy. Since the value of entropy had not yet found its proper recognition, I was not in the least concerned about the method I was using, and I was able to make my calculations freely and thoroughly without fear of interference or advance on anyone's part.

As for the irreversibility of the exchange of energy between the oscillator and im excited radiation has a particular value of the second derivative of its entropy for its energy, I calculated the value of this quantity for the case then stood in the center of interest vigovskogo distribution of energy, and found a remarkable result that for this case the reciprocal of this value, which I have designated K, is proportional to the energy. This connection is so staggeringly simple that for a long time I recognized it as completely General and worked on its theoretical justification. However, the precariousness of this understanding was soon revealed by the results of new measurements. It was while for small values of energy, or for short waves, that Wien's law was also perfectly confirmed later, for large values of energy, or for large waves, that Lummer and Pringsheim first established a noticeable deviation, and Rubens and F. Kurlbaum's perfect measurements with fluorspar and potash salt revealed a completely different, but again simple relation, that the value of K is proportional not to the energy, but to the square of the energy when passing to large values of energy and wavelengths.

So direct experiments have established two simple boundaries for the function: for small energies, the proportionality (of the first degree) of the energy, for large ones - the square of the energy. It is clear that just as any principle of energy distribution gives a certain value to, so every expression leads to a certain law of energy distribution, and it is now a question of finding an expression that would give a measured distribution of energy. But now there was nothing more natural, as to be of value as a sum of two members: one of the first degree, and the other of the second degree energy, so that for small energies will be a crucial first term, for large - second; however, there was found a new radiation formula, which I proposed at the meeting of the Berlin physical society on 19 October 1900 and recommended for study. Subsequent measurements also confirmed the radiation formula, namely, the more accurate the more subtle measurement methods were used. However, the measurement formula, assuming it to be absolutely accurate, was in itself only a happily guessed law with only a formal meaning."

Planck established that light must be emitted and absorbed in portions, with the energy of each such portion equal to the frequency of the oscillation multiplied by a special constant called Planck's constant.

The scientist reports how hard he tried to introduce the quantum of action into the system of classical theory: "But this quantity [constant h] proved obstinate and resisted all such attempts. As long as it can be considered infinitely small, i.e. at higher energies and longer periods, everything was in perfect order. But in General, there was a yawning crack here and there, which became all the more noticeable the faster the fluctuations were considered. The failure of all attempts to bridge this gap soon left no doubt that the quantum of action plays a fundamental role in atomic physics and that with its appearance a new era in physical science has begun, for it contains something previously unheard of that is designed to radically transform our physical thinking, built on the concept of the continuity of all causal relationships since the time when Leibniz and Newton created the calculus of the infinitesimal."

V. Heisenberg so conveys a well-known legend about Planck's thoughts: "his son Erwin Planck recalled this time that he was walking with his father in Grunewald, that Planck throughout the walk excitedly and excitedly told about the result of his research. He told him something like this:"Either what I am doing now is complete nonsense, or we are talking about maybe the biggest discovery in physics since Newton."

On December 14, 1900, Planck delivered his historical report "On the theory of the distribution of radiation energy in the normal spectrum"at a meeting of the German physical society. He reported on his hypothesis and the new radiation formula. Planck's hypothesis marked the birth of quantum theory,which revolutionized physics. Classical physics, as opposed to modern physics, now means "pre-Planck physics".

The new theory included, in addition to Planck's constant, other fundamental quantities, such as the speed of light and a number known as the Boltzmann constant. In 1901, based on experimental data on black body radiation, Planck calculated the value of the Boltzmann constant and, using other known information, obtained the Avogadro number (the number of atoms in one mole of an element). Based on the Avogadro number, Planck was able to find the electric charge of an electron with the highest accuracy.

The position of quantum theory was strengthened in 1905, when albert Einstein used the concept of a photon — a quantum of electromagnetic radiation. Two years later, Einstein further strengthened the position of quantum theory, using the concept of quantum to explain the mysterious discrepancies between the theory and experimental measurements of the specific heat capacity of bodies.Another confirmation of Planck's theory came in 1913 from Bohr, who applied quantum theory to the structure of the atom.

In 1919, Planck was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for 1918 "in recognition of his contributions to the development of physics through the discovery of energy quanta". As A. G. Ekstrand, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, stated at the award ceremony, "Planck's theory of radiation is the brightest of the guiding stars of modern physical research, and it will take, as far as we can judge, a long time before the treasures that were extracted by his genius run out." In a Nobel lecture given in 1920, Planck summed up his work and admitted that "the introduction of the quantum has not yet led to the creation of a true quantum theory."

His other achievements include, in particular, his proposed derivation of the Fokker—Planck equation, which describes the behavior of a system of particles under the action of small random pulses.

In 1928, at the age of seventy, Planck went into mandatory formal retirement, but did not break ties with the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for basic Sciences, of which he became President in 1930. And on the threshold of the eighth decade, he continued his research activities.

After Hitler came to power in 1933, Planck repeatedly spoke publicly in defense of Jewish scientists who were expelled from their posts and forced to emigrate. Later, Planck became more reserved and remained silent, although the Nazis were undoubtedly aware of his views. As a patriot who loved his country, he could only pray that the German nation would once again find a normal life. He continued to serve in various German scientific societies, in the hope of preserving at least a little of German science and enlightenment from complete destruction.

Planck lived on the outskirts of Berlin - Grunewald. In his house, located next to a wonderful forest, it was spacious, cozy, and everything had the stamp of noble simplicity. A huge, lovingly and thoughtfully selected library. The music room, where the owner treated his exquisite game of big and small celebrities.

His first wife, born Maria Merk, to whom he married in 1885, gave birth to two sons and two twin daughters. Planck lived happily with her for more than twenty years. In 1909, she died. It was a blow from which the scientist could not recover for a long time.

Two years later, he married his niece, Marga von Hesslin, with whom he also had a son. But since then, Planck has been plagued by misfortunes. During the First world war, one of his sons died at Verdun, and in the following years both of his daughters died in childbirth. The second son from his first marriage was executed in 1944 for participating in a failed plot against Hitler. The scientist's house and personal library were destroyed during an air RAID on Berlin.

Planck's strength was sapped, and his spine was suffering more and more from arthritis. The scientist spent some time in a University clinic, and then moved in with one of his nieces.

Planck died in göttingen on October 4, 1947, six months before his ninetieth birthday. Only his first and last name and the numerical value of Planck's constant are inscribed on his tombstone.

In honor of his eightieth birthday, one of the minor planets was named Plankiana, and after the end of world war II, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for basic science was renamed the max Planck Society.

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