Redefining Reality - The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

We know, however, that for a given temperature, the energy
peaks, then drops off to zero when we move toward the
ultraviolet end of the spectrum—where the classical theory
the .
the mathematics that would result in the empirically generated
curve. He then realized that the problem could be solved if the
emitted and absorbed light were treated as if it came in packets,
which he called .
Planck was committed to a picture of the world that was completely
continuous; everything from energy to matter was smooth. He
wanted to think of light emissions as having a dimmer switch,
but his equation said that reality had a toggle switch, with only
discrete settings.
Einstein, in the year he developed the special theory of relativity,
also solved another problem, accounting for the photoelectric
effect. If you shine ultraviolet light on metal, electrons are emitted.
It was known that electrons in metal were only weakly bound to the
atoms, and if light were thought of as waves, then the waves would
cause the metal surface to vibrate.
If we make the light brighter, then we make the wave bigger, and
we should see faster-moving electrons emitted. But that isn’t what
happens. More electrons are emitted but not faster ones.
Picking up on Planck’s work, Einstein saw what would happen
if we treat light as packets. If we turn up the light, we do not get
faster-moving light but more packets of light. More electrons are
emitted, but because the speed of light always remains the same,
the emitted electrons come out with the same energy.
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