Plank, Einstein and Black Body Radiation

Newtonian physics ruled the world from the 17th century until the 20th century. This branch of physics focused on the clear, physical phenomena observed by physicists. However, many of the nuances of physics and natural phenomena could not be explained. As the 20th century began, physicists started asking questions about certain things that classical physics did not have an answer to. This led to experimentation, and new discoveries paved the way for modern physics. Chapter one of “The Dancing Wu Li Masters” gives an overview of modern physics and the journey into understanding energy. It documents the beginning of modern physics and provides insight into quantum mechanics, the composition of light and energy, and the properties of light.

Scientific innovation, a newly introduced idea that everything has to be proven by science in order to be accurate , begun heading into the 20th century. Science led to confusion, uncertainty and unrest

Einstein has brought many insights of life including the theory of the speed of light, which has led to the special theory of relativity that molded the way science, is today. “For example, various experiments, including the Michelson-Morley experiment, failed to measure the expected changes in the speed of light relative to the motion of the Earth. Due to this Einstein recognized that light has a measured speed that is independent of the speed of the observer” (“Albert Einstein.” 4). “Einstein showed in 1907 that mass is related to energy by the famous equation E=mc^2, which indicates the enormous amount of energy that is stored as mass, some of which is released in radioactivity and nuclear radiations, for example in the sun” (4).This enabled Einstein to be able to start and finish the general theory of relativity.

The Special Theory of relativity is an acknowledged physical theory that revolutionized advancements in the relationship between space, and time. The theory is one of the most interesting discoveries that are still used today in science fiction movies such as Star Wars, and Star Trek through the use of black holes, and time travel due to it’s astonishing results, and it occurrence at speeds close to the speed light, which can be appealing to a wide range of audience. This was a harvest from six years of extremely handwork by Albert Einstein. Einstein used resources that were widely available to the public due to his economic constraints. It wasn’t until 1905, when Einstein finally had finished and published his discoveries, and gatherings

“The lights that filled the universe could be channeled, dissected, magnified, and measured by human ingenuity” (enlight, 2). There was a significant breakthrough in regards to what could be done in continuing to explore new theories.

Heisenberg realized that the uncertainty relations had profound implications. Heisenberg set himself to the task of finding the new quantum mechanics to explain what his theories observed. He relied on what can be observed, namely the light emitted and absorbed by the atoms. By July 1925, Heisenberg wrote his answer in a paper. The basic idea of Heisenberg's paper was to get rid of the orbits in atoms and to arrive at new mechanical equations. Heisenberg’s approached focused mainly on the particle nature of electrons. The mathematics Heisenberg used were tables commonly used for multiplication of arrays of numbers-mathematical objects known as matrices. Using the mathematics of matrices, scientists had at last a new mechanics for calculating the quantum behavior of particles. Heisenberg, and others showed that the new quantum mechanics could account for many of the properties of atoms and atomic events.

Modern physicists found, however, that at the physical extremes of nature-the microcosmic realm of atomic particles and the macrocosmic world of heavy astronomical bodies-the laws of Newton’s principia did not apply. German physicist, Albert Einstein, made public his special theory of relativity, a radically new approach to the new concepts of time, space, motion, and light. Building on Einstein’s theories, Werner Heisenberg theorized that since the very act of measuring subatomic phenomena altered them, the position and the velocity of a subatomic particle could not be measured

1) How did Albert Einstein's "new physics" change perceptions of the way the universe worked?

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the scientific revolution brought about a slow change in societies’ thinking regarding math, earth science, physics, and astronomy. Early on, new ideas about our universe were not widely accepted, especially from the church. This soon changed due to the hard work and perseverance of several scientists and philosophers who unbeknownst to them brought about an era known as the Enlightenment.

This hypothesis has motivated early scientists to detect the presence of aether for a long time. The Michelson-Morley experiment performed in 1907 found that the speed of light was the same in all directions being measured. This result strongly suggested the non-existence of the substance aether. It led to the crash of Lorentz’s theory and the later development of special relativity by

One of the most prolific eras in our world’s history is the Scientific Revolution. During this time men began to think outside the realm of possibility and delved themselves deep into the exciting unknown world of science. The innovative minds of these people churned out inventions like gunpowder and the printing press, as well as, inventive new ways of thinking like the scientific method. Aside from the inventors and innovators, there were also the publicists and writers without whom no one would know or understand the new ideas of the time. One such person was Margaret Cavendish who was born and raised in England. She received the same education that a lady during her time did. However, due to her husband, Sir Charles Cavendish, she was exposed to the world of science. The subject intrigued her so much that she ended up publishing her own theory on atoms. Though her atomic theory contains many scientific Renaissance ideals, it is still seen as a major contribution of thought during the Scientific Revolution.

One achievement of Einstein’s was the human understanding of light. His interest in light came at an early age. In 1905, he conducted his first “Thought Experiment” and formed the special theory of relativity which said that light is constant. This contradicted what other scientist of his time had thought. It also said that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light at 186,000 miles/second, and that light travels at the same speed no matter where the source is coming from. Another

4. In the idea of light not taking space and has no mass, it does not have the definition of matter.

Stories of revolutionary discoveries coming from mess-ups and mistakes are fun to tell, but scientific discoveries are usually predicted and then proven through countless years of research. An example of this is the theory of relativity. Einstein figured it out many years before he published his paper “The Theory of Relativity”, but his claims were shut down because they were too bold at the time. He then had

Introduction The Quantum Theory was the second of two theories which drastically changed the way we look at our physical world today, the first being Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Although both theories revolutionized the world of physics, the Quantum Theory required a period of over three decades to develop, while the Special Theory of Relativity was created in a single year. The development of the Quantum Theory began in 1887 when a German physicist, Heinrich Hertz, was testing Maxwell’s Theory of Electromagnetic Waves.