Skip to main content
Tweeted twitter.com/StackPhysics/status/907368697777532928
added 10 characters in body
Source Link
ModCon
  • 192
  • 2
  • 13

How can energy of oscillators be quantised but they can still vibrate at all frequencies?

In Black Body radiation, Planck's law has a postulate saying 'The wall of black body contains oscillators of all possible frequencies,ν.' There

The wall of black body contains oscillators of all possible frequencies,ν.

There is one more postulate which says 'The energy of these oscillators is not continuous but discrete valued.' Of

The energy of these oscillators is not continuous but discrete valued.

Of course the second one is very well known but doesn't it contradict the first one? Shouldn't it mean that frequencies of vibration are quantised like maybe in case of standing waves? Please correct me if I am wrong in stating the postulates itself.

How can energy of oscillators be quantised but they can still vibrate at all frequencies

In Black Body radiation, Planck's law has a postulate saying 'The wall of black body contains oscillators of all possible frequencies,ν.' There is one more postulate which says 'The energy of these oscillators is not continuous but discrete valued.' Of course the second one is very well known but doesn't it contradict the first one? Shouldn't it mean that frequencies of vibration are quantised like maybe in case of standing waves? Please correct me if I am wrong in stating the postulates itself.

How can energy of oscillators be quantised but they can still vibrate at all frequencies?

In Black Body radiation, Planck's law has a postulate saying

The wall of black body contains oscillators of all possible frequencies,ν.

There is one more postulate which says

The energy of these oscillators is not continuous but discrete valued.

Of course the second one is very well known but doesn't it contradict the first one? Shouldn't it mean that frequencies of vibration are quantised like maybe in case of standing waves? Please correct me if I am wrong in stating the postulates itself.

Source Link
ModCon
  • 192
  • 2
  • 13

How can energy of oscillators be quantised but they can still vibrate at all frequencies

In Black Body radiation, Planck's law has a postulate saying 'The wall of black body contains oscillators of all possible frequencies,ν.' There is one more postulate which says 'The energy of these oscillators is not continuous but discrete valued.' Of course the second one is very well known but doesn't it contradict the first one? Shouldn't it mean that frequencies of vibration are quantised like maybe in case of standing waves? Please correct me if I am wrong in stating the postulates itself.