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Hans
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The derivation of the Planck distribution

I am trying to understand the Planck distribution and black body radiation. In the Wikipedia derivation of the Planck distribution, the photons confined within a cubic box, are emitting from and absorbed by, and are in equilibrium with the wall of the cube. I understand the calculation presented. However, I am not certain about the following points.

  1. Is the temperature here that of the photons alone, of the matter of the wall alone or the ensemble of the photon and the matter? Most likely it is the last case. How is the temperature defined and the Boltzmann distribution derived with the photons under consideration? It is not mentioned at all in the Wikipedia derivation.

  2. I suppose Equation (1) comes from solving a wave equation with zero boundary condition. I suppose this wave equation comes from the quantum field theory, describing the photons. Is this correct? In classic electrodynamics, the Maxwell's equation has a zero boundary condition if the wall is a perfect conductor with zero electric or magnetic field in the interior of the wall so as to perfectly reflect the electromagnetic wave. Are we to impose the same condition here with the purpose to confine the energy of the photo inside of the box?

  3. Apparently the size and geometry of the box affect the final distribution. I suppose if we construct an object with many small walled cavities with fractal-like geometry, we will get a different power distribution. Is this correct?

Hans
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