Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The 1900 formula matched glowing object colours by assuming energy comes in chunks. The figure is taken from NIST, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a science fact?

Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Planck quantised energy to fix a spectrum

The 1900 formula matched glowing object colours by assuming energy comes in chunks Classical physics predicted that a hot object should radiate unlimited energy at short wavelengths, which was plainly wrong. Max Planck found that the measured curves fitted if energy were emitted in discrete units proportional to frequency. The constant he introduced, h, now underpins quantum mechanics. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

NIST

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Science trivia

More facts like this

Light particles possess energy but no rest massPhotons travel at the speed of light because they carry momentum without rest mass A Bose-Einstein condensate behaves as one atomCooled to within a fraction of a kelvin, some atoms merge into a single quantum state The photoelectric effect needs a minimum frequencyWeak blue light ejects electrons from a metal that intense red light cannot touch The double slit experiment shows light interferingTwo narrow slits produce alternating bright and dark bands on a screen Bohr put electrons into fixed shellsThe 1913 model explained the sharp lines seen in the hydrogen spectrum Kepler replaced circles with ellipsesPlanetary orbits are ellipses with the Sun at one focus, not perfect circles

Tags: physics, quantum, history

Planck quantised energy to fix a spectrum: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The 1900 formula matched glowing object colours by assuming energy comes in chunks. The figure is taken from NIST, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a science fact?: Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.