Quantum Theory
By: Lucas, Steven, Brandon
and Kristen
Vocabulary
• Spectra: the range of colors that a
object will give off when it is heated or
burned.
• Blackbody: An object that will absorb all
light and can radiate it will almost no
gaps in its spectrum.
• Discrete: Apart from, or separate from
others of its kind.
Vocab cont…
• Quantum: a discrete amount of energy, given
by the product of Planck's constant(h) and the
frequency of the radiation (f)
• Empirical equation: an equation that fits the
observed data but is not based on any theory
• Postulate: a claim, something said
without proof of consept.
Properties of light
• The color of light is determined by the
its wavelength.
• Increasing or decreasing the
temperature of an object will change the
color of the light it emits.
• Each color of light can only have a a set
number of different energy levels.
Blackbody radiation
• When a blackbody is
heated it follows a
color path until it
reaches a certain
temperature limit.
• The pattern stops
once you reach the
ultraviolet end of the
spectrum.
Max Planck
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• A German physicist
that is credited with
creating the
founding for
quantum theory.
• He won the Nobel
Prize in 1918 for his
work in quantum
mechanics.
• Now he is known for:
1. Planck’s postulate
2. Planck’s constant
3. Planck's law of black
Planck’s constant and
postulate
• He used pervious theory about
blackbody radiation and experiments
done with the blackbody radiation
spectrum to derive this constant.
• H= 6.626 068 96 x 10^(-34) j*s
• His postulate Allows use to find the
energy of light at any frequency
• E=nhv
• n is a discrete value that depends on
the color of light you are dealing with, h
is Planck's constant and v is the