Planck, the quantum, and the historians (Q1613284)

History of any subject is of great significance for every student, teacher and researcher. Particularly the story of the quantum concept materialised with the work of Max Planck in 1900 is of invaluable importance from many points of view. The path-breaking advances in physics of the twentieth century are centred round the two basic areas -- relativity theories and quantum mechanics. The latter is the subject matter of the present perspective paper in which quite a few of the well-known actors of that scientific era have participated. The review gives a thorough presentation of the early work of Planck on the basic laws and the blackbody radiation. Relevant names of men of eminence and their main contributions to the field are clearly mentioned. Ludwig Boltzmann's combinatorial definition of entropy and Planck's derivations from 1900 and 1901 of his radiation law are dealt with in detail. The equipartition concept explained originally by Planck is further elucidated. Comments on the original letters and writings of Planck and arguments for continuous resonator energies are carefully provided. Six figures and 11 equations as well as 105 references listed, make the 46-page article a rich collection of creative thoughts from an eminent scientist on a veritably worthy topic. Planck's introduction of his constant \(h\) is undoubtedly a milestone in the history of the sciences as a whole and the author has capably got it right.