ultraviolet catastrophe en · NOUN
Etymology
Coined by Paul Ehrenfest in 1911 in German. Ultraviolet represents that end of the spectrum, given that the visible spectrum represents a stand-in for the whole electromagnetic spectrum, and infrared and ultraviolet are stand-ins for the endpoints. This usage is similar to that represented by the logic behind the terms "redshift" and "blueshift", which assume endpoints of red and blue.
Meanings
- A fault in classical physics, from the Rayleigh's law/Rayleigh-Jeans law outcomes at short wavelengths/high frequencies, that causes infinite amplification of shorter wavelength/higher frequency radiation inside a cavity, due to the application of equipartition theorem on black body radiation within a cavity.
Coordinates
Planck's law · black body radiation · Kirchoff's challenge · Rayleigh-Jeans law · Rayleigh's law · Kirchoff's black body · black body · equipartition theorem · molecular theory · Wien's distribution law
Relateds
vacuum catastrophe · oxygen catastrophe
Synonyms
Rayleigh-Jeans catastrophe · Rayleigh catastrophe · Rayleigh's catastrophe