- #1
Euclid
- 214
- 0
I am looking in KK Thermal Physics ch4 at what I assume to be the standard derivation of the SB law of radiation and I notice something peculiar.
On the one hand, they model the photon as a 1D SHO with energy given by
[tex] \epsilon = n \hbar \omega [/tex]
On the ohter hand, the distribution of the modes (omega) is given by the condition for a standing EM wave in a 3D box ([tex] \omega =\pi c \sqrt{ n^2 + m^2 + l^2} /L[/tex]). My question is, why does one not assume a 3D SHO model for the photon with
[tex] \epsilon = (n+m+l) \hbar \omega [/tex]?
It seems odd to model the photon as a SHO, but only partially. What's the full story?
On the one hand, they model the photon as a 1D SHO with energy given by
[tex] \epsilon = n \hbar \omega [/tex]
On the ohter hand, the distribution of the modes (omega) is given by the condition for a standing EM wave in a 3D box ([tex] \omega =\pi c \sqrt{ n^2 + m^2 + l^2} /L[/tex]). My question is, why does one not assume a 3D SHO model for the photon with
[tex] \epsilon = (n+m+l) \hbar \omega [/tex]?
It seems odd to model the photon as a SHO, but only partially. What's the full story?