Absorption und Emission elektrischer Wellen durch Resonanz in Annalen der Physik und Chemie Vol. 57, 1896, pp. 1-14

Leipzig: Barth, 1896. 1st Edition. MAX PLANCK ON THE PROPERTIES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION. Full volume with original wraps bound in at the rear. This paper was first published in the Proceedings of the Prussian Academy in 1895 followed by this publication in 1896.

As early as 1894, Planck expressed an interest in the thermodynamics of radiation, writing "there is hope that we will also be able to achieve a more detailed understanding of those electrodynamic processes that are directly conditioned by temperature — as in heat radiation in particular — without having to make the laborious detour through the mechanical explanation of electricity" (Planck, Antrittsrede, 3).

In 1895, Max Planck submitted a paper — this paper — to the Prussian Academy. "Building upon Hertz's treatment of electric oscillations using Maxwell's theory, Planck analyzed the absorption and emission of electromagnetic waves by electric resonators of dimensions small relative to the wavelength; he regarded this process as a way of understanding thermal equilibrium" (Jungnickel, Intellectual Mastery of Nature, 229).

In this paper, "Planck studied the processes of absorption and emission of radiation by an electrically charged system having the same eigenfrequency as the radiation or, as he called it, a ‘resonator' (Mehra, The Historical Development, 34). This work, Planck's theory of resonant scattering of electromagnetic waves, would later play an important role in Planck's work on black-body radiation. "In the 5 years leading up to his black-body radiation work, Planck tried to integrate the recently proven ‘resonant Hertzian (electromagnetic) waves' with existing theories on energy and thermodynamics" (The Nature of Light, 1). This was the beginning of Planck's resonance hypothesis with respect to electromagnetic waves, a hypothesis he reemploys at the beginning of his first black-body paper in 1901.

ALSO INCLUDED: Papers by Zermelo and Boltzmann. CONDITION & DETAILS: Leipzig: Barth. 1896. 4to. (9 x 6 inches; 225 x 150mm). Full volume with original wraps bound in at the rear. Ex-libris bearing only stamps on the half-title and title page. Very handsomely rebound in three-quarter black calf over marbled paper boards. Tight, solid, and very clean. The interior, too, is clean and bright. Very good to near fine condition.