12.14 Jean′s Method of Deduction of Planck′s Radiation Formula
According to Planck, a member of a system in temperature equilibrium can emit or absorb energy in integral multiples of a definite smallest amount called the quantum of energy. Hence, the total energy of a system of oscillators in temperature equilibrium can only be distributed amongst themselves in integral multiples of this quantum.
Let us call the quantum of energy ∈. Now from the laws of classical statistics, the number of oscillators having energy between ∈ and ∈ + d∈ is
where B is a constant. To apply this result to the case of oscillators, ∈ can assume values 0, ∈, 2 ∈, ...
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