Wien’s Displacement Law as a Function of Frequency

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Publication Title

Journal of Chemical Education

Abstract

Wien’s displacement law has an important part in the development of modern quantum theory, and predicting it was one of the triumphs of Planck’s distribution law. It is usually expressed in terms of wavelength. Less known, however, is its expression in terms of frequency. Here, we derive Wien’s law as a function of frequency and point out its major predictive difference from the more common version. This version of Wien’s law would be a useful demonstration of a change in variables for a physical chemistry lecture course and the differences in predictions upon variable change.

DOI

10.1021/ed400113z

Volume

90

Issue

9

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