An atomistic interpretation of Planck's 1900 derivation of his radiation law

In deriving his radiation law in 1900, Max Planck employed a simple harmonic oscillator to model the exchange of energy between radiation and matter. Traditionally the harmonic oscillator has been viewed as modelling an entity which is itself oscillating, although a suitable oscillating entity has not been forthcoming. (Opinion is divided between a material oscillator, an imaginary oscillator and a need to revise Planck's derivation to apply to cavity modes of oscillation). We offer a novel, atomistic interpretation of Planck's derivation wherein the harmonic oscillator models a transition between the internal quantum states of an atom|not a normal electronic atom characterised by possible energies 0 and hν, but an atom populated by subatomic bosons (such as pions) and characterised by multiple occupancy of quantum states and possible energies nhν (n = 0;1;2; ...). We show how Planck's derivation can be varied to accommodate electronic atoms. A corollary to the atomistic interpretation is that Planck's derivation can no longer be construed as support for the postulate that material oscillating entities can have only those energies that are multiples of hν. Copyright (2000) CSIRO Australia