Article ID: CBB826502592

Rudolf Ladenburg and the first quantum interpretation of optical dispersion (2020)

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In 1921, the experimental physicist Rudolf Ladenburg put forward the first quantum interpretation of optical dispersion. Theoretical physicists had tried to explain dispersion from the point of view of quantum theory ever since 1913, when Niels Bohr proposed his quantum model of atom. Yet, their theories proved unsuccessful. It was Ladenburg who gave a breakthrough step toward our quantum understanding of dispersion. In order to understand Ladenburg’s step, I analyze Ladenburg’s experimental work on dispersion prior to 1913, the reasons why the first theories of dispersion after 1913 were not satisfactory, and Ladenburg’s 1921 proposal. I argue that Ladenburg’s early experimental work on dispersion is indispensable to understand his 1921 paper. The specific kind of experiments he performed before 1913, the related interpretative problems, and the way he tried to solve them, led him reapproach the dispersion problem in 1921 in a way that was completely different from the way theoretical physicists had done it before.

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Authors & Contributors
Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi
Talbot, Chris
Veloz, Tomas
Mueller, Olaf L.
Johnson, Benjamin
Jordi Taltavull, Marta
Concepts
Physics
Experiments and experimentation
Optics
Explanation; hypotheses; theories
Quantum theory
Philosophy of science
Time Periods
17th century
20th century, early
20th century
19th century
18th century
Medieval
Places
Spain
Great Britain
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