ultraviolet catastrophe
nounEtymology Coined by Paul Ehrenfest in 1911 in German. Ultraviolet represents that end of the spectrum, given that the visible spectrum represents a stand-in for the whole electromagnetic spectrum, and infrared and ultraviolet are stand-ins for the endpoints. This usage is similar to that represented by the logic behind the terms "redshift" and "blueshift", which assume endpoints of red and blue.
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A fault in classical physics, from the Rayleigh's law/Rayleigh-Jeans law outcomes at short wavelengths/high frequencies, that causes infinite amplification of shorter wavelength/higher frequency radiation inside a cavity, due to the application of equipartition theorem on black body radiation within a cavity.
- Synonyms
- Rayleigh-Jeans catastrophe, Rayleigh catastrophe, Rayleigh's catastrophe
- Related terms
- oxygen catastrophe, vacuum catastrophe
- Coordinate terms
- black body, Kirchoff's black body, black body radiation, Kirchoff's challenge, molecular theory, equipartition theorem, Rayleigh's law, Rayleigh-Jeans law, Wien's distribution law, Planck's law