While attempting to solve the "ultraviolet catastrophe" (the failure of classical physics to predict black-body radiation at high frequencies), Planck proposed that energy oscillators in a cavity could only change energy in discrete increments ( ), not continuously. Planck’s Constant (
Despite his immense success, his personal life was filled with tragedy, including the loss of his first wife, three children, and the execution of his son by the Nazis for participating in the 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. Max Planck
): He introduced this fundamental constant of nature, which has a value of approximately , to define the relationship between energy and frequency. While attempting to solve the "ultraviolet catastrophe" (the
Max Planck (1858–1947) was a German theoretical physicist best known as the , a discovery that earned him the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. His work fundamentally transformed 20th-century physics by introducing the concept that energy is quantized, or emitted in discrete packets. Key features of Max Planck's work and life include: Max Planck (1858–1947) was a German theoretical physicist