LSAT 115, Section 3, RC Passage 3, Wave Theory

RC Passage 3 Explanation

PASSAGE TEXT: With the approach of the twentieth century, the classical wave theory of radiation— …

Paragraph Summaries

1. Classical wave theory held that all radiation travels as waves and that energy changes smoothly, meaning any energy value could exist. Shorter wavelengths were expected to have higher energy.
2. Experiments on thermal radiation from heated objects contradicted wave theory. Physicists expected large amounts of short-wavelength radiation, but found almost none, creating the “ultraviolet catastrophe”.
3. Planck solved the problem by proposing that energy does not change continuously but exists in fixed units. This contradicted wave theory but matched experimental results.
4. Einstein and others later supported Planck’s idea by showing that radiation behaves like particles called photons, which carry energy in discrete amounts. This discovery helped create modern physics.

Analysis

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