The Rayleigh-Jeans Law

The Rayleigh-Jeans Law describes how much light (or thermal radiation) a hot object emits at different wavelengths, especially at longer wavelengths. It states that the emitted energy increases rapidly as wavelength gets longer, meaning objects emit more infrared and radio waves than visible light at lower temperatures. While it worked well for long wavelengths, it failed to explain the observed energy distribution at shorter wavelengths, leading to the "ultraviolet catastrophe." This discrepancy led to the development of quantum physics, revolutionizing our understanding of how objects emit radiation across the spectrum.