ultraviolet catastrophe

== English == === Etymology === 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. === Noun === ultraviolet catastrophe (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. ==== Usage notes ==== This does not literally refer to the explosion of ultraviolet radiation, rather any radiation shorter than a specific limiting size of propagating radiation in a set sized cavity, dependent on the size of the cavity. ==== Synonyms ==== Rayleigh-Jeans catastrophe Rayleigh catastrophe / Rayleigh's catastrophe ==== Coordinate terms ==== black body / Kirchoff's black body black body radiation Kirchoff's challenge molecular theory (Wien's displacement law) equipartition theorem (Rayleigh-Jeans law) Rayleigh's law (classical physics; 1900-1905) (suitable for low-frequency/long-wavelength radiation) Rayleigh-Jeans law (classical physics; post-1905) (suitable for low-frequency/long-wavelength radiation) Wien's distribution law (classical physics) (suitable for high-frequency/short-wavelength radiation) Planck's law (quantum physics) (a combination of Raleigh and Wien laws) ==== Related terms ==== oxygen catastrophe vacuum catastrophe