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Visible The ultraviolet catastrophe ultraviolet light infrared — —— Wavelength peak — Intensity curve for each temperature Emitted j i intensity Radiation at 2,000° K for i each iation at 1,750° K wave ! H length Radiation at 1,500° K _-- Radiation of an object at 1,250°K 1 2 cr a rr Wavelength A (um) Diagram based on « quantum physics », John Gribbin, Focus sciences, Pearson. Figure 80 Visible Ihe ultraviolet catastropne ultraviolet light infrared _ _— Wavelength peak — Intensity curve for each temperature Emitted j i intensity Radiation at 2,000° K for i each | Radiation at 1,750° K wave ! H length Radiation at 1,500° K _- Radiation of an object at 1,250°K 1 2 cr a rr Wavelength A (um) Diagram based on « quantum physics », John Gribbin, Focus sciences, Pearson. containing a cluster of balls (protons and neutrons") orbited by another type of balls (electrons). That was the view of classical mechanics. How- ever, the “ultraviolet catastrophe” occurred and utterly confused the classical physicists. Quanta were born. It is important to understand what this ultraviolet catastrophe was all about. When an object is heated (strangely called a black body), its color changes. As the temperature rises, its color increasingly turns from infrared to ultraviolet. These colors are just different frequencies, ultra- violet being the highest frequency of light. Therefore, the yellow- orange color of the sun is caused by its surface temperature (6,000 K). Experiments have shown that the electromagnetic spectrum of black bodies possesses a peak, where the radiation intensity reaches its max- imum. On either side of this peak the emitted radiation is very weak. Mass spectrometry contradicts the principles of classical physics. According to the law formulated by Wilhelm Wien, the radiation inten- sity should be proportional to the frequency. To be more precise, there is an inverse relationship between the wavelength of the peak of the emission of a black body and its temperature. John Rayleigh comple- mented the law by arguing that the radiation intensity is proportional to the absorption temperature and inversely proportional to the square of the wavelength. Basically, the hotter an object is, the shorter the wavelength at which it will emit radiation. However, it means that 270 The Science of Extraterrestrials: UFOs Explained at Last * Eric Julien The ultraviolet catastrophe