Did quantum theory “predict” that “back body radiation curve”?
Well, not exactly! This is what Planck — the reluctant co-inventor of the “photon” — had to say: From his 1919 Nobel Prize address, “The Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory”: But even if the radiation formula should prove to be absolutely accurate it would after all be only an interpolation formula found by happy guesswork, and would thus leave one rather unsatisfied. I was, therefore, from the day of its origination, occupied with the task of giving it a real physical meaning … It is down to you to judge whether or not he succeeded. Does the photoelectric effect prove the existence of photons? No! Listen to Millikan on the subject — and he should know! He is probably best known for his “oil drop” experiment, but he also made a vital contribution to photoelectric theory. His experiments confirming that Nature really does seem to obey the law that Einstein had predicted in 1905 are still taken as definitive. In his main paper on the subject, (Millikan, R A, “A Direct Photo
