Hot Objects and the Quantization of Energy Heated solids emit radiation (blackbody radiation) The wavelength distribution depends on the temperature (i.e., ?red hot? objects are cooler than ?white hot? objects). In 1900 Max Planck solved the problem He investigated black body radiation. He proposed that energy can only be absorbed or released from atoms in ?chucks? of some minimum size . These amounts are called quanta. A quantum (meaning ?fixed amount?) is the smallest amount of energy that can be emitted or absorbed as electromagnetic radiation. The relationship between energy and frequency is: . The Photoelectric Effect and Photons The photoelectric effect provides evidence for the particle nature of light and for quantization.