LETTERS TO PROGRESS IN PHYSICS On the Equation which Governs Cavity Radiation

In this work, the equation which properly governs cavity radiation is presented. Given thermal equilibrium, the radiation contained within an arbitrary cavity depends upon the nature of its walls, in addition to its temperature and its frequency of observation. With this realization, the universality of cavity radiation collapses. The constants of Planck and Boltzmann can no longer be viewed as universal. Science enhances the moral value of life, because it furthers a love of truth and reverence... Max Planck, Where is Science Going? 1932 [1] When Max Planck formulated his law [2, 3], he insisted that cavity radiation must always be black or normal, as first proposed by Gustav Robert Kirchhoff [4, 5]. The laws of thermal emission [2–7] were considered universal in nature. Based on Kirchhoff’s law [4, 5], cavity radiation was said to be independent of the nature of the walls and determined solely by temperature and frequency. Provided that the cavit