"[O]ne... question... will... lead to an extensive elucidation of the entire problem. What happens to the energy of a light-quantum after its emission? Does it pass outwards in all directions, according to Huygens's wave theory, continually increasing in volume and tending towards infinite dilution? Or does it, as in Newton's emanation theory, fly like a projectile in one direction only? In the former case the quantum would never again be in a position to concentrate its energy at a spot strongly enough to detach an electron from its atom; while in the latter case it would be necessary to sacrifice the chief triumph of Maxwell's theory — the continuity between the static and the dynamic fields — and with it the classical theory of the interference phenomena which accounted for all their details, both alternatives leading to consequences very disagreeable..."
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The Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory
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