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BlackbodyRadiation
Aperfectabsorber(a = 1atallfrequencies )iscalledablackbody.Kirchoff'slaw(Eq.2B7)
requiresthateveryblackbodyhasemissivitye = 1atallfrequenciesaswell,sotheradiated
spectrumB (T )ofanyblackbodyattemperatureT isthesameastheequilibriumspectrumof
radiationinsideacavityoftemperatureT ,evenifthewallsofthecavityarenotblack.Thus
theintensityandspectrumofblackbodyradiationdependsonlyonthetemperatureofthe
blackbodyorcavity.Thesameistruefortheelectricalnoisegeneratedbyawarmresistor,a
devicethatdissipateselectricalenergy,andwhichplaysanimportantroleinradioastronomy.
YoumayalreadybefamiliarwiththestandardderivationsoftheRayleighJeansandPlanck
radiationlaws,buttheyareworthrepeatingbecauseblackbodyradiationissofundamental
andbecausetheironedimensionalanalogsyieldthespectrumofelectricalnoisegeneratedby
aresistor.

TheRayleighJeansLaw
Consideralarge(meaningsidelengtha
,where isthelongestwavelengthofinterest)
cubicalcavityfilledwithradiationinthermodynamicequilibrium.Thepurposeofthecavityis
togenerateradiationandconfinetheradiationlongenoughforittoreachequilibrium.The
radiationmustbegeneratedbythermalaccelerationsofchargedparticlesinthewallsofany
cavitywithT
0,buttheequilibriumradiationisotherwiseindependentofthewallmaterial.
Weonlyrequirethatthewallshavenonzeroconductivitybecausewallsofzeroconductivity
wouldbetransparenttheywouldgeneratenocurrentsinresponsetotheelectricfieldsof
incomingradiationandtheradiationwouldpassthroughunaffected.Forwallshavingnonzero
conductivity,thetransverseelectricfieldstrengthatthewallsisE = 0becausemodeswith
E = 0atthewallsarelossy.OnlythosestandingwaveswithE = 0atthewallswillpersist
aftersometimet
a c.
Wecanenumerateallpossiblestandingwavemodesinthecavity.Forexample,considerall
standingwaveswhosewavenormalspointinthexdirection.

Standingwavescorrespondington x 2 = aforn = 1 2 3.Abscissa:xaxisofthecavity,

boundedbywallsatx = 0andx = a.Ordinate:Electricfieldstrengthsofthelongeststanding
wavessatisfyingtheboundaryconditionE = 0atthewalls.

TheboundaryconditionsE = 0atx = 0andatx = ameanthatonlythewaveshavingthe

discretewavelengths

=a

=a

=a

canhavenonzeroamplitudes.Thus

=a

2
wheren = 1,2,3, .Similarly,

nx x ny y nz z
=
=
=a
2
2
2
forwavenormalsinthex y z directions.
Whataboutawavewhosenormalisinsomearbitrarydirection?Let
betweenthewavenormalandthex y z axes,respectively.

betheangles

Thistwodimensionalfigureillustratesstandingwavespropagatinginacavitywithwave
normalsatangles and fromthexandy axes,respectively.Examplesofwavenodes,
where E = 0,areindicatedbydashedlinesforthecasenx = 3,ny = 2.
Fromthefigureitisclearthat

cos

where isthewavelengthmeasuredinthedirectionofthewavenormaland x
spacingbetweenthewavenodesmeasuredalongthexaxis.Thus
x

Similarly,

cos

isthe

and

cos

cos

Ourboundaryconditionsbecome

2a

nx =

nx =

ny =

2a cos

ny =

2a
y

2a

nz =

2a cos

nz =

2a cos

Squaringandsummingthelastthreeequationsgives

2a

nx2 + ny2 + n2z =

2

(cos2
+ cos2

ThePythagoreantheoremimplies(cos

nx2 + ny2 + n2z =

Thepermittedfrequencies

=c

+ cos2

+ cos2 )

+ cos2 ) = 1so
2a

ofthesestandingwavesare:

c
2a

nx2 + ny2 + n2z

forallpositiveintegersnx ,ny ,andnz .

Thepermittedstandingwavemodescanberepresentedasalatticeinthepositiveoctantof
thespacewhoseaxesarenx ,ny ,andnz .Eachpointofthelatticerepresentsonepossible
modeofequilibriumcavityradiation.Thespacedensityofpointsinthislatticeisunity,sothe
numberofpointsinanyvolumeisequaltothatvolume.

The(x,y)planeintheimaginaryspacewhoseaxesare(nx ny nz ).Permittedstandingwaves
inthe(nx ny )planeareindicatedbydotsatpositiveintegervaluesoftheseaxes.

Let betheradialcoordinatein(nx ny nz )space.Then

2

= nx2 + ny2 + n2z

and

2a

ThenumberN ( )d ofindependentmodeshavingfrequenciesintherange to + d equals

thevolumeofthesphericaloctantshellbetween and + d ,multipliedby2toaccountfor
thetwoindependentpolarizationsofelectromagneticradiation:

N ( )d =

2a
c

N ( )d =

8
2

2a
d
c

InthermodynamicequilibriumattemperatureT ,equipartitionofenergyimpliesthateach
modehasaverageenergy E = kT accordingtotheclassicalBoltzmannlaw(butnotaccording
toquantummechanics).IfweproceedusingtheclassicalkT fortheaverageenergyper
mode,thespectralenergydensityu (T )ofcavityradiationinthefrequencyrange to + d
isthetotalenergyofallmodesinthatfrequencyrangedividedbythevolumea3 ofthecavity:

u (T )d =

N ( )d
a3

kT

2
8 a3 2
u (T ) =
kT = 8 kT
3
3
a c
c3

Thespectralenergydensityofradiation(blackbodyornot)isspectralenergyperunit
volume.Itequalsthetotalflowofspectralpowerperunitareadividedbytheflowspeedc:

u =

1
c

Id

(2C1)

CallingthespecificintensityofblackbodyradiationB andmakinguseofthefactthe
blackbodyradiationisisotropic,wegetforblackbodyradiation:

1
c

u =

B d =
4

4
B
c

Thus

4
8 kT
B =
c
c3

andweobtaintheRayleighJeanslawforthespectralbrightnessofblackbodyradiation

2kT
B =
c2
thatisvalidonlyinthelowfrequencylimith

(2C2)

kT .

Noticethat:
1. Brightnessisproportionaltofrequencysquaredbecausethevolumeofasphericalshellin
threedimensionsisproportionaltofrequencysquared.
2. Weassumedallmodeshave E = kT ,theclassicalassumptionthatbreaksdownathigh
frequencies.
3. B divergesathigh .Thisiscalledthe"ultravioletcatastrophe".
4. B isindependentofdirection.
5. Thisresultderivedforacubicalcavityappliestoequilibriumradiationinacavityofany
shapeor(large)size,whichyoucandemonstratebyathoughtexperimentinwhicha
cubicalcavityisconnectedthroughasmallholetotheothercavity.

ThePlanckRadiationLaw
TheonlyflawinthederivationoftheRayleighJeanslawistheclassicalassumptionthateach
radiationmodecanhaveanyenergyE .ThenthecontinuousBoltzmannprobabilitydistribution

P (E)

exp

kT

impliesanaverageenergypermode

E =

0
0

EP (E)dE
P (E)dE

= kT

Planckpostulatedthatpossiblemodeenergiesarenotcontinuouslydistributed,butratherthey
arequantizedandmustsatisfy

E = nh

n = 1 2 3

whereh
6 63 1027 ergsisPlanck'sconstantandnisthenumberofphotons(particlesof
lighteachhavingenergyE = h )inthatmode.Then

P (E) = P (nh )

exp

nh
kT

andtheaverageenergypermodeiscalculatedbysummingoveronlythediscreteenergies
permittedinsteadofintegratingoverallenergies.
n=0 nh P (nh )

E =

n=0

P (nh )

n=0 nh exp

n=0 exp

nh
kT

nh
kT

Evaluatingthissumyields

E =

h
exp

h
kT

= kT

h (kT )
exp[h (kT )] 1

Thusthecorrectradiationlawbecomes

2kT
B =
c2

h (kT )

exp[h (kT )] 1

wherethefirstfactoristheRayleighJeanslawandthequantityinbracketsisthequantum
correctionfactor.
Planck'slawforblackbodyradiationisusuallywrittenintheform

2h 3
1
B = 2
c exp h 1
kT

(2C3)

Thiseliminatestheultravioletcatastrophebecauseintegratingoverallfrequenciesgivesa
finiteintegratedbrightnessablackbodyradiatorattemperatureT :

B(T )

B (T )d =

T4

(2C4)

where

2 5 k4
15c2 h3

5 67

10

erg
cm2 sK4 sr

iscalledtheStefanBoltzmannconstant.Bewarethatthedimensionlesssrinthe
denominatorisdroppedbymanyauthors.
ThespectralenergydensityperunitsolidangleofradiationisjustthespecificintensityI
dividedbytheflowratec.Forisotropicradiation,thespectralenergydensityis

u =4 I c


sothetotalradiationenergydensityu = 0 u d ofblackbodyradiationis

4 T4
u=
c
Thequantitya

7 5657

(2C5)

1015 ergcm3 K4 iscalledtheradiationconstant.

Thefrequency max atwhichB ,thebrightnessperunitfrequencyofablackbody,ismaximum

isthesolutionof

= 0

itis
max

GHz
Notethat max issmallerthanc

max

59

103GHzT (K),where
max

cm

0 29

isthewavelengthatwhichB ,thebrightnessperunitwavelength,ishighest.Thelatter
equationisthefamiliarformofWien'sLawusedbyopticalastronomers,whose
spectrometersmeasurewavelengthsinsteadoffrequencies.
Theelectricalpowergeneratedbyawarmresistor
Aresistorisanyelectricaldevicethatabsorbsalloftheelectricalpowerappliedtoititisthe
"blackbody"ofelectriccircuits.Motionsofchargedparticlesinawarmresistorattemperature
T 0Kgenerateelectricalnoise.Thefrequencyspectrumofthenoisepowerdependsonly
ontheresistortemperatureandisindependentoftheresistormaterial.Also,theelectrical
noisegeneratedisindistinguishablefromthenoisecomingfromanantennaobservinga
blackbodyradiator.Warmresistorsareusefulinradioastronomyasstandardsforcalibrating
receivergains,andthepowerreceivedbyaradiotelescopeisoftendescribedintermsofthe
"antennatemperature",theresistortemperaturerequiredtogeneratethesamepower
thermally.Thegainofaradioreceivercanbecalibratedbyconnectingitalternatelytohotand
coldresistors(called"loads")havingknowntemperatures,andtheamountofnoisegenerated
inareceivercanbedescribedbythe"receivertemperature",thetemperatureofaresistorat
theinputofanimaginarynoiselessreceiverhavingthesamegainthatwouldgeneratethe
samenoisepoweroutput.
ThederivationoftheelectricalpowerperunitbandwidthP generatedbyaresistorisaone
dimensionalversionofthethreedimensionalargumentusedforblackbodyradiation[Nyquist,
H.1928,Phys.Rev.32,110Barrett,A.H.1970,FundamentalsofRadioAstronomy,p.2223
(unpublished)].Atradiofrequencies,itisoftentruethath
kT andtheRayleighJeanslimit
applies.RecallthattheRayleighJeansderivationofB startswithalargecubeofsidelengtha
containingstandingwavesofthermalradiation.Theaverageenergyineachstandingwave
modeis E = kT ,andthenumberofmodeswithfrequency to + d isproportionalto 2 ,
2
soB
.Forthepowergeneratedbyaresistor,considertwoidenticalresistorsat

temperatureT connectedbyalosslesstransmissionline(e.g.,apairofparallelwires)of
lengthamuchlargerthanthelongestwavelengthofinterest.

Weassumethatthetransmissionlinehasacharacteristicimpedanceequaltotheresistanceof
theresistorssothatpowerisefficientlycoupledbetweenthem.Inequilibrium,the
transmissionlinecanonlysupportthosestandingwaveshavingzerovoltagesattheends
othermodesaresuppressedbythelossyresistors.Thesurvivingstandingwavessatisfy

a=

n
2

n = 1 2 3

where isthewavelength.Electricalsignalsdonottravelatexactlythespeedoflightona
transmissionline,butatsomeslightlylowervelocityv
c.Thus

n=
and,fora

2a
v

,thenumberofmodesperunitfrequencyis

2a
=
v

Inthermalequilibrium,theclassicalBoltzmannlawsaysthateachmodehasaverageenergy
E = kT ,sotheaverageenergyperunitfrequencyE inthetransmissionlineis

E =

kT =

2akT
v

Thisenergytakesatime t = a v toflowfromoneendofthetransmissionlinetotheother,
sotheclassicalpower(energyperunittime)perunitfrequencyflowingonthetransmission
lineis

P =

E
t

= 2kT

Notethatthevelocityv hasdroppedout.ThetotalspectralpowerP generatedbythetwo

identicalresistorsmustbe2kT and,bysymmetry,thespectralpowergeneratedbyeach
resistoris

P = kT

(2C6)

inthelimith
kT .ThisequationiscalledtheNyquistformulaandistheelectrical
equivalentoftheRayleighJeanslawforradiation.Sincethe"space"ofthetransmissionline
hasonlyonedimensioninsteadofthree,thefrequencydependenceis 0 insteadof 2 .
Still,theNyquistformulasuffersfroman"ultravioletcatastrophe"ofitsown:thetotalpower
integratedoverallfrequenciesdiverges.Planck'squantizationruleisthecureforthisproblem
also:theelectricalenergyineachmodemustbeanintegermultipleofh ,andthecorrected
versionoftheNyquistformulais

P = kT

h (kT )
exp[h (kT )] 1

wherethequantityinlargebracketsisthesamequantizationcorrectionpreviouslyfoundfor
blackbodyradiation.Thisequationisusuallywrittenintheform

P =

Inmanyradioastronomicalapplications,h
used.

h
exp

h
kT

(2C7)

kT andthesimplerP = kT (Eq.2C6)canbe

Atlowfrequencies
kT h,thespecificintensityB ofblackbodyradiationinthree
dimensions(solidcurve)isproportionalto 2 .Itsonedimensionalanalog,thespectralpower
densityP ofnoisegeneratedbyaresistor(dashedcurve),isproportionalto 0 .Quantization
causesbothcurvestocutoffexponentiallyathighfrequencies.