Thermal Radiation

- Radiation is the principal way that heat and energy travel through the universe
- Energy of every star (sun included) is carried across space in the form of radiation
- Newton was first to describe the components of radiation emitted by the Sun
- Visible Spectrum: The small range of the electromagnetic spectrum that human eyes
perceive as light, the visible spectrum ranges from about 4000-7000 angstroms,
corresponding to blue through red light
- Infrared Radiation: Radiation of wavelength too long to see, usually about 1 to 100 um.
- Wavelength: The length of the wavelike characteristic of electromagnetic radiation - the
distance from one maximum to the next
- Temperature is related to the microscopic motions of atoms and molecules
- The larger the kinetic energy of the particles, the higher the temperature of the
material
- Thermal Radiation: Electromagnetic radiation emitted by a body and associated with an
object’s temperature; it grows greater and bluer in colour as the temperature increases
- Wien’s Law: A formula giving the Wavelength W at which the maximum amount of
radiation comes from a body of temperature T
- Formula is W = 0.00290/T