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Why are hot things colored? (incandescence)

In the English language, we understand "white hot" to be hotter than "red

hot," while "blue" is usually associated with degrees of coldness, as in
"cool blue" or "icy blue." In terms of real temperature, "blue hot" is hotter
than "red hot."

V ol ca n oes a r e a v iv id ex a m ple of
in c a n desc en t m olt en r oc k
What is incandescence?
Incandescence is the emission of light by a solid that has been heated
until it glows, or radiates light. When an iron bar is heated to a v ery high
temperature, it initially glows red, and then as its temperature rises it
glows white. Incandescence is heat made v isible – the process of turning
heat energy into light energy .

Our colloquial usage of "red hot," "white hot," and so on, is part of the
color sequence black, red, orange, y ellow, white, and bluish white, seen as an object is heated to successiv ely higher
temperatures. The light produced consists of photons emitted when atoms and molecules release part of their
thermal v ibration energy .

Incandescent light is produced when hot matter releases parts of its thermal v ibration energy as photons. The Kelv in
scale measures absolute temperature (a change of 1 K is equiv alent to 1 °C), with 27 3 K being equiv alent to water’s
freezing point. At medium temperatures, say 107 3 K (800 °C), the energy radiated by an object reaches a peak in the
infrared, with a low intensity at the red end of the v isible spectrum. As the temperature is raised, the peak mov es
toward and finally into the v isible region. The temperature range experienced on earth, usually between 100 K and
2000 K, produces electromagnetic energy mostly in the infrared and v isible light range, which giv es us a conv enient
color temperature scale.

What is color temperature?

Light may be said to hav e a color temperature. Color temperature is a scale relating the color of light radiated by an
object to its temperature. As color temperature rises, so the light emitted shifts towards bluer hues. In practice, the
actual temperature is not the same as the color temperature, which is the reason correction factors are used.

The scale uses the colors of an abstract object called a black body radiator, which absorbs and then radiates all the
energy that reaches it. This scale can be applied to a photographic lamp or ev en the sun, but it can also be applied to
any source of light, using correction factors to allow for real surfaces not being perfect black body radiators.

For sources of light that do not rely on incandescence, such as fluorescent light, we use the correlated color
temperature (CCT). These light sources will not produce light in the pattern of a black body emission spectrum.
Instead, they are assigned a correlated color temperature, based on the match between human color perception of
the light they produce and the closest black body radiator color temperature.

Here are the color temperatures of some common light sources:

approx 20,000 6,500 K 5,400 K 3,780 K 3,400 K 2,865 K 1,930

K K
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Open sky Overcast Direct Carbon Photoflood 100 Watt Candle

sky sunlight arc light bulb tungsten bulb flame

When we talk about blue light being cool and red light being warm, we are referring to something v ery different from
color temperature. We are using these colors to describe our perceptions or to conv ey moods. Counterintuitiv ely ,
blue-hot is actually hotter than red-hot.

Black body radiation

Why use a black body radiator as a standard, when no such thing exists?

It turns out that black body radiation prov ides us with a set of v ery precise working equations that relate the
temperature of an object to the light it emits. Working from the ideal and using Planck"s law, we can predict the
energy distribution across the spectrum for a giv en temperature. The total emitted power is calculated using the
Stefan-Boltzmann law. The wav elength of the peak emission, and hence the color that dominates for this temperature,
is prov ided by Wien’s displacement law. Knowing the ideal case allows us to predict or calculate actual v alues by
correcting for the imperfections of actual hot objects.

For increasing temperatures, the sequence of radiated colors is: black, red, orange, y ellow-white, bluish-white.

Pl a n ck ’s b l a ck b ody r a di a t i on cu r v es for i n cr ea si n g t em per a t u r es. Pl a n ck ’s wor k

on der i v i n g t h i s equ a t i on l ed h i m t o a b r ea k t h r ou gh i n u n der st a n di n g t h e
qu a n t u m n a t u r e of m a t t er . T h ese cu r v es a l so sh ow t h e t r en d of sh i ft i n g pea k
wa v el en gt h s for i n cr ea si n g t em per a t u r e, a s pr edi ct ed b y Wi en .

Incandescence from the sun

We can use the color of hot objects to estimate their temperatures from
about 1000 K, as the peak wav elength mov es into the v isible spectrum.
The tungsten filament light bulb, the most common manmade source of
light on earth, glows at about 2854 K. The sun is a natural incandescent
source whose surface, the photosphere, is about 5800 K.

The emission from the surface of the sun, with its av erage temperature
around 5800 K, giv es us our definition of white; its peak wav elength near
Ou r defin it ion of "w h it e" is der iv ed fr om
550 nm (2.25 eV) is mirrored in the maximum sensitiv ity of our ey es in
em ission fr om t h e 5 8 0 0 K t em per a t u r e
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the same region, reflecting our ev olutionary progress while exposed to
the light of the sun.
The sun’s energy is understood to come from nuclear fusion reactions at
its core, with the center of the sun hav ing an estimated temperature of
around 15,000,000 K. As this energy trav els outwards to the sun’s
surface, the energy is transferred first by radiation (through a lay er
called the radiativ e lay er), being absorbed and re-emitted at decreasing
temperatures. Closer to the surface, through the conv ectiv e lay er,
conv ection becomes the dominant mechanism for energy transfer as the
sun’s plasma is less hot and dense here, and is unable to sustain heat
transfer by radiation.
n ea r t h e su r fa c e of t h e su n . It s pea k a t
n ea r 5 5 0 n m (2 . 2 5 eV ) is pa r a lleled in
t h e m a x im u m sen sit iv it y of ou r ey es in
t h e sa m e r eg ion . T h is is u su a lly
a t t r ibu t ed t o ou r ev olu t ion in t h e
v ic in it y of ou r su n . No m a t t er h ow h ig h
a t em per a t u r e r ises, blu e-w h it e is t h e
h ot t est c olor w e a r e a ble t o per c eiv e.

By the time it reaches the surface of the sun, the photosphere, it has reached the temperature of 5800 K that we
perceiv e as v isible white light.

In addition to heat and light, the sun also emits a low-density stream of charged particles (mostly electrons and
protons) known as the solar wind, which trav els throughout the solar sy stem at about 450 km/sec. The solar wind
and the much higher energy particles ejected by solar flares can hav e dramatic effects on the earth, ranging from
power line surges and radio interference to the beautiful Aurora Borealis.

Other examples of incandescence and

its uses
The color of incandescence is used to measure temperature in radiation
py rometers. Illumination sources, from the primitiv e candle through
limelight, arc lamps, and the modern incandescent-filament lamps and
flash bulbs, all use incandescence; usually the goal is to av oid color and
create light as uniformly white as possible.

Metalworking relies heav ily on incandescence to identify distinctiv e

changes of temperature by color. Blacksmiths temper iron at red-hot
temperatures, while jewelers need to know the color temperature of a
particular metal to anneal it correctly , rendering it ready for working
without under- or ov erheating it.
T h e b r i gh t wh i t e col or s of
fi r ewor k s a r e ex a m ples of
in c a n desc en c e. Met a ls, su c h a s
m a g n esiu m , a r e h ea t ed t o w h it e-h ot
t em per a t u r es du r in g c om bu st ion .
T h e ot h er col or s pr odu ced i n
py r ot ech n i ca l di spl a y s em ploy
lu m in esc en c e, r a t h er t h a n
in c a n desc en c e.

A blacksmith remov ing a red-hot iron

ingot from a forge.

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The ideal annealing temperatures for silv er (left) and gold

produce the color temperatures shown: a dull pink for silv er,
and a red for gold.

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