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Questions and Answers
What is black-body radiation?
What is black-body radiation?
Black-body radiation is the thermal electromagnetic radiation within, or surrounding, a body in thermodynamic equilibrium with its environment, emitted by a black body (an idealized opaque, non-reflective body).
What factors determine the specific, continuous spectrum of wavelengths of black-body radiation?
What factors determine the specific, continuous spectrum of wavelengths of black-body radiation?
The specific, continuous spectrum of wavelengths of black-body radiation is determined by intensity and is inversely related to intensity, depending only on the body's temperature.
Under what conditions can a perfectly insulated enclosure emit blackbody radiation through a hole in its wall?
Under what conditions can a perfectly insulated enclosure emit blackbody radiation through a hole in its wall?
A perfectly insulated enclosure in thermal equilibrium internally can emit blackbody radiation through a hole in its wall, provided the hole is small enough to have a negligible effect upon the equilibrium.
How can the thermal radiation emitted by many ordinary objects be approximated?
How can the thermal radiation emitted by many ordinary objects be approximated?
What is the significance of blackbody radiation for planets and stars, despite them not being in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings?
What is the significance of blackbody radiation for planets and stars, despite them not being in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings?
