All Flashcards
Define blackbody radiation.
Electromagnetic energy emitted by an object due to its temperature.
What is a blackbody?
An idealized object that absorbs all incoming radiation and emits energy based solely on its temperature.
Define Wien's displacement constant.
The constant (b ≈ 2.898 x 10⁻³ m⋅K) that relates the peak wavelength of emitted radiation to the temperature of a blackbody.
What is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant?
The constant (σ ≈ 5.67 x 10⁻⁸ W m⁻² K⁻⁴) that relates the total power emitted by a blackbody to its surface area and temperature.
Define Planck's constant.
The constant (h) that relates the energy of a photon to its frequency (E = hf).
What is 'ultraviolet catastrophe'?
The prediction by classical physics that a blackbody would emit infinite energy at short wavelengths.
Define Blackbody Radiation.
Electromagnetic energy emitted by an object due to its temperature.
What is a Blackbody?
An idealized object that absorbs all incoming radiation and emits energy based solely on its temperature.
Define Wien's Displacement Law.
The wavelength at which a blackbody emits the most radiation is inversely proportional to its temperature.
What is the Stefan-Boltzmann Law?
The total power emitted by a blackbody is proportional to its surface area and the fourth power of its absolute temperature.
Define Planck's constant.
The constant that relates the energy of a photon to its frequency ().
What is 'ultraviolet catastrophe'?
The prediction of classical physics that a blackbody would emit infinite energy at short wavelengths.
Describe how a blackbody reaches thermal equilibrium.
A blackbody reaches thermal equilibrium when it emits the same amount of energy it absorbs, maintaining a constant temperature.
Outline the process of energy emission according to Planck's Law.
Energy is emitted in discrete packets (quanta) called photons, with energy E = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency.