Blackbody Radiation

Vocabulary flashcards for the lecture on Blackbody Radiation.

Blackbody object

A theoretical body that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation falling on it and is a perfect absorber and emitter of electromagnetic radiation.

Blackbody radiation

The thermal radiation emitted by a blackbody object, which depends on the object's temperature and obeys blackbody radiation laws.

Stefan-Boltzmann law

A law stating that the intensity of light emitted by a blackbody object is directly related to the object's temperature raised to the fourth power (Intensity ~ T 4 ).

Intensity

The luminosity radiated by a unit area of an object, representing energy per second per unit area.

Luminosity

The total energy radiated per second by an object.

Wien's law

A law stating that the peak wavelength at which a blackbody object emits most of its light is inversely proportional to the object's temperature (λmax ~ 1/T).

Peak Wavelength (λmax)

The particular wavelength at which a blackbody object gives off most of its light, which shifts to shorter wavelengths as the temperature increases.