In: Physics
Blackbody radiation: what is it, and how do we use its properties to figure out the temperature of an object?
Black-body radiation is the type of electromagnetic radiation within or surrounding a body in thermodynamic equilibriumwith its environment, or emitted by a black body (an opaque and non-reflective body) held at constant, uniform temperature. The radiation has a specific spectrum and intensity that depends only on the temperature of the body
Wien's displacement law
Wien's displacement law shows how the spectrum of black-body radiation at any temperature is related to the spectrum at any other temperature. If we know the shape of the spectrum at one temperature, we can calculate the shape at any other temperature. Spectral intensity can be expressed as a function of wavelength or of frequency.
A consequence of Wien's displacement law is that the wavelength at which the intensity per unit wavelength of the radiation produced by a black body is at a maximum, , is a function only of the temperature
Stefan