home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
/ Invisible Universe / Invisible Universe (1995)(Voyager)[Mac-PC].iso / mac / MOVIES / MIAWS / _GLOSS Full Text.DIR / 02237_Field_thermal or blackbody radiation.txt < prev    next >
Text File  |  1995-11-04  |  595b  |  16 lines
  1. thermal or blackbody radiation:
  2. Emitted by all matter in the universe,
  3. this radiationΓÇÖs spectrum depends
  4. only on the temperature of the object
  5. emitting it. Light from the Sun and
  6. other stars, for instance, approximates
  7. blackbody radiation. Because higher
  8. temperatures produce shorter
  9. wavelengths, a starΓÇÖs color indicates
  10. its temperature: yellow stars are
  11. relatively cool (5,700 degrees Kelvin),
  12. while blue-white ones are hotter
  13. (10,000+ degrees Kelvin). Blackbody
  14. radiation receives its name from the
  15. concept that even a perfectly black
  16. object reflecting no light would give