Black Body radiation

Hot filament glows.

Classical physics cant
explain the observed
wavelength distribution of
EM radiation from such a
hot object.
This problem is historically
the problem that leads to
the rise of quantum
physics during the turn of
20th century

Need for Quantum Physics

Problems remained from classical mechanics

that relativity didnt explain
Attempts to apply the laws of classical physics
to explain the behavior of matter on the atomic
scale were consistently unsuccessful
Problems included:

blackbody radiation

The electromagnetic radiation emitted by a heated object

photoelectric effect

Emission of electrons by an illuminated metal

Quantum Mechanics
Revolution

Between 1900 and 1930, another revolution

took place in physics
A new theory called quantum mechanics was
successful in explaining the behavior of
particles of microscopic size
The first explanation using quantum
mechanics was introduced by Max Planck

Many other physicists were involved in other

subsequent developments

Blackbody Radiation

An object at any temperature is known

to emit thermal radiation

Characteristics depend on the temperature

and surface properties
The thermal radiation consists of a
continuous distribution of wavelengths from
all portions of the em spectrum

Blackbody Radiation, cont.

At room temperature, the wavelengths of the

thermal radiation are mainly in the infrared
region
As the surface temperature increases, the
wavelength changes

It will glow red and eventually white

The basic problem was in understanding the

observed distribution in the radiation emitted
by a black body

Classical physics didnt adequately describe the

observed distribution

Blackbody Radiation, final

A black body is an ideal system that

absorbs all radiation incident on it
The electromagnetic radiation emitted
by a black body is called blackbody
radiation

Blackbody Approximation

A good approximation of a
black body is a small hole
leading to the inside of a
hollow object
The hole acts as a perfect
absorber
The nature of the radiation
leaving the cavity through
the hole depends only on
the temperature of the
cavity

Blackbody Experiment Results

The total power of the emitted radiation

increases with temperature

Stefans law (from Chapter 20):

P = AeT4

The peak of the wavelength distribution shifts

to shorter wavelengths as the temperature
increases

Wiens displacement law

maxT = 2.898 x 10-3 m.K

Real life blackbody

A close
approximation of
blackbody radiator
The colour of the
light emitted from
the charcoal
depends only upon
the temperature

example
This figure shows two stars in
the constellation Orion.
Betelgeuse appears to glow
red, while Rigel looks blue in
color. Which star has a higher
surface temperature?
(a) Betelgeuse
(b) Rigel
(c) They both have the same
surface temperature.
(d) Impossible to determine.

Stefans Law Details

P = AeT4

P is the power
is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant

= 5.670 x 10-8 W / m2 . K4

Stefans law can be written in terms of

intensity

I = P/A = T4

For a blackbody, where e = 1

Wiens Displacement Law

maxT = 2.898 x 10-3 m.K

max is the wavelength at which the curve

peaks
T is the absolute temperature

The wavelength is inversely proportional

to the absolute temperature

As the temperature increases, the peak is

displaced to shorter wavelengths

Intensity of Blackbody
Radiation, Summary

The intensity increases

with increasing
temperature
The amount of radiation
emitted increases with
increasing temperature

The area under the

curve

The peak wavelength

decreases with
increasing temperature

Exmple

Find the peak wavelength of the

blackbody radiation emited by
(A) the Sun (2000 K)
(B) the tungsten of a lightbulb at 3000 K

Solutions

(A) the sun (2000 K)

By Weins displacement law,
3
2.898

10
mK
max
2000K
1.4 m
(infrared)
(B) the tungsten of a lightbulb
at 3000 K
max

3
2.898

10
mK

0.5 m

Yellow-green

5800K

Rayleigh-Jeans Law

An early classical attempt to explain

blackbody radiation was the RayleighJeans law
2ckBT
I ,T
4

At long wavelengths, the law matched

experimental results fairly well

Rayleigh-Jeans Law, cont.

At short wavelengths,
there was a major
disagreement between
the Rayleigh-Jeans law
and experiment
This mismatch became
known as the ultraviolet
catastrophe

You would have infinite

energy as the wavelength
approaches zero

Max Planck

Introduced the
concept of quantum
of action
In 1918 he was
awarded the Nobel
Prize for the
discovery of the
quantized nature of
energy

Plancks Theory of Blackbody

Radiation

In 1900 Planck developed a theory of

blackbody radiation that leads to an equation
for the intensity of the radiation
This equation is in complete agreement with
experimental observations
He assumed the cavity radiation came from
atomic oscillations in the cavity walls
Planck made two assumptions about the
nature of the oscillators in the cavity walls

Plancks Assumption, 1

The energy of an oscillator can have only

certain discrete values En

En = nh

n is a positive integer called the quantum

number
h is Plancks constant
is the frequency of oscillation

This says the energy is quantized

Each discrete energy value corresponds to
a different quantum state

Plancks Assumption, 2

The oscillators emit or absorb energy

when making a transition from one
quantum state to another

The entire energy difference between the

initial and final states in the transition is
emitted or absorbed as a single quantum
of radiation
An oscillator emits or absorbs energy only
when it changes quantum states

Energy-Level Diagram

An energy-level diagram
shows the quantized
energy levels and allowed
transitions
Energy is on the vertical
axis
Horizontal lines represent
the allowed energy levels
The double-headed
arrows indicate allowed
transitions

More About Plancks Model

The average energy of a wave is the average

energy difference between levels of the
oscillator, weighted according to the
probability of the wave being emitted
This weighting is described by the Boltzmann
distribution law and gives the probability of a
state being occupied as being proportional to
E kBT
e
where E is the energy of the state

Plancks
Model,
Graphs

Plancks Wavelength
Distribution Function

Planck generated a theoretical

expression for the wavelength
distribution
2hc 2
I ,T 5 hck T
B
e
1

h = 6.626 x 10-34 J.s

h is a fundamental constant of nature

Plancks Wavelength
Distribution Function, cont.

At long wavelengths, Plancks equation

reduces to the Rayleigh-Jeans
expression
At short wavelengths, it predicts an
exponential decrease in intensity with
decreasing wavelength

This is in agreement with experimental

results

Example: quantised oscillator vs

classical oscillator

A 2.0 kg block is attached to a massless

spring that has a force constant k=25
N/m. The spring is stretched 0.40 m
from its EB position and released.
(A) Find the total energy of the system
and the frequency of oscillation
according to classical mechanics.

Solution (A)

Mechanical Energy, E = kA2 = = 2.0 J

1 k
Frequency, f
... 0.56Hz
2

(B) Assuming that the energy is

quantised, find the quantum number n
for the system oscillating with this
amplitude.

QUICK QUIZ 40.1

(For the end of section 40.1)

Inacertainexperiment,youpassacurrentthroughawire
andmeasurethespectrumoflightthatisemittedfromthe
glowingfilament.ForacurrentI1,youmeasurethewavelength
ofthehighestintensity(alsocalledmax)tobe1.Youthen
increasethevoltageacrossthewirebyafactorof8andthe
currentincreasesbyafactorof2to2I1.Thewavelengthofthe
highestintensitywillshifttoa)41,b)21,c)21,d)1/2,e)
1/2,orf)1/4.

QUICK QUIZ 40.1 ANSWER

(e). Assuming that the wire behaves like a blackbody, the

wavelength with the highest intensity will be inversely
proportional to the absolute temperature according to Wiens
displacement law, or max 1/T. In addition, the power
radiated from the1 wire 1
is proportional
to the1 absolute
1
1
4
max tothefourth

.
temperature
power;
from
Stefans
law,
or
P

T
.
1/ 4
1/ 4
1/ 4
P
IV )wire is(2given
8) by P2 = IV.
Also, the power T
dissipated
in( the

QUICK QUIZ 40.2

Theoscillatorsinablackbodymayoscillatea)atonlycertain
frequencies,b)withonlycertainenergies,c)atonlycertain
frequenciesandwithonlycertainenergies,d)withonlycertain
energiesforacertainfrequency,ore)atonlycertainfrequencies
foracertainenergy.

QUICK QUIZ 40.2 ANSWER

(d). The condition that the oscillators in a blackbody can

have only discrete energy values according to Equation 40.4,