Thermal Radiation
- All objects give off thermal radiation
- The hotter an object is, the more thermal radiation it emits
- Thermal radiation is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum called infrared
- Thermal radiation is the only way in which heat can travel through a vacuum
- It is the way in which heat reaches us from the Sun through the vacuum of space
- The colour of an object affects how good it is at emitting and absorbing thermal radiation:
Thermal Equilibrium
- As an object absorbs thermal radiation it will become hotter
- As it gets hotter it will also emit more thermal radiation
- The temperature of a body increases when the body absorbs radiation faster than it emits radiation
- Eventually, an object will reach a point of constant temperature where it is absorbing radiation at the same rate as it is emitting radiation
- At this point, the object will be in thermal equilibrium
Radiation in Equilibrium
An object will remain at a constant temperature if it absorbs heat at the same rate as it loses heat
- If the rate at which an object receives energy is less than the rate at which it transfers energy away then the object will cool down
- If the rate at which an object transfers energy away is less than the rate at which it receives energy then the object will heat up
- The process will always move towards thermal equilibrium