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Short Notes

A black body is an ideal absorber and emitter of electromagnetic radiation, with properties defined by its emissivity and temperature. Key concepts include Wien's Displacement Law, which states that the peak emission wavelength is inversely proportional to temperature, and Planck's Law, which resolves the ultraviolet catastrophe by introducing quantized energy packets. The document also discusses the limitations of classical theories and establishes relationships between emissive power, temperature, and wavelength.

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45 views5 pages

Short Notes

A black body is an ideal absorber and emitter of electromagnetic radiation, with properties defined by its emissivity and temperature. Key concepts include Wien's Displacement Law, which states that the peak emission wavelength is inversely proportional to temperature, and Planck's Law, which resolves the ultraviolet catastrophe by introducing quantized energy packets. The document also discusses the limitations of classical theories and establishes relationships between emissive power, temperature, and wavelength.

Uploaded by

azharmir903
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Black Body Radiation - Short Notes

Definition
A Black Body is a body that absorbs and emits all types of electromagnetic radiation
such as X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, UV, IR, etc.

Properties of Black Body


• A black body is a perfect absorber and perfect emitter.

• Examples: Platinum black, Sun, and nearly perfect black bodies.

Ideal Black Body


An ideal black body has emissivity ε = 1.

Intensity and Emissive Power

E
Intensity, I =
tA
E
Emissive Power, P =
A

Emissive Power vs Wavelength Curve


• The black body radiation curve is continuous.

• Emissive power increases, reaches a peak at certain wavelength, and then de-
creases.

• As temperature increases:

– The peak shifts to lower wavelengths.


– T3 > T2 > T1 implies λm3 < λm2 < λm1 .

1
Wien’s Displacement Law
Statement: The wavelength λm at which maximum emission occurs is inversely
proportional to the absolute temperature T of the black body.

b
λm =
T
Where b = 2.898 × 10−3 m·K

Conclusion: As temperature increases, the peak wavelength shifts to shorter values


(blue shift).

Area Under Black Body Curve


The total emissive power is equal to the area under the spectral energy curve:
Z ∞
E= Eλ dλ
0

Temperature Dependence & Stefan–Boltzmann Law


As temperature increases, the total emissive power increases:

E = εσT 4

Where:

• ε: Emissivity ( = 1 for ideal black body)

• σ = 5.67 × 10−8 W/m2 K4 : Stefan–Boltzmann constant

Also,
uν = 6T, uλ = εσT 4

Peak Emissive Power

Emax ∝ T 5

Wien’s Displacement Law – Intensity Form

A −B/(λT )
Eλ dλ = e dλ
λ5
• Valid at short wavelengths (high frequencies)

• A, B: Wien’s constants

2
Rayleigh–Jeans Law – Classical Derivation
When a black body is heated:

• Atoms and molecules vibrate like simple harmonic oscillators (SHO)

• Emit electromagnetic waves

No. of modes of vibration:


8π
Nλ dλ = dλ
λ4
Average energy per mode:
⟨E⟩ = kT
Energy density:
8πkT
uλ dλ = (Nλ dλ)(⟨E⟩) = dλ
λ4
Conclusion:
1
uλ ∝
λ4

Limitation of Rayleigh–Jeans Law


• Valid only at long wavelengths or low frequencies

• Fails at short wavelengths → Ultraviolet catastrophe

Failure of Classical Physics: Ultraviolet Catastrophe


The Rayleigh–Jeans law predicts:
uν ∝ ν 2
So as ν → ∞, uν → ∞
This leads to infinite energy at high frequency → Not possible.
Conclusion: Classical theory fails at short wavelength (high-frequency) limit.

Planck’s Hypothesis

• Energy is emitted or absorbed in discrete packets (quanta)

• Each packet: E = hν

• Energy is not continuous

Average Energy per oscillator:


hν
⟨E⟩ =
ehν/kT − 1

3
Planck’s Radiation Law – Spectral Energy Density

8πhν 3 dν
uν dν = 3
· hν/kT
c e −1

Planck’s Radiation Law – In Terms of Wavelength

8πhc 1
E(λ, T ) = 5
· hc/(λkT )
λ e −1

Planck’s Law Explains Full B.B. Radiation Curve


Solves ultraviolet catastrophe and matches experiment across all wave-
lengths.

Special Cases of Planck’s Law


Case 1: hν ≫ kT
A −B/λT
uλ dλ = e dλ (Wien’s Law)
λ5
Case 2: hν ≪ kT
8πkT
uλ dλ = dλ (Rayleigh–Jeans Law)
λ4
Case 3: For uν = max

λm T = b (Wien’s Displacement Law)

Case 4: Total energy density


Z ∞
u= uλ dλ ∝ T 4 (Stefan–Boltzmann Law)
0

Note: Average Energy Limit Behavior

hν
⟨E⟩ =
ehν/kT
−1
If h → 0 ⇒ ⟨E⟩ → kT , which agrees with classical equipartition theorem.QM→CM

4
5

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