Blackbody Spectrum

Explore thermal radiation and the quantum revolution

A blackbody is an ideal object that absorbs all incident radiation and emits radiation based solely on its temperature. As temperature increases, the peak emission wavelength shifts to shorter wavelengths (Wien's Law) and total power increases dramatically (Stefan-Boltzmann). Classical physics predicted infinite emission at short wavelengths (ultraviolet catastrophe). Planck resolved this by quantizing energy, birthing quantum mechanics.