CHEM 001A Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Black-Body Radiation, Condensed Matter Physics, Work Function
Document Summary
Early theories of light (newton) speculated that it was made of particles. By the end of the 19th century, the classical theories of mechanics and electromagnetism were well established: Matter is made of particles and governed by newton"s laws of motion (mechanics) Light is made of waves and governed by maxwell"s equations. Understanding light as a wave (electromagnetism) the direction of travel. Oscillating magnetic and electric fields that are perpendicular to each other and. Travel through vacuum at 2. 998 x 10 8 m/s ( c ) Frequency ( v ) (units of hertz, hz, s -1 ) The speed of any wave is the product of its wavelength and frequency . For any given wavelength of light, you can specify its frequency, and vice versa. C = v = 2. 998 x 10 8 m/s (because the speed of light is a constant!) Blackbody radiator is an ideal form of this phenomenon. Responsible for the sun"s light and incandescent lightbulbs.
