Blackbody Radiation: Perfect Absorbers of Heat

A blackbody is an ideal object that absorbs all radiation falling on it—no reflection.
It also emits radiation perfectly, making it the best possible heat emitter.
The color of its glow depends only on temperature, not on what it’s made of.
Heated blackbodies shift from red to white to blue as they get hotter.
Stars, including our Sun, act like near-perfect blackbodies in how they shine.
Blackbody radiation helped uncover quantum physics through Max Planck’s work in 1900.
Planck’s solution introduced the idea of energy quanta, laying the groundwork for quantum mechanics.
Everyday objects aren’t perfect blackbodies, but they still emit infrared heat radiation.
Blackbody principles guide infrared cameras, climate science, and thermal imaging.
From glowing coals to cosmic background radiation, blackbody radiation is everywhere in physics.