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Thermalradiation
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thermalradiationiselectromagneticradiationgeneratedby
thethermalmotionofchargedparticlesinmatter.Allmatter
withatemperaturegreaterthanabsolutezeroemitsthermal
radiation.Whenthetemperatureofabodyisgreaterthan
absolutezero,interatomiccollisionscausethekineticenergy
oftheatomsormoleculestochange.Thisresultsincharge
accelerationand/ordipoleoscillationwhichproduces
electromagneticradiation,andthewidespectrumofradiation
reflectsthewidespectrumofenergiesandaccelerationsthat
occurevenatasingletemperature.
Examplesofthermalradiationincludethevisiblelightand
infraredlightemittedbyanincandescentlightbulb,the
infraredradiationemittedbyanimalsanddetectablewithan
infraredcamera,andthecosmicmicrowavebackground
radiation.Thermalradiationisdifferentfromthermal
convectionandthermalconductionapersonneararaging
bonfirefeelsradiantheatingfromthefire,evenifthe
surroundingairisverycold.

Thepeakwavelengthandtotalradiatedamount
varywithtemperatureaccordingtoWien's
displacementlaw.Althoughthisshowsrelatively
hightemperatures,thesamerelationshipsholdtrue
foranytemperaturedowntoabsolutezero.Visible
lightisbetween380and750nm.

Sunlightispartofthermalradiationgeneratedbythehot
plasmaoftheSun.TheEarthalsoemitsthermalradiation,but
atamuchlowerintensityanddifferentspectraldistribution(infraredrather
thanvisible)becauseitiscooler.TheEarth'sabsorptionofsolarradiation,
followedbyitsoutgoingthermalradiationarethetwomostimportant
processesthatdeterminethetemperatureandclimateoftheEarth.
Ifaradiationemittingobjectmeetsthephysicalcharacteristicsofablack
bodyinthermodynamicequilibrium,theradiationiscalledblackbody
radiation.[1]Planck'slawdescribesthespectrumofblackbodyradiation,
whichdependsonlyontheobject'stemperature.Wien'sdisplacementlaw
determinesthemostlikelyfrequencyoftheemittedradiation,andthe
StefanBoltzmannlawgivestheradiantintensity.[2]
Thermalradiationisoneofthefundamentalmechanismsofheattransfer.

Contents
1 Overview
1.1 Surfaceeffects
2 Properties
2.1 Nearfieldandfarfield
2.2 Subjectivecolortotheeyeofablackbodythermal
radiator
2.3 Selectedradiantheatfluxes
3 Interchangeofenergy
4 Radiativepower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_radiation

Thermalradiationinvisiblelightcan
beseenonthishotmetalwork.Its
emissionintheinfraredisinvisibleto
thehumaneyeandthecamerathe
imagewastakenwith,butaninfrared
cameracouldshowit(See
Thermography).

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4 Radiativepower
4.1 Constants
4.2 Variables
5 Radiativeheattransfer
6 Seealso
7 References
8 Furtherreading
9 Externallinks

Overview
Thermalradiationistheemissionofelectromagneticwavesfromallmatterthathasatemperaturegreaterthan
absolutezero.[3]Itrepresentsaconversionofthermalenergyintoelectromagneticenergy.Thermalenergyconsists
ofthekineticenergyofrandommovementsofatomsandmoleculesinmatter.Allmatterwithatemperatureby
definitioniscomposedofparticleswhichhavekineticenergy,andwhichinteractwitheachother.Theseatomsand
moleculesarecomposedofchargedparticles,i.e.,protonsandelectrons,andkineticinteractionsamongmatter
particlesresultinchargeaccelerationanddipoleoscillation.Thisresultsintheelectrodynamicgenerationof
coupledelectricandmagneticfields,resultingintheemissionofphotons,radiatingenergyawayfromthebody
throughitssurfaceboundary.Electromagneticradiation,includinglight,doesnotrequirethepresenceofmatterto
propagateandtravelsinthevacuumofspaceinfinitelyfarifunobstructed.
Thecharacteristicsofthermalradiationdependonvariouspropertiesofthesurfaceitisemanatingfrom,including
itstemperature,itsspectralabsorptivityandspectralemissivepower,asexpressedbyKirchhoff'slaw.[3]The
radiationisnotmonochromatic,i.e.,itdoesnotconsistofjustasinglefrequency,butcomprisesacontinuous
dispersionofphotonenergies,itscharacteristicspectrum.Iftheradiatingbodyanditssurfacearein
thermodynamicequilibriumandthesurfacehasperfectabsorptivityatallwavelengths,itischaracterizedasa
blackbody.Ablackbodyisalsoaperfectemitter.Theradiationofsuchperfectemittersiscalledblackbody
radiation.Theratioofanybody'semissionrelativetothatofablackbodyisthebody'semissivity,sothatablack
bodyhasanemissivityofunity.
Absorptivity,reflectivity,andemissivityofallbodiesaredependentonthewavelengthoftheradiation.The
temperaturedeterminesthewavelengthdistributionoftheelectromagneticradiation.Forexample,freshsnow,
whichishighlyreflectivetovisiblelight(reflectivityabout0.90),appearswhiteduetoreflectingsunlightwitha
peakwavelengthofabout0.5micrometers.Itsemissivityatatemperatureofabout5C(23F),peakwavelength
ofabout12micrometers,is0.99.
ThedistributionofpowerthatablackbodyemitswithvaryingfrequencyisdescribedbyPlanck'slaw.Atany
giventemperature,thereisafrequencyfmaxatwhichthepoweremittedisamaximum.Wien'sdisplacementlaw,
andthefactthatthefrequencyoflightisinverselyproportionaltoitswavelengthinvacuum,thismeansthatthe
peakfrequencyfmaxisproportionaltotheabsolutetemperatureToftheblackbody.Thephotosphereofthesun,at
atemperatureofapproximately6000K,emitsradiationprincipallyinthe(humanly)visibleportionofthe
electromagneticspectrum.Earth'satmosphereispartlytransparenttovisiblelight,andthelightreachingthe
surfaceisabsorbedorreflected.Earth'ssurfaceemitstheabsorbedradiation,approximatingthebehaviorofablack
bodyat300Kwithspectralpeakatfmax.Attheselowerfrequencies,theatmosphereislargelyopaqueand
radiationfromEarth'ssurfaceisabsorbedorscatteredbytheatmosphere.Thoughsomeradiationescapesinto
space,mostisabsorbedandthenreemittedbyatmosphericgases.Itisthisspectralselectivityoftheatmosphere
thatisresponsiblefortheplanetarygreenhouseeffect,contributingtoglobalwarmingandclimatechangein
general(butalsocriticallycontributingtoclimatestabilitywhenthecompositionandpropertiesoftheatmosphere
arenotchanging).
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Theincandescentlightbulbhasaspectrumoverlappingtheblackbodyspectraofthesunandtheearth.Someof
thephotonsemittedbyatungstenlightbulbfilamentat3000Kareinthevisiblespectrum.Mostoftheenergyis
associatedwithphotonsoflongerwavelengthsthesedonothelpapersonsee,butstilltransferheattothe
environment,ascanbededucedempiricallybyobservinganincandescentlightbulb.WheneverEMradiationis
emittedandthenabsorbed,heatistransferred.Thisprincipleisusedinmicrowaveovens,lasercutting,andRF
hairremoval.
Unlikeconductiveandconvectiveformsofheattransfer,thermalradiationcanbeconcentratedinatinyspotby
usingreflectingmirrors.Concentratingsolarpowertakesadvantageofthisfact.Inmanysuchsystems,mirrorsare
employedtoconcentratesunlightintoasmallerarea.Insteadofmirrors,Fresnellensescanalsobeusedto
concentrateheatflux.(Inprinciple,anykindoflenscanbeused,butonlytheFresnellensdesignispracticalfor
verylargelenses.)Eithermethodcanbeusedtoquicklyvaporizewaterintosteamusingsunlight.Forexample,the
sunlightreflectedfrommirrorsheatsthePS10SolarPowerPlant,andduringthedayitcanheatwaterto285C
(558.15K)or545F.

Surfaceeffects
Lightercolorsandalsowhitesandmetallicsubstancesabsorblessilluminatinglight,andthusheatuplessbut
otherwisecolormakessmalldifferenceasregardsheattransferbetweenanobjectateverydaytemperaturesandits
surroundings,sincethedominantemittedwavelengthsarenowherenearthevisiblespectrum,butratherinthefar
infrared.Emissivitiesatthosewavelengthshavelittletodowithvisualemissivities(visiblecolors)inthefarinfra
red,mostobjectshavehighemissivities.Thus,exceptinsunlight,thecolorofclothingmakeslittledifferenceas
regardswarmthlikewise,paintcolorofhousesmakeslittledifferencetowarmthexceptwhenthepaintedpartis
sunlit.
Themainexceptiontothisisshinymetalsurfaces,whichhavelowemissivitiesbothinthevisiblewavelengthsand
inthefarinfrared.Suchsurfacescanbeusedtoreduceheattransferinbothdirectionsanexampleofthisisthe
multilayerinsulationusedtoinsulatespacecraft.
Lowemissivitywindowsinhousesareamorecomplicatedtechnology,sincetheymusthavelowemissivityat
thermalwavelengthswhileremainingtransparenttovisiblelight.
Nanostructureswithspectrallyselectivethermalemittancepropertiesoffernumeroustechnologicalapplicationsfor
energygenerationandefficiency,e.g.,forcoolingphotovoltaiccellsandbuildings.Theseapplicationsrequirehigh
emittanceinthefrequencyrangecorrespondingtotheatmospherictransparencywindowin8to13micron
wavelengthrange.Aselectiveemitterradiatingstronglyinthisrangeisthusexposedtotheclearsky,enablingthe
useoftheouterspaceasaverylowtemperatureheatsink.
Personalizedcoolingtechnologyisanotherexampleofanapplicationwhereopticalspectralselectivitycanbe
beneficial.Conventionalpersonalcoolingistypicallyachievedthroughheatconductionandconvection.However,
thehumanbodyisaveryefficientemitterofIRradiation,whichprovidesadditionalcoolingmechanism.Most
conventionalfabricsareopaquetoIRradiationandblockthermalemissionfromthebodytotheenvironment.
FabricsforpersonalizedcoolingapplicationshavebeenproposedthatenableIRtransmissiontodirectlypass
throughclothing,whilebeingopaqueatvisiblewavelengths.Fabricsthataretransparentintheinfraredcanradiate
bodyheatatratesthatwillsignificantlyreducetheburdenonpowerhungryairconditioningsystems.

Properties
Therearefourmainpropertiesthatcharacterizethermalradiation(inthelimitofthefarfield):

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Thermalradiationemittedbyabodyatanytemperatureconsistsofawiderangeoffrequencies.The
frequencydistributionisgivenbyPlanck'slawofblackbodyradiationforanidealizedemitterasshownin
thediagramattop.
Thedominantfrequency(orcolor)rangeoftheemittedradiationshiftstohigherfrequenciesasthe
temperatureoftheemitterincreases.Forexample,aredhotobjectradiatesmainlyinthelongwavelengths
(redandorange)ofthevisibleband.Ifitisheatedfurther,italsobeginstoemitdiscernibleamountsofgreen
andbluelight,andthespreadoffrequenciesintheentirevisiblerangecauseittoappearwhitetothehuman
eyeitiswhitehot.Evenatawhitehottemperatureof2000K,99%oftheenergyoftheradiationisstillin
theinfrared.ThisisdeterminedbyWien'sdisplacementlaw.Inthediagramthepeakvalueforeachcurve
movestotheleftasthetemperatureincreases.
ThetotalamountofradiationofallfrequenciesincreasessteeplyasthetemperaturerisesitgrowsasT4,
whereTistheabsolutetemperatureofthebody.Anobjectatthetemperatureofakitchenoven,abouttwice
theroomtemperatureontheabsolutetemperaturescale(600Kvs.300K)radiates16timesasmuchpower
perunitarea.Anobjectatthetemperatureofthefilamentinanincandescentlightbulbroughly3000K,or
10timesroomtemperatureradiates10,000timesasmuchenergyperunitarea.Thetotalradiativeintensity
ofablackbodyrisesasthefourthpoweroftheabsolutetemperature,asexpressedbytheStefanBoltzmann
law.Intheplot,theareaundereachcurvegrowsrapidlyasthetemperatureincreases.
Therateofelectromagneticradiationemittedatagivenfrequencyisproportionaltotheamountof
absorptionthatitwouldexperiencebythesource.Thus,asurfacethatabsorbsmoreredlightthermally
radiatesmoreredlight.Thisprincipleappliestoallpropertiesofthewave,includingwavelength(color),
direction,polarization,andevencoherence,sothatitisquitepossibletohavethermalradiationwhichis
polarized,coherent,anddirectional,thoughpolarizedandcoherentformsarefairlyrareinnaturefarfrom
sources(intermsofwavelength).Seesectionbelowformoreonthisqualification.

Nearfieldandfarfield
ThegeneralpropertiesofthermalradiationasdescribedbythePlanckslawapplyifthelineardimensionofall
partsconsidered,aswellasradiiofcurvatureofallsurfacesarelargecomparedwiththewavelengthoftheray
considered(typicallyfrom825micrometresfortheemitterat300K).Indeed,thermalradiationasdiscussed
abovetakesonlyradiatingwaves(farfield,orelectromagneticradiation)intoaccount.Amoresophisticated
frameworkinvolvingelectromagnetictheorymustbeusedforsmallerdistancesfromthethermalsourceorsurface
(nearfieldthermalradiation).Forexample,althoughfarfieldthermalradiationatdistancesfromsurfacesofmore
thanonewavelengthisgenerallynotcoherenttoanyextent,nearfieldthermalradiation(i.e.,radiationatdistances
ofafractionofvariousradiationwavelengths)mayexhibitadegreeofbothtemporalandspatialcoherence.[4]
Planckslawofthermalradiationhasbeenchallengedinrecentdecadesbypredictionsandsuccessful
demonstrationsoftheradiativeheattransferbetweenobjectsseparatedbynanoscalegapsthatdeviatesignificantly
fromthelawpredictions.Thisdeviationisespeciallystrong(uptoseveralordersinmagnitude)whentheemitter
andabsorbersupportsurfacepolaritonmodesthatcancouplethroughthegapseparatingcoldandhotobjects.
However,totakeadvantageofthesurfacepolaritonmediatednearfieldradiativeheattransfer,thetwoobjects
needtobeseparatedbyultranarrowgapsontheorderofmicronsorevennanometers.Thislimitationsignificantly
complicatespracticaldevicedesigns.
Anotherwaytomodifytheobjectthermalemissionspectrumisbyreducingthedimensionalityoftheemitter
itself.Thisapproachbuildsupontheconceptofconfiningelectronsinquantumwells,wiresanddots,andtailors
thermalemissionbyengineeringconfinedphotonstatesintwoandthreedimensionalpotentialtraps,including
wells,wires,anddots.Suchspatialconfinementconcentratesphotonstatesandenhancesthermalemissionat
selectfrequencies.Toachievetherequiredlevelofphotonconfinement,thedimensionsoftheradiatingobjects
shouldbeontheorderoforbelowthethermalwavelengthpredictedbyPlanckslaw.Mostimportantly,the
emissionspectrumofthermalwells,wiresanddotsdeviatesfromPlanckslawpredictionsnotonlyinthenear
field,butalsointhefarfield,whichsignificantlyexpandstherangeoftheirapplications.
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Subjectivecolortotheeyeofablackbodythermalradiator
Subjectivecolor[5]

C(F)
480C(896F)

faintredglow

580C(1,076F)

darkred

730C(1,350F)

brightred,slightlyorange

930C(1,710F)

brightorange

1,100C(2,010F)

paleyellowishorange

1,300C(2,370F)

yellowishwhite

>1,400C(2,550F) white(yellowishifseenfromadistancethroughatmosphere)

Selectedradiantheatfluxes
Thetimetoadamagefromexposuretoradiativeheatisafunctionoftherateofdeliveryoftheheat.[6]Radiative
heatfluxandeffects:[7](1W/cm2=10kW/m2)
kW/m2

Effect

170

Maximumfluxmeasuredinapostflashovercompartment

80

ThermalProtectivePerformancetestforpersonalprotectiveequipment

52

Fiberboardignitesat5seconds

29

Woodignites,giventime

20

Typicalbeginningofflashoveratfloorlevelofaresidentialroom

16

Humanskin:suddenpainandseconddegreeburnblistersafter5seconds

12.5

Woodproducesignitablevolatilesbypyrolysis

10.4

Humanskin:Painafter3seconds,seconddegreeburnblistersafter9seconds

6.4

Humanskin:seconddegreeburnblistersafter18seconds

4.5

Humanskin:seconddegreeburnblistersafter30seconds

2.5

Humanskin:burnsafterprolongedexposure,radiantfluxexposuretypicallyencounteredduring
firefighting

1.4

Sunlight,sunburnspotentiallywithin30minutes

Interchangeofenergy
Thermalradiationisoneoftheprincipalmechanismsofheattransfer.Itentailstheemissionofaspectrumof
electromagneticradiationduetoanobject'stemperature.Othermechanismsareconvectionandconduction.The
interplayofenergyexchangebythermalradiationischaracterizedbythefollowingequation:

Here, representsthespectralabsorptioncomponent, spectralreflectioncomponentand thespectral

transmissioncomponent.Theseelementsareafunctionofthewavelength( )oftheelectromagneticradiation.
Thespectralabsorptionisequaltotheemissivity thisrelationisknownasKirchhoff'slawofthermalradiation.
Anobjectiscalledablackbodyif,forallfrequencies,thefollowingformulaapplies:
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Inapracticalsituationandroomtemperaturesetting,humansloseconsiderable
energyduetothermalradiation.Theenergylostbyemittinginfraredradiationis
partiallyregainedbyabsorbingtheheatflowduetoconductionfromsurrounding
objects,andtheremainderresultingfromgeneratedheatthroughmetabolism.
Humanskinhasanemissivityofverycloseto1.0.[8]Usingtheformulasbelow
showsahuman,havingroughly2squaremeterinsurfacearea,andatemperature
ofabout307K,continuouslyradiatesapproximately1000watts.Ifpeopleare
indoors,surroundedbysurfacesat296K,theyreceivebackabout900wattsfrom
thewall,ceiling,andothersurroundings,sothenetlossisonlyabout100watts.
Theseheattransferestimatesarehighlydependentonextrinsicvariables,suchas
wearingclothes,i.e.decreasingtotalthermalcircuitconductivity,therefore
reducingtotaloutputheatflux.Onlytrulygraysystems(relativeequivalent
emissivity/absorptivityandnodirectionaltransmissivitydependenceinallcontrol
volumebodiesconsidered)canachievereasonablesteadystateheatfluxestimates
throughtheStefanBoltzmannlaw.Encounteringthis"ideallycalculable"situation
isalmostimpossible(althoughcommonengineeringproceduressurrenderthe
dependencyoftheseunknownvariablesand"assume"thistobethecase).
Optimistically,these"gray"approximationswillgetclosetorealsolutions,asmost
divergencefromStefanBoltzmannsolutionsisverysmall(especiallyinmostSTP
labcontrolledenvironments).

Radiantheatpanelfortesting
preciselyquantifiedenergy
exposuresatNational
ResearchCouncil,near
Ottawa,Ontario,Canada

Ifobjectsappearwhite(reflectiveinthevisualspectrum),theyarenotnecessarilyequallyreflective(andthusnon
emissive)inthethermalinfrared.Mosthouseholdradiatorsarepaintedwhitebutthisissensiblegiventhattheyare
nothotenoughtoradiateanysignificantamountofheat,andarenotdesignedasthermalradiatorsatalltheyare
actuallyconvectors,andpaintingthemmattblackwouldmakelittledifferencetotheirefficacy.Acrylicand
urethanebasedwhitepaintshave93%blackbodyradiationefficiencyatroomtemperature[9](meaningtheterm
"blackbody"doesnotalwayscorrespondtothevisuallyperceivedcolorofanobject).Thesematerialsthatdonot
followthe"blackcolor=highemissivity/absorptivity"caveatwillmostlikelyhavefunctionalspectral
emissivity/absorptivitydependence.
Calculationofradiativeheattransferbetweengroupsofobject,includinga'cavity'or'surroundings'requires
solutionofasetofsimultaneousequationsusingtheradiositymethod.Inthesecalculations,thegeometrical
configurationoftheproblemisdistilledtoasetofnumberscalledviewfactors,whichgivetheproportionof
radiationleavinganygivensurfacethathitsanotherspecificsurface.Thesecalculationsareimportantinthefields
ofsolarthermalenergy,boilerandfurnacedesignandraytracedcomputergraphics.
Aselectivesurfacecanbeusedwhenenergyisbeingextractedfromthesun.Forinstance,whenagreenhouseis
made,mostoftheroofandwallsaremadeoutofglass.Glassistransparentinthevisible(approximately
0.4m<<0.8m)andnearinfraredwavelengths,butopaquetomidtofarwavelengthinfrared(approximately
>3m).[10][11]Therefore,glassletsinradiationinthevisiblerange,allowingustobeabletoseethroughit,but
doesnotletoutradiationthatisemittedfromobjectsatorclosetoroomtemperature.Thistrapswhatwefeelas
heat.Thisisknownasthegreenhouseeffectandcanbeobservedbygettingintoacarthathasbeensittinginthe
sun.Selectivesurfacescanalsobeusedonsolarcollectors.Wecanfindouthowmuchhelpaselectivesurface
coatingisbylookingattheequilibriumtemperatureofaplatethatisbeingheatedthroughsolarradiation.Ifthe
plateisreceivingasolarirradiationof1350W/m(minimumis1325W/monJuly4andmaximumis1418W/m
onJanuary3)fromthesunthetemperatureoftheplatewheretheradiationleavingisequaltotheradiationbeing
receivedbytheplateis393K(248F).Iftheplatehasaselectivesurfacewithanemissivityof0.9andacutoff

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wavelengthof2.0m,theequilibriumtemperatureisapproximately1250K
(1790F).Thecalculationsweremadeneglectingconvectiveheattransferand
neglectingthesolarirradiationabsorbedintheclouds/atmospherefor
simplicity,thetheoryisstillthesameforanactualproblem.
Toreducetheheattransferfromasurface,suchasaglasswindow,aclear
reflectivefilmwithalowemissivitycoatingcanbeplacedontheinteriorof
thesurface.Lowemittance(lowE)coatingsaremicroscopicallythin,
virtuallyinvisible,metalormetallicoxidelayersdepositedonawindowor
skylightglazingsurfaceprimarilytoreducetheUfactorbysuppressing
radiativeheatflow.[12]Byaddingthiscoatingwearelimitingtheamountof
radiationthatleavesthewindowthusincreasingtheamountofheatthatis
retainedinsidethewindow.

Radiativepower
Thermalradiationpowerofablackbodyperunitareaofradiatingsurfaceper
unitofsolidangleandperunitfrequency isgivenbyPlanck'slawas:

Acomparisonofathermalimage
(top)andanordinaryphotograph
(bottom)showsthatatrashbagis
transparentbutglass(theman's
spectacles)isopaqueinlong
wavelengthinfrared.

orintermsofwavelength

where

isaconstant.

Thisformulamathematicallyfollowsfromcalculationof
spectraldistributionofenergyinquantizedelectromagnetic
fieldwhichisincompletethermalequilibriumwiththe
radiatingobject.Theequationisderivedasaninfinitesum
overallpossiblefrequencies.Theenergy,
,ofeach
photonismultipliedbythenumberofstatesavailableatthat
frequency,andtheprobabilitythateachofthosestateswillbe
occupied.

Poweremittedbyablackbodyplottedagainstthe
temperatureaccordingtotheStefanBoltzmann
law.

Integratingtheaboveequationover thepoweroutputgivenbytheStefanBoltzmannlawisobtained,as:

wheretheconstantofproportionality istheStefanBoltzmannconstantand istheradiatingsurfacearea.

Thewavelength ,forwhichtheemissionintensityishighest,isgivenbyWien'sdisplacementlawas:

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Forsurfaceswhicharenotblackbodies,onehastoconsiderthe(generallyfrequencydependent)emissivityfactor
.Thisfactorhastobemultipliedwiththeradiationspectrumformulabeforeintegration.Ifitistakenasa
constant,theresultingformulaforthepoweroutputcanbewritteninawaythatcontains asafactor:

Thistypeoftheoreticalmodel,withfrequencyindependentemissivitylowerthanthatofaperfectblackbody,is
oftenknownasagreybody.Forfrequencydependentemissivity,thesolutionfortheintegratedpowerdependson
thefunctionalformofthedependence,thoughingeneralthereisnosimpleexpressionforit.Practicallyspeaking,
iftheemissivityofthebodyisroughlyconstantaroundthepeakemissionwavelength,thegraybodymodeltends
toworkfairlywellsincetheweightofthecurvearoundthepeakemissiontendstodominatetheintegral.

Constants
Definitionsofconstantsusedintheaboveequations:
6.6260693(11)1034Js=4.13566743(35)1015eVs

Planck'sconstant

Wien'sdisplacementconstant 2.8977685(51)103mK
Boltzmannconstant

1.3806505(24)1023JK1=8.617343(15)105eVK1

StefanBoltzmannconstant

5.670373(21)108Wm2K4

Speedoflight

299792458ms1

Variables
Definitionsofvariables,withexamplevalues:
Absolute
temperature

Forunitsusedabove,mustbeinkelvin(e.g.AveragesurfacetemperatureonEarth=
288K)

Surfacearea

Acuboid=2ab+2bc+2ac
Acylinder=2r(h+r)
Asphere=4r2

Radiativeheattransfer
Thenetradiativeheattransferfromonesurfacetoanotheristheradiationleavingthefirstsurfacefortheother
minusthatarrivingfromthesecondsurface.
Forblackbodies,therateofenergytransferfromsurface1tosurface2is:

where issurfacearea, isenergyflux(therateofemissionperunitsurfacearea)and

fromsurface1tosurface2.Applyingboththereciprocityruleforviewfactors,
StefanBoltzmannlaw,
,yields:

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istheviewfactor
,andthe

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where istheStefanBoltzmannconstantand istemperature.[10]Anegativevaluefor indicatesthatnet

radiationheattransferisfromsurface2tosurface1.
Fortwogreybodysurfacesforminganenclosure,theheattransferrateis:

where and aretheemissivitiesofthesurfaces.[10]

Formulasforradiativeheattransfercanbederivedformoreparticularormoreelaboratephysicalarrangements,
suchasbetweenparallelplates,concentricspheresandtheinternalsurfacesofacylinder.[10]

Seealso
Incandescence
Infraredphotography
Interiorradiationcontrolcoating
Planckradiation
SakumaHattoriequation
Thermaldoseunit
Viewfactor

References
1.K.Huang,StatisticalMechanics(2003),p.278
2.K.Huang,StatisticalMechanics(2003),p.280
3.S.Blundell,K.Blundell(2006).ConceptsinThermal
Physics.OxfordUniversityPress.p.247.ISBN9780
198567691.
4.[1](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00107
510701690380#preview)Reviewofcoherrentthermal
radiation
5.ThePhysicsofColouredFireworks(http://web.archive.
org/web/20110721181740/http://cc.oulu.fi/~kempmp/col
ours.html)
6.Furtak,M.Silecky,L.(2012)."EvaluationofOnsetto
SecondDegreeBurnEnergyinArcFlash,IAEI".
7.JohnJ.LentiniScientificProtocolsforFire
Investigation,CRC2006,ISBN0849320828,table
fromNFPA921,GuideforFireandExplosion
Investigations
8.R.BowlingBarnes(24May1963)."Thermographyof
theHumanBodyInfraredradiantenergyprovidesnew
conceptsandinstrumentationformedicaldiagnosis".
Science.140(3569):870877.
Bibcode:1963Sci...140..870B.
doi:10.1126/science.140.3569.870.PMID13969373.
9.S.Tanemura,M.Tazawa,P.Jing,T.Miki,K.
Yoshimura,K.Igarashi,M.Ohishi,K.Shimono,M.
Adachi,OpticalPropertiesandRadiativeCooling
PowerofWhitePaints,[2](http://wire0.ises.org/wire/do
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_radiation

clibs/SWC1999.nsf/id/D33990A41EA63969C12569200
03D6148/$File/038.pdf)ISES1999SolarWorld
Congress
10.HeatandMassTransfer,YunusA.CengelandAfshin
J.Ghajar,4thEdition
11.Infrared#DifferentregionsintheinfraredShort
wavelengthinfraredis1.43m,midwavelength
infraredis38m
12.TheEfficientWindowsCollaborative:Window
Technologies(http://www.efficientwindows.org/lowe.cf
m)

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Furtherreading
Siegel,JohnR.Howell,RobertHowell.JohnR.(November2001).Thermalradiationheattransfer.New
York:Taylor&Francis,Inc.pp.(xixxxvilistofsymbolsforthermalradiationformulas).ISBN9781
560328391.Retrieved20090723.
E.M.SparrowandR.D.Cess.RadiationHeatTransfer.HemispherePublishingCorporation,1978.

Externallinks
BlackBodyEmissionCalculator(http://www.spectralcalc.com/blackbody_calculator/blackbody.php)
Heattransfer(http://www.veliyaththermostatics.com/resources.php)
AtmosphericRadiation(http://www.du.edu/~etuttle/weather/atmrad.htm)
InfraredTemperatureCalibration101(http://www.hartscientific.com/publications/pdfs/3187781_A_w.pdf)
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Categories: Electromagneticradiation Heattransfer Thermodynamics
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