- Home
- / Wilhelm Wien
- / What does Wien's displacement law say about the peak wavelength of light emitted by a perfectly black object when it is heated?
What does Wien's displacement law say about the peak wavelength of light emitted by a perfectly black object when it is heated?
It is the same at all temperatures
It increases as the temperature decreases
It decreases as the temperature increases
It is unrelated to the temperature
Answer
According to Wien's displacement law, the peak wavelength of light emitted by a perfectly black object decreases as the temperature increases. This means that as the temperature of a blackbody increases, the color of the light emitted shifts from red to blue. This is because the energy of photons is inversely proportional to their wavelength, so as the temperature increases, the photons emitted have more energy and therefore shorter wavelengths.
Wonderful Wilhelm Wien: A Journey through the Life of a Visionary Physicist
Related Quizzes
Subscribe Now!
Learn something
new everyday
Playing quizzes is free! We send 1 quiz every week to your inbox