Origin of thermal radiation

jjschwartz1

I'm trying to understand the origin of thermal radiation. All things with a temperature emit electromagnetic radiation.

Every discussion I've found starts with that as a premise and then goes on to Wien's displacement law and Planck's law, etc which I follow.

But *why* do all things radiate? I've seen some hints that atoms in motion are constantly colliding and therefore accelerating and therefore the component charges are accelerating and emitting electromagnetic radiation. But I haven't seen it worked out in detail or mathematically.

And if that's the case, do a bunch of neutrons at room temperature radiate? They must. What's the explanation for that?

mathman

Neutrons don't radiated. They transfer energy by collision.