- #1
Infrasound
- 70
- 0
Here is a problem that has been bothering me for some time...
What is the source of electromagnetic radiation (usuall red visible light) coming from materials (such as metals) that are hot enough.
An example that has always stuck with me is a demonstration that I witnessed at a car show of an exhaust manifold on an engine becoming red hot.
Is it the oscillation of whole molecules that initiates an electromagnetic wave, or is it something slightly more complicated?
Perhaps it's the collision of two molecules and the subsequent shaking of outer electrons or maybe even the nucleus from the force. I am assuming that we are not involving any quantum energy level jumps, but I could be wrong.
I really try to develop mental models of physical events, and I need some verification on the initiating object in order to have a chance of being successful here.
What is the source of electromagnetic radiation (usuall red visible light) coming from materials (such as metals) that are hot enough.
An example that has always stuck with me is a demonstration that I witnessed at a car show of an exhaust manifold on an engine becoming red hot.
Is it the oscillation of whole molecules that initiates an electromagnetic wave, or is it something slightly more complicated?
Perhaps it's the collision of two molecules and the subsequent shaking of outer electrons or maybe even the nucleus from the force. I am assuming that we are not involving any quantum energy level jumps, but I could be wrong.
I really try to develop mental models of physical events, and I need some verification on the initiating object in order to have a chance of being successful here.