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Blackbody Spectrum

How does the blackbody spectrum of the sun compare to visible light? Learn about the blackbody spectrum of the sun, a light bulb, an oven, and the earth. Adjust the temperature to see the wavelength and intensity of the spectrum change. View the color of the peak of the spectral curve.

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See changelog
Version 2.00
208 KB
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Topics Teaching Ideas Software Requirements Translated Versions Credits

Topics

Main Topics

  • Blackbody spectrum
  • Sun
  • Light
  • Quantum Mechanics

Related Topics

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe what happens to the blackbody spectrum as you increase the temperature. What happens to the shape of the curve and the peak of this curve?
  • What happens to the blackbody spectrum as you decrease the temperature?
  • Set the temperature to that of a light bulb (around 3000K). Based on this information, do lightbulbs seem efficient? Why do light bulbs get hot?
  • Imagine that you see 2 hot, glowing objects--one is glowing orange and the other is glowing blue. Which one is hotter?

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Teaching Ideas

Tips for Teachers

The teacher's guide contains tips for teachers created by the PhET team (PDF).

Ideas and Activities for this Sim

There are 5 contributions listed.

Quick jump list:

Title Author Level Ascending Sort (Z-A)Type Updated
Homework
Blackbody Spectrum & Lasers Simulations Homework Designed by PhET IconK. PerkinsHS
UG-Intro		HW11/08
Blackbody Spectrum Simulation Homework Designed by PhET IconK. PerkinsUG-Adv
UG-Intro		HW11/08
Solar Astronomy M. KellyHSHW
Lab		11/07
Lab
Black Body Radiation: Seeking Patterns in Data Sets R. MarreroHSLab11/09
Blackbody Spectrum C. MillerHSLab9/07
Solar Astronomy M. KellyHSHW
Lab		11/07

Submit Your Ideas & Activities

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Software Requirements

Flash Icon

Windows Systems Macintosh Systems Linux Systems
Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7
Macromedia Flash 8 or later
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later, or Firefox 2 or later
 OS 10.4.11 or later
Macromedia Flash 8 or later
Safari 2 or later, or Firefox 2 or later
 Macromedia Flash 8 or later
Firefox 2 or later

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Translated Versions

Run localized Download
Chinese China Chinese, China Download
Chinese Taiwan Chinese, Taiwan Download
Croatian Croatian Download
Dutch Dutch Download
Finnish Finnish Download
French French Download
Hungarian Hungarian Download
Italian Italian Download
Polish Polish Download
Portuguese Brazil Portuguese, Brazil Download
Serbian Serbian Download
Slovak Slovak Download
Spanish Spanish Download
Vietnamese Vietnamese Download

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Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Michael Dubson (developer/lead)
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams
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