Can an object emit all the frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum if we keep increasing its temperature? Please note that I do not mean a blackbody here, but a body which is not at thermal equilibrium.
In: Physics
From what i have studied, no. One of the ways that we know what other planets has on the atmosphere is by the emission of certain wavelenghts of light. Each element has its own signature. Each element has a limit, as Planck has postulated and it will dissipate energy in other forms, like radiation, the hotter it gets.
Ordinary matter above absolute zero emits light across all frequencies.
The peak of how those frequencies are distributed changes with temperature, but it is spread out across the entire spectrum. You can do the math can figure out how many gamma rays an ice cube is emitting.
Thermal radiation does not happen due to electrons transitioning over energy gaps.
Thermal radiation happens because warm atoms vibrate/rotate/collide. There is acceleration. Accelerating electric charge creates EM radiation.
Thermal radiation is continuous over all EM frequencies. But since the energy radiated is finite and frequency range is infinite the amount of radiation at high and low frequencies approaches zero.
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