: How does the human body emit infrared light ?

Question

If infrared light is a type of radiation emmited by atmospheric molecules how is it that the human body ‘glows’ so much more than its surroundings?

In: 4

Answer 1

Any object warmer than absolute zero (0K) “glows” with electromagnetic radiation. Extremely cold objects in deep space emit radio waves and microwave radiation, while objects in the more “terrestrial” temperature range like you see around you emit infrared radiation. Objects can become hot enough to emit visible light, such as the gases of a candle flame, the filament of an old-fashioned light bulb, and even the Sun itself. This is called Blackbody radiation, it comes from the kinetic energy of vibrating atoms and molecules. A human body glows more than surrounding objects simply because human bodies are often warmer than the things around them. Everything else is still emitting infrared light, just with less energy overall.