Why does hot metal and glass change colors? What causes the progression of red – orange – yellow -white?
In: Physics
All materials above absolute zero give off some amount of electromagnetic radiation. The wavelength of that radiation shortens as the temperature increases, along with the amount increasing.
When they reach around 600F, that wavelength starts to get into the visible spectrum, and you see a dull red. A little hotter, and orange and yellow start to be made. Hotter still, and blue is made, but there is still the other wavelengths so it all combines to white.
First to know is that what we see as light or colours are electrons falling from a higher orbit around the nucleus (?) to a lower one. When they fall down they emit energy. And if enough electrons do that, in a specific interval we can see that as light. The interval is what you might have heard of as wavelength.
Now. The hotter an object the fast the electrons move and the faster they drop down to a lower orbit. And the different speeds/intervals of them dropping down an orbit are different colours.
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