Why does some energy radiate as light and some as heat in certain cases (like fire), and not the same type of radiation?

Question

So, if we take fire, how come not all of the energy is released as light, why is some of it released as heat as well as light?

In: Physics

Answer 1

None of the radiation is heat. Radiation is a way of transferring heat; the radiation itself is not heat. When radiation is absorbed by an object it causes the object to heat up.

Some radiation you can see, called visible light. Some radiation you can’t see, like infra-red and ultra-violet, but both of those will still carry heat. The mix of radiation given off by an object is mostly set by the temperature of the object.