1. What is Wien's Law?

Wien's Law (Wien's displacement law) describes the relationship between the temperature of a black body and the wavelength at which it emits the most radiation. It states that the peak wavelength is inversely proportional to the temperature.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses Wien's Law formula:

Where:

• \( \lambda_{\text{max}} \) — Peak wavelength (meters)
• \( b \) — Wien's displacement constant (2.897771955 m·K)
• \( T \) — Temperature (Kelvin)

Explanation: The equation shows that hotter objects emit radiation at shorter wavelengths, while cooler objects emit at longer wavelengths.

3. Importance of Wien's Law

Details: Wien's Law is fundamental in thermodynamics and astrophysics, used to determine the temperature of stars and other celestial bodies based on their radiation spectra.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter temperature in Kelvin. The value must be greater than 0. The calculator will output the peak wavelength in meters.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is Wien's displacement constant?
A: It's a physical constant that relates the thermodynamic temperature of a black body to the peak wavelength of its emission spectrum (approximately 2.897771955 m·K).

Q2: Why must temperature be in Kelvin?
A: The Kelvin scale is an absolute temperature scale required for thermodynamic calculations where zero represents absolute zero.

Q3: What are typical wavelength values?
A: For the Sun (≈5778 K), λ_max ≈ 502 nm; for room temperature (≈300 K), λ_max ≈ 9.66 μm (infrared).

Q4: Does this apply to all objects?
A: Wien's Law applies specifically to black bodies - ideal objects that absorb all incident radiation. Real objects approximate this behavior.

Q5: How is this used in astronomy?
A: Astronomers use Wien's Law to estimate surface temperatures of stars by analyzing the peak wavelength of their emitted radiation.