ASTRO 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Radiography, Photon, Continuous Spectrum
2 Nov 2017
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Astro001 - lecture 3 - light, spectroscopy, and telescopes. Light has properties of both a wave and a particle. Particle of light is called a photon. Electromagnetic spectrum from high energy to low energy. High energy means a high frequency which means the wavelength is low/short and the color is bluer. Low energy means a high frequency which means the wavelength is high/long and the color is redder. All forms of radiation travel at the speed of light. Wavelengths of radio waves are measured in meters and centimeters. Wavelengths of visible light are measured in ten billionths of a meter. Prism splits light into different colors by bending different wavelengths by different angles. Blackbody spectrum means the temperature is higher which means there is more light in total and it peaks at a shorter wavelength. The sun is 5800 degrees kelvin and its spectrum peaks in the visible light region, around green-yellow. Room temperature is roughly 300 degrees kelvin.
