Thermal and electromagnetic radiation as a form of heat




The basic structure of matter involves charged particles bound together. When electromagnetic radiation impinges on matter, it causes the charged particles to oscillate and gain energy. The ultimate fate of this energy depends on the context. It could be immediately re-radiated and appear as scattered, reflected, or transmitted radiation. It may get dissipated into other microscopic motions within the matter, coming to thermal equilibrium and manifesting itself as thermal energy, or even kinetic energy, in the material. With a few exceptions related to high-energy photons (such as fluorescence, harmonic generation, photochemical reactions, the photovoltaic effect for ionizing radiations at far ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma radiation), absorbed electromagnetic radiation simply deposits its energy by heating the material. This happens for infrared, microwave and radio wave radiation. Intense radio waves can thermally burn living tissue and can cook food. In addition to infrared lasers, sufficiently intense visible and ultraviolet lasers can easily set paper afire.citation needed

Ionizing radiation creates high-speed electrons in a material and breaks chemical bonds, but after these electrons collide many times with other atoms eventually most of the energy becomes thermal energy all in a tiny fraction of a second. This process makes ionizing radiation far more dangerous per unit of energy than non-ionizing radiation. This caveat also applies to UV, even though almost all of it is not ionizing, because UV can damage molecules due to electronic excitation, which is far greater per unit energy than heating effects.citation needed

Infrared radiation in the spectral distribution of a black body is usually considered a form of heat, since it has an equivalent temperature and is associated with an entropy change per unit of thermal energy. However, "heat" is a technical term in physics and thermodynamics and is often confused with thermal energy. Any type of electromagnetic energy can be transformed into thermal energy in interaction with matter. Thus, any electromagnetic radiation can "heat" (in the sense of increase the thermal energy temperature of) a material, when it is absorbed.

The inverse or time-reversed process of absorption is thermal radiation. Much of the thermal energy in matter consists of random motion of charged particles, and this energy can be radiated away from the matter. The resulting radiation may subsequently be absorbed by another piece of matter, with the deposited energy heating the material.

The electromagnetic radiation in an opaque cavity at thermal equilibrium is effectively a form of thermal energy, having maximum radiation entropy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blockers, absorbers, and windows

Image
Ultraviolet absorbers are molecules used in organic materials (polymers, paints, etc.) to absorb UV radiation to reduce the UV degradation (photo-oxidation) of a material. The absorbers can themselves degrade over time, so monitoring of absorber levels in weathered materials is necessary. In sunscreen, ingredients that absorb UVA/UVB rays, such as avobenzone, oxybenzone and octyl methoxycinnamate, are organic chemical absorbers or "blockers". They are contrasted with inorganic absorbers/"blockers" of UV radiation such as carbon black, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide. For clothing, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) represents the ratio of sunburn-causing UV without and with the protection of the fabric, similar to sun protection factor (SPF) ratings for sunscreen. citation needed Standard summer fabrics have UPFs around 6, which means that about 20% of UV will pass through. citation needed Suspended nanoparticles in stained glass prevent UV rays from causing...
Read more

Visibility

Image
Ultraviolet rays are invisible to most humans. The lens of the human eye blocks most radiation in the wavelength range of 300–400 nm; shorter wavelengths are blocked by the cornea. Humans also lack color receptor adaptations for ultraviolet rays. Nevertheless, the photoreceptors of the retina are sensitive to near-UV, and people lacking a lens (a condition known as aphakia) perceive near-UV as whitish-blue or whitish-violet. Under some conditions, children and young adults can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths around 310 nm. Near-UV radiation is visible to insects, some mammals, and birds. Small birds have a fourth color receptor for ultraviolet rays; this gives birds "true" UV vision.
Read more

Subtypes

Image
The electromagnetic spectrum of ultraviolet radiation (UVR), defined most broadly as 10–400 nanometers, can be subdivided into a number of ranges recommended by the ISO standard ISO-21348: Name Abbreviation Wavelength (nm) Photon energy (eV, aJ) Notes/alternative names Ultraviolet C UVC 100–280 4.43–12.4, 0.710–1.987 Short-wave, germicidal, completely absorbed by the ozone layer and atmosphere: hard UV. Ultraviolet B UVB 280–315 3.94–4.43, 0.631–0.710 Medium-wave, mostly absorbed by the ozone layer: intermediate UV; Dorno  de radiation. Ultraviolet A UVA 315–400 3.10–3.94, 0.497–0.631 Long-wave, black light, not absorbed by the ozone layer: soft UV. Hydrogen Lyman-alpha H Lyman-α 121–122 10.16–10.25, 1.628–1.642 Spectral line at 121.6 nm, 10.20   eV. Ionizing radiation at shorter wavelengths. Far ultraviolet FUV 122–200 6.20–10.16, 0.993–1.628 Middle ultraviolet MUV 200–300 4.13–6.20, 0.662–0.993 Near ultraviolet NUV 300–400 3.10–4.1...
Read more