Frequencies

[PranavKetharam]

Why do black bodies absorb/emit all frequencies? I was rewatching lecture 5, which mentioned the fact that black bodies have the properties to do this but since it's a physics question, Professor Lavelle didn't go into detail. Somebody please explain because this is very interesting for me.

[106190767]

Hi! So when electromagnetic waves(e.g. visible light) hit a black body, they get absorbed. Planck's law from quantum mechanics explains that electromagnetic waves are quantized and black bodies have energy levels that enable them to absorb/emit quanta of energy, regardless of the frequency, which is why they can absorb all frequencies of radiation.

[505998141]

Black bodies absorb and emit all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation due to quantization of energy in quantum mechanics. Planck's law states that electromagnetic waves exist in discrete packets of energy called quanta or photons. Black bodies have a continuous range of energy levels, allowing them to absorb and emit photons with various energies and frequencies. This leads to their ability to absorb and emit radiation across all frequencies.