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> Thermal radiation is produced by the motion of charged particles: Agreed. > anything at positive temperature consists of charged particles moving around

> Thermal radiation is produced by the motion of charged particles: Agreed. > anything at positive temperature consists of charged particles moving around This does not follow: infrared radiation != temperature. Neutron stars have positive temperature…

falsedan 10y ago
Dear downvoters, please comment to let me know what I should improve. Thanks, falsedan
- philipkglass 10y ago
  You are being downvoted because you appear to be trying to correct a mistake that does not exist in the source material. I can make sense of your attempted correction by reading "thermal radiation" as "infrared radiation," but those terms don't mean the same thing. Thermal radiation refers to radiation emitted due to a body's temperature, but the peak emission frequency can go up into the visible and beyond if the body is hot enough. (Like the sun and larger stars.) Examples of non-thermal radiation would be e.g. excited state transitions in molecules that produce light in fireflies or the blue light from the lower portion of a candle flame. (The blue part of a candle flame is hot relative to the surrounding air and liquid wax but not hot enough that its thermal emissions would peak in the blue.) Fluorescent and LED light sources also emit visible light by non-thermal processes.
  - falsedan 10y ago
    I think the error does exist; infrared radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation and relies too n charged particles (electrons) absorbing energy, going through various excitation levels, and then emitting photons with particular frequencies. The error in the source is claiming that charged particles are necessary for a body to have a positive temperature (i.e. what I quoted). The error in the downvoting is a kneejerk correction without explaining + not reading in good faith.
    - philipkglass 10y ago
      If you had left out "infrared radiation != temperature" it would have been clear. I didn't understand why you said "infrared radiation != temperature" when the source material did not say or imply "infrared radiation == temperature" and I incorrectly guessed at the point you were trying to make. I was not one of the downvoters, btw.
      - falsedan 10y ago
        Thanks for responding and clarifying, it's helpful.

falsedan 10y ago

Dear downvoters, please comment to let me know what I should improve. Thanks, falsedan

philipkglass 10y ago
You are being downvoted because you appear to be trying to correct a mistake that does not exist in the source material. I can make sense of your attempted correction by reading "thermal radiation" as "infrared radiation," but those terms don't mean the same thing. Thermal radiation refers to radiation emitted due to a body's temperature, but the peak emission frequency can go up into the visible and beyond if the body is hot enough. (Like the sun and larger stars.) Examples of non-thermal radiation would be e.g. excited state transitions in molecules that produce light in fireflies or the blue light from the lower portion of a candle flame. (The blue part of a candle flame is hot relative to the surrounding air and liquid wax but not hot enough that its thermal emissions would peak in the blue.) Fluorescent and LED light sources also emit visible light by non-thermal processes.
- falsedan 10y ago
  I think the error does exist; infrared radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation and relies too n charged particles (electrons) absorbing energy, going through various excitation levels, and then emitting photons with particular frequencies. The error in the source is claiming that charged particles are necessary for a body to have a positive temperature (i.e. what I quoted). The error in the downvoting is a kneejerk correction without explaining + not reading in good faith.
  - philipkglass 10y ago
    If you had left out "infrared radiation != temperature" it would have been clear. I didn't understand why you said "infrared radiation != temperature" when the source material did not say or imply "infrared radiation == temperature" and I incorrectly guessed at the point you were trying to make. I was not one of the downvoters, btw.
    - falsedan 10y ago
      Thanks for responding and clarifying, it's helpful.