Blackbody

/ˈblækˌbɑdi/ noun

Definition

In physics, a theoretical object that absorbs all light and radiation that strikes it and emits radiation based on its temperature.

Etymology

Compound of 'black' (absorbing all light) and 'body' (object). The term was coined in 19th-century physics to describe this idealized concept.

Kelly Says

Black holes might be the universe's closest match to a perfect blackbody—studying how objects emit radiation helped physicists realize that even completely black objects glow invisibly with heat radiation.

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