Lecture 24: Matter and Light

How do matter and light interact? This lecture is the first of a two-part lecture on the physical basis of spectroscopy. Today we will discuss the Kelvin Absolute Temperature scale, which provides a measure of the internal energy content of matter, and Kirchoff's empirical Laws of Spectroscopy, along with the Stefan-Boltzmann Law and the Wein Law to describe the continuous emission from a blackbody. We will end by briefly describing the suggestive properties of emission- and absorption-line spectra, whose explanation in the details of atomic structure will be the topic of the next lecture. Recorded 2006 Oct 25 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.