Planck's Law is vital for understanding blackbody radiation, which describes how perfect emitters, or blackbodies, radiate energy depending on their temperature and wavelength. The law provides a mathematical formula that expresses the radiation intensity \( I(\lambda, T) \) of a blackbody at a specific wavelength \( \lambda \) and temperature \( T \):
\[I(\lambda, T) = \frac{2\pi h c^2}{\lambda^5} \cdot \frac{1}{e^{\frac{h c}{\lambda k_\mathrm{B} T}} - 1}\]
The constants involved in the equation are:
- \( h \): Planck's constant, \( 6.626 \times 10^{-34} \mathrm{J} \cdot \mathrm{s} \)
- \( c \): Speed of light, \( 2.998 \times 10^{8} \mathrm{m/s} \)
- \( k_\mathrm{B} \): Boltzmann constant, \( 1.381 \times 10^{-23} \mathrm{J/K} \)
This equation helps to determine how different wavelengths emit different radiation intensities at different temperatures. Thus, it predicts the spectral distribution of the emitted radiation. It's particularly useful when assessing the energy output within specific wavelength ranges, such as the visible light emitted by daylight and candlelight.