blackbody

[ blak-bod-ee ]

noun

, Physics.

, plural black·bod·ies.

1. a hypothetical body that absorbs without reflection all of the electromagnetic radiation incident on its surface and then, depending on temperature, emits its own thermal radiation.

blackbody

/ blăk′bŏd′ē /

1. A theoretically perfect absorber and emitter of every frequency of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation emitted by a blackbody is a function only of its temperature.

blackbody

1. An object that can absorb and send off radiation with complete efficiency — that is, it reflects ( see reflection ) none of the radiation that falls on it. The higher the object's temperature, the higher the frequency of the radiation it gives off.

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackbody¹

First recorded in 1700–10