Wien's displacement law

Wien's displacement law states that a blackbody’s peak-emission wavelength is inversely proportional to its absolute temperature. Its constant of proportionality is about 2.898 × 10⁻³ meter-kelvin.

Blackbody radiation: Electromagnetic radiation emitted by an ideal body that absorbs all incident radiation, with a spectrum determined by its temperature. The law describes how this spectrum’s peak wavelength changes as the blackbody’s temperature changes.
Color temperature: The temperature of a blackbody whose radiation has a color comparable to a specified light source. The law connects a spectrum’s characteristic wavelength to the temperature scale used to describe its color.
Wilhelm Wien: A German physicist whose work on thermal radiation included the displacement law and an early radiation formula. His 1893 result established the peak’s inverse relation to temperature.
Blackbody: An ideal physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation and emits a spectrum determined by its temperature. The law applies to this ideal emitter and approximates some real sources.
Planck's law: A formula for the spectral distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a blackbody at thermal equilibrium. Maximizing Planck’s spectrum with respect to wavelength yields Wien’s displacement law.
Stellar classification: The categorization of stars by properties including their spectra and surface temperatures. A star’s spectral peak provides a temperature clue through the displacement relation.
Wien's radiation law: An early formula for blackbody spectral radiation that works well at short wavelengths but fails at long wavelengths. It preceded the displacement law and helped frame the problem of describing the full spectrum.
Wavelength: The distance between successive corresponding points of a wave, such as adjacent crests. The law specifies the wavelength at which blackbody emission reaches its maximum.
Planck's constant: The fundamental constant relating a photon’s energy to its frequency. It enters Planck’s radiation law and therefore helps set the displacement constant.
Effective temperature: The temperature of a radiating object that would produce the same total energy flux as a blackbody. For stars, the law links this temperature estimate to the wavelength of peak emission.

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