Question

Between two hot glowing objects, one glowing orange and the other blue, which one is hotter? Please explain.(b) If we observe a stars spectrum and find that the peak power occurs at the border between blue and ultraviolet light, what is the surface temperature of the star? (in degrees C)?

Answer 1

A blue glowing object is hotter than an orange one due to shorter emission wavelengths. A star peaking between blue and ultraviolet light on the spectrum indicates a surface temperature much higher than the Sun's 6000 K.

Step-by-step explanation:

Between a hot glowing object that is orange and another that is blue, the blue one is hotter. This is because hotter objects emit light at shorter wavelengths, and blue light has a shorter wavelength than orange light. The peak wavelength of light emitted by an object is inversely related to its temperature, according to Wien's law. Since blue is a shorter-wavelength color, it indicates a hotter star.

When we observe a star's spectrum and find that the peak power occurs at the border between blue and ultraviolet light, we can infer that its surface temperature is significantly higher than that of our Sun, which peaks at about 0.5 µm and has a temperature of approximately 5800 K. The exact temperature of the star can be calculated using Wien's displacement law, which relates the peak emission wavelength to the temperature. Given that blue to ultraviolet color peaks at shorter wavelengths than the Sun's peak wavelength, the star's surface temperature would be much higher than our Sun's 6000 K.

Answer 2

The blue glowing object is hotter than the orange one because blue light indicates a shorter wavelength, which corresponds to a higher temperature. A star with its peak power in the blue-ultraviolet border has a surface temperature much higher than the Sun's 6000 K.

Step-by-step explanation:

Between two hot glowing objects, one glowing orange and the other blue, the blue one is hotter. This is because hotter objects emit light at shorter wavelengths, and blue light has a shorter wavelength than orange light. In terms of stars, a star that appears blue is hotter than a star that appears red, since blue is the shorter-wavelength color indicating a higher temperature.

When observing a star's spectrum, if the peak power occurs at the border between blue and ultraviolet light, this suggests that the star's surface temperature is much hotter than our Sun's, which has a surface temperature of about 6000 K and peaks in the blue-green region of the spectrum. We can infer that the star's temperature will be significantly higher than 6000 K.