blackbody
noun
black·body
ˈblak-ˈbä-dē 
: an ideal body or surface that completely absorbs all radiant energy falling upon it with no reflection and that radiates at all frequencies with a spectral energy distribution dependent on its absolute temperature
Examples of blackbody in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stars are hot balls of luminous plasma, glowing like a blackbody.
—
Discover Magazine, 28 June 2023
In brief, the geometry dictates that 100% of the radiation originating from the blackbody at A will land on and be absorbed by the blackbody at B because both A and B are the foci of ellipses E1 and E2.
—Quanta Magazine, 22 May 2020
It’s also used to calculate the distribution of energies for a blackbody (an object that gives off light due only to its temperature), and for the uncertainty principle that gives a relation between measurements of position and momentum.
—Rhett Allain, Wired, 8 Oct. 2021
Moreover, this radiation should have the spectrum of a perfect blackbody, with only tiny imperfections at the ~0.01% level or less.
—Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 6 May 2021
But more sensitive measurements should undoubtedly reveal small deviations from the blackbody curve that COBE measured.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 June 2015
That would have shifted the CMB’s spectrum away from a blackbody.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 June 2015
That’s important, said John Mather, an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard who won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for measuring the CMB’s blackbody spectrum with COBE.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 June 2015
Two of the assumptions used to obtain the rules of blackbody radiation provide loopholes.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 11 Sep. 2018
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Discover Magazine, 28 June 2023
In brief, the geometry dictates that 100% of the radiation originating from the blackbody at A will land on and be absorbed by the blackbody at B because both A and B are the foci of ellipses E1 and E2.
—Quanta Magazine, 22 May 2020
It’s also used to calculate the distribution of energies for a blackbody (an object that gives off light due only to its temperature), and for the uncertainty principle that gives a relation between measurements of position and momentum.
—Rhett Allain, Wired, 8 Oct. 2021
Moreover, this radiation should have the spectrum of a perfect blackbody, with only tiny imperfections at the ~0.01% level or less.
—Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 6 May 2021
But more sensitive measurements should undoubtedly reveal small deviations from the blackbody curve that COBE measured.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 June 2015
That would have shifted the CMB’s spectrum away from a blackbody.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 June 2015
That’s important, said John Mather, an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard who won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for measuring the CMB’s blackbody spectrum with COBE.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 June 2015
Two of the assumptions used to obtain the rules of blackbody radiation provide loopholes.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 11 Sep. 2018
Dictionary Entries Near blackbody
Cite this Entry
“Blackbody.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackbody. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
blackbody
noun
black·body
ˈblak-ˈbäd-ē
: a body or surface that absorbs all radiant energy falling upon it with no reflection
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share