Heat, atoms and molecules

[pioneer]

I was not sure if this was chemistry or physics. It might be a blend of the two. If I see something that is red hot, it gives off red light. I can also see things that are red even at very cold temperature. How can the same color appear one by heat and the other without heat?

 

I have a speculation to put on the table. The cold temperature red occurs via EM forces at the level of the electron and negative charge, while the hot temperature red is also due to EM forces but occurs beginning at the positive charge in the nucleus.

 

For example, if we heat CO2 gas, the CO2 will bend, vibrate and change direction quickly due to collision. What this means is that the nuclei are increasing their range of motion at temperature increases. The heat goes into the movement of the heavy mass nuclei. The electrons are trying to keep up and maintain lowest energy but undergo EM affects due to the increased motion of the positive nuclei.

 

Let me explain this with an illustration. Picture if the electrons were stationary like the nucleus, and the protons acted like the electrons. If we inputted enough energy to ionize an electron in a normal atom, and added this to the orbiting protons of the illustration atom, it would not ionize properly, since the energy now has to move a mass that is 1000 times heavier. We get the same EM potential but the bigger mass makes it much less affective in terms of the needed charge separation. The heat is the added boost to compensate for the heavier mass, so the protons and electrons can separate to the distance needed to get the EM energy output. The other way around, allows the electron to move without heat. We get the same charge separation without as much thermal energy since we do not have to compensate for the movement of heavy mass.

 

If you look at the iron core of the earth, the vibration of Fe nuclei, could create a type of ionization of the electrons, from the inside out, that allows the iron electrons to remain in the potentiated state of magnetism. It is not easy to ionizes electrons in the center of a solid. It could take a lot of heat to move the heavy iron nuclei enough to create a small electron ionization type affect into the magnetic Fe state. Just like red hot takes a lot of heat to generate moderate EM energy transitions.

[Rilx]

If something is red hot, it emits energy in the form of EM radiation which has wavelength of red light.

 

Red cold things reflect light (e.g. sunlight) which has all wavelengths of visible light (looks white) in a way that their surface select only red wavelengths to be reflected. The surface absorbs other wavelengths and their energy warms the thing.

[insane_alien]

the red stuff may only have an (visible)emission band in the red spectrum meaning that under certain conditions it will appear red long before it reaches the blackbody emission temperature. this is what happens in lasers.

 

all visible light comes from electron interactions. gamma rays and in some special cases(like an MRI machine) radio waves come from the nucleus.

 

These phenomenon are well documented and tested throughoutphysics and even chemistry.

[swansont]

If something is red hot, it emits energy in the form of EM radiation which has wavelength of red light.

 

Red cold things reflect light (e.g. sunlight) which has all wavelengths of visible light (looks white) in a way that their surface select only red wavelengths to be reflected. The surface absorbs other wavelengths and their energy warms the thing.

 

Overall, basically correct. Color from incandescence is different than color from reflection/absorption.

 

A few additional details: things will approximate a blackbody to some degree; they emit EM radiation that is a continuum. If they are hot enough this will include significant power in the visible part of the spectrum, so at some temperature range they will glow red, but this will include a lot of power in the longer wavelengths (not just red).

[pioneer]

I am not married to this but presented it a think outside the box. Heat is usually associated with the bulk movement of atoms. If we heat a block of iron, the Fe atoms are vibrating more, causing the metal to expand.

 

In solid Fe, we have a situation different than an Fe atom. The main difference is the outer electrons are sharing within the solid metal. This sharing allows electrical conduction, since sharing allows replacements. In an atom, the electrons will simply follow the Fe nucleus. But in a solid, since the eouter lectrons are sharing within the matrix, they are not stuck to one atom, such that Fe motion/vibration becomes relative motion to the sharing electrons. The movement of the positive nuclei, alters electron distances, as they move around and share, for seconary emissions.

 

In the earth's solid iron core the temperature should ionize electrons. The magnetism suggests the Fe vibration is kicking up lower electrons to take over the D-orbitals to restore the magnetism, inspite of electron loss.

[swansont]

In the earth's solid iron core the temperature should ionize electrons. The magnetism suggests the Fe vibration is kicking up lower electrons to take over the D-orbitals to restore the magnetism, inspite of electron loss.

 

Boltzmann's constant is 8.6e-5 eV/K, and the core temperature is ~7000K. kT is 0.6 eV. Why should the core ionize the iron?