THERMAL RADIATION AND PLANCK'S FORMULA

Abstract

In this paper, theoretical and experimental research on blackbody thermal radiation is discussed and historically ordered. The main thermal radiation equations following Planck's revolutionary idea are obtained using the formalism of statistical mechanics. These equations, already well known, are deduced in a very detailed and didactic way in order to facilitate the reader's understanding. The consequent results of Planck's formula for blackbody radiation are analyzed: the limits of the average energy for frequencies tending to zero and infinity, Stefan's law and Wien's displacement law.