- ARayleigh Jeans law
- BPlanck's law of radiation
- CStefan's law of radiation
- DWien's law
View written solutionFree
Correct answer: B
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What is being asked?
The question asks which law correctly gives the spectrum of radiation emitted by the Earth in the infra-red region.
Since the Earth emits thermal radiation, we should identify the law that gives the distribution of intensity with wavelength/frequency.
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Check each option
Option A: Rayleigh–Jeans law
This gives the blackbody spectral distribution only as a classical approximation, valid mainly at long wavelengths. It is not the correct general law for the spectrum.
Option B: Planck's law of radiation
Planck’s law gives the complete blackbody spectrum: This is the correct law for the spectral distribution of thermal radiation at all wavelengths.
Option C: Stefan's law of radiation
Stefan’s law gives only the total power radiated per unit area: It does not give the spectrum.
Option D: Wien's law
Wien’s displacement law gives only the wavelength of maximum emission: It tells us where the peak lies (for Earth, in infra-red), but it does not give the full spectrum.
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Conclusion
Since the question asks for the law that correctly gives the spectrum, the correct answer is:
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Compare with stored answer
Stored correct answer: D
My derived answer is B. Hence, I disagree with the stored answer.
Likely reason: if the question were asking which law shows that Earth radiates in the infra-red region, then Wien’s displacement law would identify the peak wavelength in IR. But for the spectrum itself, the correct law is Planck’s law.
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