Posted
on November 20, 2014
You
might assume that means that he wasn't all that bright. If so, you'd
be wrong! Coblentz's family was economically disadvantaged, and he
had to work and help provide rather than study and earn credits for
graduation. But eventually, graduate he did – and Coblentz ended up
earning BS, MS, and PhD degrees in physics from fine universities!
And
he accomplished a lot in his science career, with hundreds of
scientific publications, talks, and abstracts, plus ten patents.
One
of the things that Coblentz is best known for was his work on
infrared radiation (IR).
Do
you realize that all sorts of things that people do not consider
“light” – radio waves, x-rays, microwaves – are actually the
same sort of phenomenon as visible light? All of these are forms of
electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that travel at the same speed (yes,
it's called “the speed of light”) and that share other
characteristics. All these forms of radiation travel in “packets”
or particles called photons. And the different forms of EMR differ
only in their frequency and wavelength.
Infrared
“light” is not visible to the naked eye. It has longer
wavelengths (and lower frequencies) than the red visible light –
hence its name infrared. This kind of radiation can be
released as heat, and people using infrared scopes and sensors can
see and photograph living things that shine brighter than cooler
nonliving objects.
 |
| Astronomers study objects in infrared light as well as in visible light. |
 |
| Infrared can reveal things that are hidden when you are looking only at visible light! |
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