Everything about Radiant Energy totally explained
Radiant energy is the
energy of
electromagnetic waves, or sometimes of other forms of
radiation. The quantity of radiant energy may be calculated by
integrating radiant flux (or
power) with respect to
time and, like all forms of energy, its
SI unit is the
joule. The term is used particularly when radiation is emitted by a source into the surrounding environment.
Terminology use and history
The term "radiant energy" is most commonly used in the fields of
radiometry,
solar energy,
heating and
lighting, but is also sometimes used in other fields (such as
telecommunications). Radiant energy may or may not affect the eye and produce vision. In modern applications involving transmission of power from one location to another, "radiant energy" is sometimes used to refer to the electromagnetic waves
themselves, rather than their
energy (a property of the waves). In the past, the term "electro-radiant energy" has also been used.
Historically, the propagation of electromagnetic radiation was presumed to rely on a medium filling all space, known as the
aether. Electromagnetic waves were presumed to propagate through this medium by inducing transverse electric and magnetic stresses and strains, analogous to those induced by
shear waves propagating through a physical medium. In modern times, the propagation of electromagnetic waves has been shown not to require any physical medium, although some interpretations of
general relativity can be viewed as implying that space acts as a kind of non-physical "medium" for light.
Analysis
Because electromagnetic (EM) radiation can be conceptualized as a stream of
photons, radiant energy can be viewed as the energy carried by these photons. Alternatively, EM radiation can be viewed as an electromagnetic wave, which carries energy in its oscillating electric and magnetic fields. These two views are completely equivalent and are reconciled to one another in
quantum field theory (see
wave-particle duality).
EM radiation can have various
frequencies. The bands of frequency present in a given EM signal may be sharply defined, as is seen in
atomic spectra, or may be broad, as in
blackbody radiation. In the photon picture, the energy carried by each photon is proportional to its frequency. In the wave picture, the energy of a monochromatic wave is proportional to its
intensity. This implies that if two EM waves have the same intensity, but different frequencies, the one with the higher frequency "contains" fewer photons, since each photon is more energetic.
When EM waves are
absorbed by an object, the energy of the waves is typically converted to heat. This is a very familiar effect, since sunlight warms surfaces that it irradiates. Often this phenomenon is associated particularly with
infrared radiation, but any kind of electromagnetic radiation will warm an object that absorbs it. EM waves can also be
reflected or
scattered, in which case their energy is redirected or redistributed as well.
Open systems
Radiant energy is one of the mechanisms by which energy can enter or leave an
open system. Such a system can be man-made, such as a
solar energy collector, or natural, such as the
Earth's atmosphere. In
geophysics, transparent
greenhouse gases trap the sun's radiant energy (at certain wavelengths), allowing it to penetrate deep into the atmosphere or all the way to the Earth's surface, where they're re-emitted as longer wavelength radiation (chiefly infrared radiation). Radiant energy is produced in the sun as a result of
nuclear fusion.
Applications
Radiant energy, as well as
convective energy and
conductive energy, is used for
radiant heating. It can be generated electrically by
infrared lamps, or can be absorbed from
sunlight and used to heat water. The heat energy is emitted from a warm element (floor, wall, overhead panel) and warms people and other objects in rooms rather than directly heating the air. The internal air temperature for radiant heated buildings may be lower than for a conventionally heated building to achieve the same level of body comfort (the perceived temperature is actually the same).
Various other applications of radiant energy have been devised. These include:
- Treatment and inspection
- Separating and sorting
- Medium of control
- Medium of communication
Many of these applications involve a source of radiant energy and a detector that responds to that radiation and provides a signal representing some characteristic of the radiation. Radiant energy detectors produce responses to incident radiant energy either as an increase or decrease in electric potential or current flow or some other perceivable change, such as exposure of photographic film.
One of the earliest wireless
telephones to be based on radiant energy was invented by
Nikola Tesla. The device used transmitters and receivers whose resonances were tuned to the same frequency, allowing communication between them. In 1916, he recounted an experiment he'd done in 1896. He recalled that "Whenever I received the effects of a transmitter, one of the simplest ways [todetect the wireless transmissions] was to apply a magnetic field to currents generated in a conductor, and when I did so, the low frequency gave audible notes."
SI radiometry units
Further Information
Get more info on 'Radiant Energy'.
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