{"161351":{"#nid":"161351","#data":{"type":"news","title":"iPad App Helps Students Understand How Conditions Affect Blackbody Radiation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding the phenomenon of blackbody radiation \u2013 electromagnetic emissions that play a role in a broad range of physical systems \u2013 is an important part of physics instruction at both the high school and college levels. Thanks to researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), explaining this to students just became a little easier.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe observed frequency and intensity of blackbody radiation is affected by interaction between temperature, humidity, distance from the radiating object and other parameters. Traditional textbooks rely on a series of charts to show how these variables affect the emissions, making the concept potentially difficult to understand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have now created an iPad application that illustrates the relationship between these parameters, allowing students to explore the interactions and visually determine the impacts of changes. Known as iBlackbody, the application was originally produced as part of a handbook for electro-optical engineers, who must understand the impact of blackbody radiation in their defense and atmospheric sensing research. The program has since been made available to educators and students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have built a tool that allows users to experiment with these parameters to see how the blackbody curve changes based on temperature, humidity, haze conditions, distance and other factors,\u201d said Leanne West, a principal research scientist at GTRI. \u201cThe program puts the equations into action so you can see the results from changing variables.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing sliders on the screen, users can change the parameters in discrete values that are programmed into the application. For instance, the application allows users to see the impact of temperatures as low as minus 333 degrees Fahrenheit, and as high as 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAvailable in the iTunes store, iBlackbody is the first iPad application to illustrate the concept of blackbody radiation. It is part of a series of programs and games that GTRI scientists and K-12 education specialists are developing to illustrate science and technology topics that can be difficult to understand using traditional teaching methods.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe think this is a much better learning tool for anyone attempting to understand blackbody radiation,\u201d said West, a former high school physics and physical sciences teacher. \u201cUsing the iPad can really help to bring concepts to life for students and anyone else interested in this topic. Seeing how equations change as input variables change aids in the understanding of the equation and what it is trying to tell you.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFunds generated by the sale of the app \u2013 which is available for 99 cents \u2013 will go back into improving it and building other iPad programs, West added. The app was written primarily by Brian Parise, a GTRI research scientist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project was supported by SENSIAC, the military sensing organization based at Georgia Tech. The iBlackbody application was originally produced as part of a project converting a traditional handbook on infrared radiation into an electronic book. The application replaces text and a series of charts in the first chapter of the handbook.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPeople enjoyed using this application and they saw its potential beyond the handbook,\u201d said West. \u201cWhat was meant to be just a module within the e-book turned into its own iTunes application.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBlackbody radiation has a characteristic and continuous frequency spectrum that depends on the temperature of the object emitting it, a phenomenon described mathematically by Planck\u2019s radiation law. The spectrum shifts to higher frequencies as the temperature of the object increases. At room temperature, most of the emissions from a blackbody are in the infrared region, which is not visible to the human eye, which is why the object appears to be black. At higher temperatures, blackbodies can produce visible emissions that range in color from red to blue-white.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA blackbody absorbs all of the electromagnetic energy that it encounters, and then emits it back into the environment. When a blackbody is at a uniform temperature, its emissions have a characteristic frequency distribution that depends on the temperature.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the future, West hopes to produce other iPad applications, as well as games, intended to teach physics principles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTablet computers are becoming important teaching tools that are playing a larger and larger role in education,\u201d she added. \u201cWe want to contribute to future generations understanding the science and engineering concepts that are important to the research we do.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 309\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30308\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Lance Wallace (404-407-7280)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New Application Helps Make Physics Interactive"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding the phenomenon of blackbody radiation \u2013 electromagnetic emissions that play a role in a broad range of physical systems \u2013 is an important part of physics instruction at both the high school and college levels. Thanks to researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), explaining this to students just became a little easier.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new iPad application helps students understand how variables affect blackbody radiation."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2012-10-11 10:56:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:58","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"161321":{"id":"161321","type":"image","title":"iBlackbody Application","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"iBlackbody Application","file":{"fid":"195422","name":"blackbody93.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blackbody93_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blackbody93_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1238931,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blackbody93_0.jpg?itok=EkonINaQ"}},"161331":{"id":"161331","type":"image","title":"iBlackbody Application2","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"iBlackbody Application2","file":{"fid":"195423","name":"blackbody145.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blackbody145_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blackbody145_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1095168,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blackbody145_0.jpg?itok=PUDguSlt"}},"161341":{"id":"161341","type":"image","title":"iBlackbody Screen Capture","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"iBlackbody Screen Capture","file":{"fid":"195424","name":"blackbody-screenshot1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blackbody-screenshot1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blackbody-screenshot1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":244046,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blackbody-screenshot1_0.jpg?itok=4llfE7ee"}}},"media_ids":["161321","161331","161341"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"46111","name":"blackbody radiation"},{"id":"46101","name":"blockbody"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"9291","name":"iPad"},{"id":"46081","name":"iPad application"},{"id":"3447","name":"K-12"},{"id":"46091","name":"Leanne West"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}