Wien's Law Calculator

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Choose whether to calculate peak wavelength from temperature, or temperature from a known peak wavelength.
Surface or effective temperature of the object in kelvin. The Sun is about 5,778 K, a red dwarf around 3,000 K, a blue supergiant above 20,000 K.
K
Peak wavelengthVisible peak
501.52nm

Wavelength of maximum spectral radiance for the given temperature

Peak wavelength0.5015um
Peak frequency339.684THz
Temperature5,778K
Temperature5,504.9C
Spectral regionVisible light
Comparable star typeG-type yellow star like the Sun (5,200-6,000 K)
501.52 nm
UV<380Visible380-700Near-IR700-3000Thermal IR3000+

Peak emission at 501.5 nm (Visible light) from a 5778 K blackbody.

  • A peak at 502 nm falls in the visible spectrum, which runs from violet (~380 nm) to deep red (~700 nm).
  • Star comparison: G-type yellow star like the Sun (5,200-6,000 K).
  • The peak frequency form gives 339.68 THz. Note that wavelength and frequency peaks differ slightly because spectral radiance is expressed per wavelength interval or per frequency interval - these maxima are mathematically distinct.

Next stepPair this with the Stefan-Boltzmann law to find the total power radiated per unit area: P = sigma * T^4, where sigma = 5.67e-8 W/(m^2 K^4).

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