Probing Venus with radio waves

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Probing Venus with radio waves
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The Physics of Spectrum Formation, Kirchoffs
Laws and Wiens Law

• Hot opaque solid or liquid produces a continuous
  spectrum
• Hot, tenuous gas observed against dark background
  produces emission line spectrum
• Cold, tenuous gas observed against bright
  background produces absorption spectrum
• See Figure 16.6

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Kirchoffs Laws of Radiation
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Kirchoffs First Law Wiens Law

• Hot, opaque objects produce continuous spectrum
• The hotter the object, the bluer it is
• Wiens Law wmax 2.9E-03/T
• The hotter an object, the brighter it is

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The Magellan spacecraft at Venus
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What the surface of Venus looks like
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The surface of the Earth (with no water)
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The global view of Venus
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The globe of Venus
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Exploring Venus in a virtual spaceship
http//www.solarviews.com/eng/venus.htm