Hello Kevin, Thursday, December 06, 2001, 9:06:11 AM, you wrote:
KN> On the matter of FIR - no. Conservation of energy - the first law of thermodynamics - is not sufficient; there is the second law to contend with as well. If any (passive) material could KN> selectively radiate a frequency spectrum different from that of a surrounding environment at the same temperature as the material, one could construct a method of extracting heat defying the KN> second law. This restriction does not apply when the material is held at a different temperature - emissivity of the material then dictates a different spectrum from some other material. This may KN> seem contradictory but it's not - check any good textbook on thermodynamics.I believe it all gets back to the power of advertizing hype - if you believe something works, in a sense it does, KN> regardless of the facts. KN> regards, Kevin Nolan Kevin, The ability of a material to absorb energy at one wavelength and emit it at another is very easy to demonstrate. It is done on a daily basis. Something as simple as a flourescent light works like this. The ultraviolet light emitted by the excited gas is converted to white light by the phospher coating. One can also use a nitrogen laser emitting UV to excite various dyes, which then emit energy at another wavelength. Believe it or not, human bone behaves in this manner. When excited by ultraviolet light, it emits IR radiation. This is covered in the book "The Body Electric", by Dr. Becker. Because I am rearrnaging my entire house right now, I can't cite the pages, or the studies, at this time. As long as the energy conversion doesn't exceed 100%, I can't see where it violates the laws of thermodynamics. I do understand your statements, though, concerning two bodies, at the same temperature, without additional energy being added. In that case, yes, they will emit energy at the same wavelength. -- Best regards, Solar -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
