Blackbody Radiation
From Slackerpedia Galactica
A mythical spectrum by a mythical beast that eats energy and radiates heat. A true blackbody (a) gets more luminous, and (b) has a spectrum that peaks at shorter and shorter wavelengths as it gets hotter.
Nothing in nature is a true blackbody, but some things are close. The heating element of an electric stove is an example of a blackbody. The hotter it gets the brighter and more orange it gets. The tungsten element of an incandescent bulb is a better (and hotter, and hence bluer) example.
Stars are really not blackbodies (because they have emission and absorption lines in their spectra), but they play them on television. Since they're close, we'll give them a pass and the slacker salute, a hearty "meh".
Why the spectra of hot objects look the way they do puzzled all of humanity for millennia. Well, no, not really, but it was an interesting question for physicists in the late 19th century. Guys with mutton chops like Rayleigh and Wien and Neil Young came up with various theories that failed, often catastrophically. The solution to the problem, by Max Planck, ushered in the age of quantum mechanics. It was all downhill from there.
