they emitting any light?
If an object is said to be ’emitting’ light, that means that the object is glowing of its own accord. Consider a lit neon sign and a burner on an electric stove which is turned to ‘high.’ Both of these objects glow of their own accord. If either of these things were in a room with no windows and all the lights were turned off, we would still see them glowing. On the other hand, I’m wearing a red t-shirt today. The wavelength of red light is about 700 nm. According to Wien’s law, something peaking at 700 nm has a temperature of about 4000 K (which is 7000 degrees Fahrenheit). Now, I don’t feel that hot. Also, when I turn off the lights, I can’t see my t-shirt anymore. It is not glowing of its own accord. The reason that I can see it and it appears red when the lights are on is that the t-shirt is NOT a perfect black body, and that due to the chemical nature of the dyes in the fibers of my shirt, it reflects the color red more than any other color. Bottom line: an object that is seen by
