Episode 2 of 2
Origin of Stefan's Law
- When
- 1879
- Where
- Vienna
Josef Stefan is best known for originating Stefan's law in 1879, stating that total radiation from a black body is proportional to the fourth power of its thermodynamic temperature.
This physical power law was established by Stefan, a Carinthian Slovene physicist. The law describes the intensity of thermal radiation emitted by matter in terms of that matter's temperature. This empirical statement preceded the theoretical derivation by Ludwig Boltzmann.
Sources
- Josef Stefan Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-01
- Stefan–Boltzmann law Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-08
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.