Sources of Light. - The sun is the chief source of light and heat, but there are many artificial sources. Any body when heated to a sufficient high temperature becomes a source of light.
As the temperature of a body is raised, the body emits invisible radiations. When it becomes red-hot, visible radiations begin to be emitted. The higher the temperature, the greater is the amount of both heat and light waves that are emitted, but the percentage of visible radiations becomes larger and larger as the temperature of the source of radiations is increased. For this reason, the modern tungsten lamp is much more efficient than the old carbon incandescent lamp. Tungsten has a very high melting point, and when it is surrounded by nitrogen or when it is in a vacuum, it can be heated to a high temperature and its efficiency thus made large [2, С. 102 - 103].