title: Classical theory of thermal radiation from a solid.
abstract: In this work, a solid at a finite temperature is modeled as an ensemble of identical atoms, each of which moves around a lattice site inside an isotropic harmonic potential. The motion of one such atom is studied first. It is found that the atom moves like a time-dependent current density and, thus, can emit electromagnetic radiation. Since all the atoms are identical, they can radiate, too. The resultant radiation from the atoms is the familiar thermal radiation from the solid. After its general expression is obtained, the intensity of the thermal radiation is discussed for its properties, and specifically calculated in the low-temperature limit. Both atomic motion and radiation are formulated in the classical domain.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo