"[N]one of the gases giving line spectra at temperatures heretofore used, do so by simple , but essentially by luminescent actions (chemical, electrical, and photogenic), so... we cannot, in general, apply the law of Kirchhoff of the proportionality between radiation and absorption to either terrestrial or celestial substances. In these cases the principle of usually holds, since in luminescence the radiation of line spectra is accompanied by selective absorption of the same spectral lines, so that the law may be used qualitatively, which is... the way Kirchhoff and Bunsen... attempted to confirm it."
Gustav Kirchhoff

January 1, 1970

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