MISSION ATLAS #11 · THE HELIOS INCIDENT — EPISODE 2 · WIEN'S DISPLACEMENT LAW
🔬 STAR AUTOPSY: The Wien Files
Radiation Forensics Deck · HELIOS-7Wien 1893 · Nobel 1911ONE relationship: λmax·T = b
🎯 Learning target
Master ONE relationship — Wien's displacement law: λmax = 2.90×10⁶ / T (λ in nm, T in K) Read temperatures straight out of light: forward, inverse, and on an unknown object.
⚠️ Misconception to break
"Red-hot means REALLY hot." Backwards: red is the coolest visible glow. Hotter bodies peak at shorter λ — white, then blue. Fire intuition lies; the law doesn't.
🧪 Model & assumptions (stated honestly)
Sources treated as blackbodies · teaching value b ≈ 2.90×10⁶ nm·K (exact: 2.898×10⁶) · Wien reads the surface temperature · class temperatures are teaching values · the on-screen spectrum is drawn from Planck's real law on a log-λ axis · star colours approximate. The physics itself is never altered.
Difficulty generous tolerances
📐 Key formulas (given)
Wien: λmax · T = b
λmax = 2.90×10⁶ / T [nm, K]
T = 2.90×10⁶ / λmax
bands: UV < 380 nm ≤ visible ≤ 750 nm < IR
(spectrum shape: Planck's law — drawn for you)
🗂 Curriculum — 4 case files
1️⃣ Cold Cases · Watch — five bodies, one law 2️⃣ Autopsy · Predict — T is given; your λmax arms the scan 3️⃣ Reconstruction · Inverse — set the furnace T for a target peak 4️⃣ The Live Case · Crisis — unknown object, 90 s, verdict Bronze+ opens the next file. Scenarios re-roll every retry.
Controls
Space scan/ignite · Enter commit · P pause · R reset case · H hint. Each file opens with a 🧠 reasoning question. Wrong submissions −2 pts.
🏅 How scoring works
Every stage: answer the reasoning question, then compute and commit a number. Your medal is set by accuracy — 🥇 under 5% · 🥈 under 10% · 🥉 under 20% error — and a Bronze or better unlocks the next stage. A wrong answer costs −2 points (−1 on Easy, and your first reasoning slip on each question is free on Easy). A hint costs −3/−4/−5. Fewer tries and higher accuracy mean a higher score — so it always pays to calculate, not guess.