Concept:
Thermal radiation is the emission of electromagnetic waves from all matter that has a temperature greater than absolute zero. The Stefan-Boltzmann law quantifies the total maximum thermal energy a perfect emitter (a black body) radiates.
Step 1: The Stefan-Boltzmann law is mathematically expressed as $E = \sigma \cdot T^4$.
Step 2: In this equation, '$E$' represents the total radiant heat energy emitted per unit surface area, and '$\sigma$' is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (a fixed numerical value).
Step 3: The variable '$T$' represents the absolute temperature of the black body's surface, measured in Kelvin.
Step 4: The equation explicitly dictates that the emitted energy ($E$) scales with the temperature ($T$) raised to the power of 4.
Step 5: Therefore, the radiant energy is directly proportional to the fourth power of the absolute temperature.