During heat treating, a blacksmith causes phase changes in the iron-carbon system to control the material's mechanical properties, often using the annealing, quenching, and tempering processes. In this context, the color of light, or "blackbody radiation", emitted by the workpiece is an approximate gauge of temperature. Temperature is often gauged by watching the color temperature of the work, with the transition from a deep cherry-red to orange-red ( to ) corresponding to the formation of austenite in medium and high-carbon steel. In the visible spectrum, this glow increases in brightness as temperature increases. When cherry-red, the glow is near its lowest intensity and may not be visible in ambient light. Hence blacksmiths usually austenitize steel in low-light conditions to accurately judge the color of the glow.