I want to know from the smallest possible originating structures how the light I see generated from heat is made by atoms themselves.
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It seems you are asking how black body radiation works at the atomic level? – Olin Lathrop Aug 05 '13 at 23:38
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Yes, @OlinLathrop, I am asking that. – Andy Harglesis Aug 22 '13 at 20:34
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As Olin says in his comment, the light you're asking about is the black body radiation.
Black body radiation is a collective phenomenon, that is it's not generated by individual atoms. Heating a solid causes the crystal lattice to vibrate, and the vibrations scatter electrons in the solid and cause transient oscillating dipoles. It's these oscillating dipoles that radiate EM just as any oscillating dipole does.
It's worth noting that the black body spectrum is actually determined by statistics, and the exact mechanism of it's generation doesn't matter. See What are the various physical mechanisms for energy transfer to the photon during blackbody emission? for a discussion of this.
John Rennie
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@AndyHarglesis: Trying to understand black body radiation in terms of single atoms is like trying to understand fluid dynamics in terms of single molecules. It can be done in principle but not in practice. – John Rennie Aug 23 '13 at 05:46
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Anything can be done if you really want it to be. Also, black body radiation is composed of atoms, so saying it's not generated by individual atoms is unclear. – Andy Harglesis Sep 03 '13 at 21:14
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Andy's post raises additional questions I would be happy to see explained in your answer. What spectrum would a single atom at a given temperature emit? Is the temperature/heat even defined? ... – Roan Jun 13 '15 at 17:03