Content:
Topic Page number
Aim …2
Theory …3
Procedure …9
Bibliography …13
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Aim:
To verify Stefan-Boltzmann’s law and
determine Stefan-Boltzmann’s
constant.
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Theory:
Thermal Radiation – Radiant Heat
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the infra-red region of the
electromagnetic spectrum although some of it is in the visible region. The
term thermal radiation is frequently used to distinguish this form of electromagnetic
radiation from other forms, such as radio waves, x-rays, or gamma rays. It is generated
by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter and therefore any material that
has a temperature above absolute zero gives off some radiant energy. Thermal
radiation does not require any medium for energy transfer. In fact, energy transfer by
radiation is fastest (at the speed of light) and it suffers no attenuation in a vacuum.
In contrast to heat transfer by conduction or convection, which take place in the
direction of decreasing temperature, thermal radiation heat transfer can occur
between two bodies separated by a medium colder than both bodies. For example,
solar radiation reaches the surface of the earth after passing through cold layers of
atmosphere at high altitudes.
Stefan–Boltzmann Law
Radiation heat transfer rate, q [W/m2], from a body (e.g. a black body) to its
surroundings is proportional to the fourth power of the absolute temperature and
can be expressed by the following equation:
q = εσT4
where σ is a fundamental physical constant called the Stefan–Boltzmann constant,
which is equal to5.6697×10-8 W/m2K4. The Stefan–Boltzmann constant is
named after Josef Stefan (who discovered the Stefan-Boltzman law experimentally in
1879) and Ludwig Boltzmann (who derived it theoretically soon after). As can be seen,
radiation heat transfer is important at very high temperatures and in a vacuum.
Emissivity
The emissivity, ε, of the surface of a material is its effectiveness in emitting energy
as thermal radiation and varies between 0.0 and 1.0.
By definition, a blackbody in thermal equilibrium has an emissivity of ε = 1.0. Real
objects do not radiate as much heat as a perfect black body. They radiate less heat
than a black body and therefore are called gray bodies. To take into account the fact
that real objects are gray bodies, the Stefan-Boltzmann law must include emissivity.
Quantitatively, emissivity is the ratio of the thermal radiation from a surface to the
radiation from an ideal black surface at the same temperature as given by the Stefan–
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Boltzmann law. Emissivity is simply a factor by which we multiply the black body heat
transfer to take into account that the black body is the ideal case.
The surface of a blackbody emits thermal radiation at the rate of approximately 448
watts per square metre at room temperature (25 °C, 298.15 K). Real objects with
emissivities less than 1.0 (e.g. copper wire) emit radiation at correspondingly lower
rates (e.g. 448 x 0.03 = 13.4 W/m2). Emissivity plays important role in heat transfer
problems. For example, solar heat collectors incorporate selective surfaces that have
very low emissivities. These collectors waste very little of the solar energy through
emission of thermal radiation.
Absorptivity
Another important radiation property of a surface is its absorptivity, α, which is the
fraction of the radiation energy incident on a surface that is absorbed by the surface.
Like emissivity, value of absorptivity is in the range 0 < α < 1.
From its definition, a blackbody, which is an idealized physical body, absorbs all
incident electromagnetic radiation, regardless of frequency or angle of incidence.
That is, a blackbody is a perfect absorber. Since for real objects the absorptivity is less
than unity, a real object cannot absorb all incident light. The incomplete absorption
can be due to some of the incident light being transmitted through the body or to
some of it being reflected at the surface of the body.
In general, the absorptivity and the emissivity are interconnected by the Kirchhoff’s
Law of thermal radiation, which states:
For an arbitrary body emitting and absorbing thermal radiation in thermodynamic
equilibrium, the emissivity is equal to the absorptivity.
emissivity ε = absorptivity α
Note that visible radiation occupies a very narrow band of the spectrum from 0.4 to
0.76 nm, we cannot make any judgments about the blackness of a surface on the basis
of visual observations. For example, consider white paper that reflects visible light and
thus appear white. On the other hand it is essentially black for infrared radiation
(absorptivity α = 0.94) since they strongly absorb long-wavelength radiation.
As was written, the Stefan–Boltzmann law gives the radiant intensity of a single
object. But using the Stefan–Boltzmann law, we can also determine the radiation heat
transfer between two objects. Two bodies that radiate toward each other have a net
heat flux between them. The net flow rate of heat between them is given by:
Q = εσA1-2(T41 −T42) [J/s]
q = εσ(T41 −T42) [J/m2s]
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The area factor A1-2, is the area viewed by body 2 of body 1, and can become fairly
difficult to calculate.
Blackbody Radiation
It is known that the amount of radiation energy emitted from a surface at a given
wavelength depends on the material of the body and the condition of its surface as
well as the surface temperature. Therefore, various materials emit different amounts
of radiant energy even whhen they are at the same temperature. A body that emits
the maximum amount of heat for its absolute temperature is called a blackbody.
A blackbody is an idealized physical body, that has specific properties. By definition, a
black body in thermal equilibrium has an emissivity of ε = 1.0. Real objects do not
radiate as much heat as a perfect black body. They radiate less heat than a black body
and therefore are called gray bodies.
The surface of a blackbody emits thermal radiation at the rate of approximately 448
watts per square metre at room temperature (25 °C, 298.15 K). Real objects with
emissivities less than 1.0 (e.g. copper wire) emit radiation at correspondingly lower
rates (e.g. 448 x 0.03 = 13.4 W/m2). Emissivity plays important role in heat transfer
problems. For example, solar heat collectors incorporate selective surfaces that have
very low emissivities. These collectors waste very little of the solar energy through
emission of thermal radiation.
Since the absorptivity and the emissivity are interconnected by the Kirchhoff’s Law
of thermal radiation, a blackbody is also a perfect absorber of electromagnetic
radiation.
Kirchhoff’s Law of thermal radiation:
For an arbitrary body emitting and absorbing thermal radiation in thermodynamic
equilibrium, the emissivity is equal to the absorptivity.
emissivity ε = absorptivity α
A blackbody absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation, regardless of frequency or
angle of incidence. Its absorptivity is therefore equal to unity, which is also the
highest possible value. That is, a blackbody is a perfect absorber (and a perfect
emitter).
Note that visible radiation occupies a very narrow band of the spectrum from 0.4 to
0.76 nm, we cannot make any judgments about the blackness of a surface on the basis
of visual observations. For example, consider white paper that reflects visible light and
thus appear white. On the other hand it is essentially black for infrared radiation
(absorptivity α = 0.94) since they strongly absorb long-wavelength radiation.
See also: Ultraviolet Catastrophe
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Spectrum – Thermal Radiation
The Stefan–Boltzmann law determines the total blackbody emissive power, Eb, which is
the sum of the radiation emitted over all wavelengths. Planck’s law describes
the spectrum of blackbody radiation, which depends only on the object’s
temperature and relates the spectral blackbody emissive power, Ebλ. This law is named
after a German theoretical physicist Max Planck, who proposed it in 1900. Planck’s
law is a pioneering result of modern physics and quantum theory. Planck’s
hypothesis that energy is radiated and absorbed in discrete “quanta”(or energy
packets) precisely matched the observed patterns of blackbody radiation and resolved
the ultraviolet catastrophe.
Using this hypothesis, Planck showed that the spectral radiance of a body for
frequency ν at absolute temperature T is given by:
where
Bν(v,T) is the spectral radiance (the power per unit solid angle and per unit of
area normal to the propagation) density of frequency ν radiation per unit
frequency at thermal equilibrium at temperature T
h is the Planck constant
c is the speed of light in a vacuum
kB is the Boltzmann constant
ν is the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation
T is the absolute temperature of the body
The Planck’s law has the following important features:
The emitted radiation varies continuously with wavelength.
At any wavelength the magnitude of the emitted radiation increases with
increasing temperature.
The spectral region in which the radiation is concentrated depends on
temperature, with comparatively more radiation appearing at shorter
wavelengths as the temperature increases (Wien’s Displacement Law).
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Cavity with a hole
A widely used model of a black surface is a small hole in a
cavity with walls that are opaque to radiation. Radiation
incident on the hole will pass into the cavity, and is very
unlikely to be re-emitted if the cavity is large. The hole is
not quite a perfect black surface — in particular, if the
wavelength of the incident radiation is longer than the
diameter of the hole, part will be reflected. Similarly, even in
perfect thermal equilibrium, the radiation inside a finite-sized
cavity will not have an ideal Planck spectrum for wavelengths comparable to or larger
than the size of the cavity.
Suppose the cavity is held at a fixed temperature T and the radiation trapped inside
the enclosure is at thermal equilibrium with the enclosure. The hole in the enclosure
will allow some radiation to escape. If the hole is small, radiation passing in and out of
the hole has negligible effect upon the equilibrium of the radiation inside the cavity.
This escaping radiation will approximate black-body radiation that exhibits a
distribution in energy characteristic of the temperature T and does not depend upon
the properties of the cavity or the hole, at least for wavelengths smaller than the size
of the hole. See the figure in the Introduction for the spectrum as a function of
the frequency of the radiation, which is related to the energy of the radiation by the
equation E=hf, with E = energy, h = Planck's constant, f = frequency.
At any given time the radiation in the cavity may not be in thermal equilibrium, but the
second law of thermodynamics states that if left undisturbed it will eventually reach
equilibrium, although the time it takes to do so may be very long. Typically,
equilibrium is reached by continual absorption and emission of radiation by material in
the cavity or its walls. Radiation entering the cavity will be "thermalized"; by this
mechanism: the energy will be redistributed until the ensemble of photons achieves
a Planck distribution. The time taken for thermalization is much faster with condensed
matter present than with rarefied matter such as a dilute gas. At temperatures below
billions of Kelvin, direct photon–photon interactions are usually negligible compared
to interactions with matter. Photons are an example of an interacting boson gas, and
as described by the H-theorem, under very general conditions any interacting boson
gas will approach thermal equilibrium.
Transmission, absorption, and reflection
A body's behavior with regard to thermal radiation is characterized by its transmission
τ, absorption α, and reflection ρ.
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The boundary of a body forms an interface with its surroundings, and this interface
may be rough or smooth. A nonreflecting interface separating regions with different
refractive indices must be rough, because the laws of reflection and refraction
governed by the Fresnel equations for a smooth interface require a reflected ray when
the refractive indices of the material and its surroundings differ.[ A few idealized types
of behavior are given particular names:
An opaque body is one that transmits none of the radiation that reaches it, although
some may be reflected. That is, τ=0 and α+ρ=1
A transparent body is one that transmits all the radiation that reaches it. That is, τ=1
and α=ρ=0.
A gray body is one where α, ρ and τ are uniform for all wavelengths. This term also is
used to mean a body for which α is temperature and wavelength independent.
A white body is one for which all incident radiation is reflected uniformly in all
directions: τ=0, α=0, and ρ=1.
For a black body, τ=0, α=1, and ρ=0. Planck offers a theoretical model for perfectly
black bodies, which he noted do not exist in nature: besides their opaque interior, they
have interfaces that are perfectly transmitting and non-reflective.
Kirchhoff's perfect black bodies
Kirchhoff in 1860 introduced the theoretical concept of a perfect black body with a
completely absorbing surface layer of infinitely small thickness, but Planck noted some
severe restrictions upon this idea. Planck noted three requirements upon a black body:
the body must (i) allow radiation to enter but not reflect; (ii) possess a minimum
thickness adequate to absorb the incident radiation and prevent its re-emission; (iii)
satisfy severe limitations upon scattering to prevent radiation from entering and
bouncing back out. As a consequence, Kirchhoff's perfect black bodies that absorb all
the radiation that falls on them cannot be realized in an infinitely thin surface layer,
and impose conditions upon scattering of the light within the black body that are
difficult to satisfy.
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Procedure:
The method-practical part
A. Verification of Stefan-Boltzmann` law.
The method of the measurement of the radiation of an object is based on the measuring of the
radiation of a body at the temperature T that is greater than
the temperature of its surroundings T0 . The equilibrium between the radiated body and its
surroundings is realized by the electric heating of the body. The power is given by
P UI (12.6)
where U is the voltage of the source and I is applied current flowing through
the body. The power equals
P εAσT 4 − εaσT
4
P (12.7)
0 0
where P0 kT − T0 is the power transferred from the heated body into surroundings,
k is the constant of proportionality depending on the geometry of the body.
We shall use the filament of the lamp as a radiated body. Typical graph of power versus
temperature is shown in Fig.12.5.
P(W)
P′ εAσT 4
A
P ≈ P0
small temperatures large temperatures T K
Fig.12.5
From this figure we see that the curve can be divided into two parts: linear area (low temperatures)
in which the power (below the point A) depends linearly on the temperature and the area of large
temperatures (above the point A). In the case of small temperatures the equation (12.7) gives
P ≅ P0 kT − T0 (12.8)
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If the temperature of the filament is large (second part of the graph) we can neglect the second
term in eq.(12.7) and we have
P′ P − kT − T0 εAσT 4 BT K , (12.9)
where B εAσ is the constant for the measured filament of the lamp, K 4 (it flows from Stefan-
Boltzmann law). The experimental value of K will be determined by the method of measurement of
the temperature dependence its resistance as
R R0 1 γ∆ T , (12.10)
where R0 is the resistance at room temperature T0 , R is the resistance at
the temperature T (its value will be calculated from Ohm`s law as R U ),
I
∆ T T − T0
and γ is the temperature coefficient of resistivity of the material of
the filament of the lamp.
Measurement
Apparatus: lamp, voltage source, voltmeter, ammeter, rheostat, computer. Experimental
procedure: Connect apparatus with respect to scheme at Fig.12.6. Measure V-A characteristic of
the wolfram lamp. Since the computer controls this measurement direct by its instruction.
Fig.12.6
Calculation: Calculate the resistance of The R0 from first measured value.
temperature coefficient of resistivity of wolfram filament has value of P(T
γ 0.005 K -1 . From the linear part of the graph ) choose the power P′ P − P0 .
From this equation we have
ln P′ ln B K ln T (12.11)
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where B εAσ , K is the exponent in Stefan-Bolzmann law (see eq.(12.7)). Constants
B and K are determined by the method of linear regression from the linear part of
the graph of ln P′ versus ln T . Note that constants B and K depend on the choice of
points on the linear part of the graph. Therefore, repeat this process for various values
of these parameters. Present all your results and make the analysis of your
measurement.
B. Determination of Stefan Boltzmann constant.
Pyrometer is an instrument used to measure the temperatures too high for ordinary
thermometer. The scheme of pyrometer is shown in Fig.12.7
screen
auto lamp
heated wire
projection
(wolfram lamp)
lens
Fig.12.7
The optical pyrometer consists of the pyrometric lamp with a variable source of
emf, and the optical systems. The changes of the colour of pyrometric lamp are
introduced on the temperature scale of the pyrometer.
The principle of the measurement by the optical pyrometer is introduced by the
showing the changes in colour and brightness that occur in an electrically heated wire
(or wolfram lamp) as the current is gradually increased. This experiment shows a
qualitative dependence of colour upon temperature.
At low voltage, the filament of the pyrometric lamp shows the dark against a bright
background. If the voltage is increased, the filament disappears and finally reappears
bright against the background of illumination. Therefore, the principle of the
measurement by the optical pyrometer consists in comparison of the colour of
pyrometric lamp and colour of heated filament of the lamp. If the colour of
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the pyrometric lamp is the same as the colour of the heated filament we read the
temperature of a heated wire on the scale of the pyrometer.
Measurement
Apparatus: lamp, voltage source, voltmeter, ammeter, pyrometer.
Experimental procedure: Connect the apparatus according to scheme in Fig.12.8.
Measure the room temperature T0 . The temperature of heated filament of using lamp
T will be measured by the optical pyrometer for a several values of electric current I
and voltage U . Record the measured values into the table.
Fig.12.8
Calculation: Calculate the Stefan-Bolzmann constant for each pair of I and U from
eq.(12.5). The coefficient of emissivity of the wolfram filament is approximately
ε ≅ 0.6 . Give a brief discussion about the phenomena that influence accuracy of your
experiment.
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CONCLUSION :
The first method used to confirm the Stefan Boltzmann law employed a
three parameter, fourth order polynomial function to describe the
behavior of the filament. The function fit well to the data with a χ 2 value
of 1.41 for 21 points. Since there was a good fit to the data, the
coefficients had relatively low uncertainty. This allowed the
proportionality constant σAs to be determined to be (5.80 ± 0.09) ×
10−13( W K4 ) with an uncertainty of < 2% and the constant kAo to be
determined to be (1.186 ± 0.068) × 10−3 W K with an uncertainty of <
6%. The second method used a log-log plot of the input power as a
function of the absolute temperature and determined σAs to be (6.32 ±
0.09) × 10−13( W K4 ) which has an uncertainty of < 2% and is in
agreement with the first method’s value to 3σ. The power exponent was
also determined to be 4.00 ± 0.55 which has an uncertainty < 14%. The
observed systematic increase in uncertainty for the larger values of the
temperature can be attributed to a systematic increase in the random
error for large values of temperature. Additionally, for the first method,
the data appears to systematically increase for large T values above the
best fit curve. An explanation of this could be thermal expansion.
Thermal expansion would increase the surface area as the filament’s
temperature increased. This in turn would cause the curve to become
more steep. The effect, however, appears slight. In addition, the
temperature of the glass bulb is not the same as the room temperature.
The bulb’s temperature increases as it is turned on and off. This in turn
will make the absorption term in Eq. 7 a larger factor. Nonetheless, the
increased room temperature would have a minimal effect on Eq. 7 for
large values of Tf and can therefore be considered negligible. The quality
of the fits for both methods, the agreement of the exponent in the
second method, and the correspondence of the two values of the
constant σ. As creates a strong argument for the support of Stefan-
Boltzmann’s law
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Bibliography:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/radiation-heat-transfer-d_431.html
http://vlab.amrita.edu/index.php?sub=1&brch=194&sim=548&cnt=1
https://socratic.org/questions/what-is-stefan-boltzmann-law-used-for
http://physics.bu.edu/ulab/modern/Stefan_Boltzmann.pdf
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