3.

Results and Discussion

All bodies simultaneously emit and absorb radiation. When a body’s temperature is constant in time, the
body is said to be in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings. In order for the temperature to be constant, the
body must absorb thermal energy at the same rate as it emits it; thus, a good thermal emitter is a good absorber
[1]. A blackbody is an ideal body that absorbs all radiation incident upon it, regardless of frequency [2].

0.8 0.8
10 W 10 W
0.7 50 W 0.7 50 W
100 W 100 W
0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5
Intensity

Intensity
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0.0 0.0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Wavelength, nm Wavelength, nm
0.8
10 W
0.7 50 W
100 W
0.6

0.5
intensity

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Wavelength, nm
Figure 1. Blackbody radiation spectrum for bulbs of different power

(RESULTS AND DISCUSSION PART 1)

After determining the temperature of the bulbs, the total energy irradiated by the bulbs was calculated using
Stefan-Boltzmann law, given by the equation
P = AεσT 4 (Equation 1)
where P is the power, A is the area, ε is the emissitivity, σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant 5.67x10-8 J·s-1m-
2
·K-4, and T is the temperature.
The data on the irradiated energy were shown in the table below.

Table 1. Energy irradiated by bulbs

Energy
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
10 W 4140.000000 274724.0717 274724.0717
50 W 4578.199052 281734.2223 281734.2223
100 W 4585.443038 283521.5869 283521.5869
 The Stefan-Boltzmann law gives the total energy being emitted at all wavelengths by the blackbody. From
the data obtained, it can be observed that the energy increases as the power of the bulbs used were varied from
10 W, 50 W, and 100 W. Thus, as the power increases, the corresponding energy irradiated by the bulbs also
increases.
The rapid increase in radiation with temperature and power is a consequence of the massless nature of
photons, the carriers of electromagnetic energy. Although this relationship describes the total energy emitted, it
does not predict the spectral distribution [3]. Max Planck, however, assumed that energy levels are quantized to
enable him to obtain an equation to successfully describe the blackbody radiation curve, known as the Planck’s
Radiation law, given by the equation
8𝜋ℎ𝜈 3 𝑑𝜈 3
𝑢(𝜈)𝑑𝜈 = (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2)
ℎ𝜈
𝑐3𝑒 − 1
𝑘𝐵𝑇
At high frequencies, hν ≫ kT and ehν/kT approaches infinity; thus, u(ν)dν approaches zero as observed in the
blackbody radiation spectrum. As low frequencies, hν ≪ kT and hν/kT ≪ 1. Generally,
𝑥2 𝑥3
𝑒 𝑥 = 1 + 𝑥 + + +. ..
2! 3!
If x is small, ex approaches 1+x, and thus,
1 1 𝑘𝑇
≈ ≈ (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 3)
𝑒 hν/kT − 1 1 + ℎ𝜈 − 1 ℎ𝜈
𝑘𝑇
hν ≪ kT (Equation 4)
Hence, at low frequencies, Planck’s Radiation law becomes
8𝜋ℎ 𝑘𝑇 8𝜋𝑘𝑇
𝑢(𝜈)𝑑𝜈 = 3 𝜈 3 ( ) 𝑑𝜈 ≈ 3 𝜈 2 𝑑𝜈 (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 5)
𝑐 ℎ𝜈 𝑐
Moreover, Planck’s formula only holds when energy is quantized.

References:
1. S. Thorton, A. Rex, (2013). Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers (4 th ed.). Boston, MA:
Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
2. Beiser, A. (2002). Concepts of Modern Physics (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
3. “Blackbody Radiation” (n.d). Retrieved November 14, 2018 from http://www.iki.rssi.ru/asp/pub_sha1
/Sharch06.pdf