Exercise 1: Radiation

 23. Which one of the following objects, all initially at the same temperature, will be most efficient in
losing heat?
(a) a dull black box in vacuum (d) a polished silver box in air
(b) a dull black box in air (e) a polished silver box in vacuum
(c) a box with an emissivity of 0.1

 24. Complete the following statement: Most of the heat that is lost to space from the earth occurs by
(a) conduction. (d) both conduction and radiation.
(b) convection. (e) both conduction and convection.
(c) radiation.

 25. Which object will emit more electromagnetic radiation than it absorbs from its surroundings?
(a) a 600 °C lead sphere in a 700 °C oven
(b) a girl scout sitting close to a campfire
(c) an ice cube in beaker of water at 50 °C
(d) a 200 °C copper coin in a beaker of water at 98 °C
(e) an ice cube in thermal equilibrium with the interior of a freezer

 26. Complete the following statement: The interior of a thermos bottle is silvered to minimize heat
transfer due to
(a) radiation.
(b) conduction.
(c) conduction and convection.
(d) conduction and radiation.
(e) conduction, convection, and radiation.

 27. The sun continuously radiates energy into space, some of which is intercepted by the earth. The
average temperature of the surface of the earth remains about 300 K. Why doesn’t the earth’s
temperature rise as it intercepts the sun’s energy?
(a) The earth reflects the sun’s light.
(b) The earth radiates an amount of energy into space equal to the amount it receives.
(c) The energy only raises the temperature of the upper atmosphere and never reaches the surface.
(d) The thermal conductivity of the earth is low.
(e) The heat is carried away from the earth by convection currents.

 28. Two identical solid spheres have the same temperature. One of the spheres is cut into two
identical pieces. These two hemispheres are then separated. The intact sphere radiates an
energy Q during a given time interval. During the same interval, the two hemispheres radiate a
total energy Q What is the ratio QQ?
(a) 2.0 (c) 4.0 (e) 0.25
(b) 0.50 (d) 1.5

 29. Which one of the following statements concerning the Stefan-Boltzmann equation is true?
(a) This equation applies only to perfect radiators.
(b) This equation applies only to perfect absorbers.
(c) This equation is valid with any temperature units.
(d) This equation describes the transport of thermal energy by conduction.
(e) The equation can be used to calculate the power absorbed by any surface.

 30. Which one of the following statements concerning emissivity is false?

(a) The emissivity is 1.0 for a perfect radiator.
(b) The emissivity is 1.0 for a perfect absorber.
(c) Emissivity depends on the condition of the surface.
(d) Emissivity is a dimensionless quantity.
(e) Emissivity depends on the surface area of the object.

 31. A hot metal ball is hung in an oven that is maintained at 700 K; and it cools. When the
 temperature of the ball is 900 K, it is losing heat at a rate of 0.10 J/min. At what rate will the
ball loose heat when the ball reaches 800 K? Assume that the emissivity of the ball does not
change appreciably with temperature.
(a) 0.04 J/min (c) 0.2 J/min (e) 0.6 J/min
(b) 0.06 J/min (d) 0.4 J/min

 32. Which one of the following graphs shows the rate at which heat is emitted from a hot body as a
function of its Kelvin temperature T?
P P P P P

T T T T T
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

 33. Assume that the sun is a sphere of radius 6.96  108 m and that its surface temperature is 5.8  103 K. If
the sun radiates at a rate of 3.90  1026 W and is a perfect emitter, at what rate is energy emitted per square
meter at the sun's surface? (Given:   5.67  10 8 Js 1 m 2 K 4 )

(a) 5.6  107 W/m 2 (c) 5.6  1017 W/m 2 (e) 25.6  107 W/m 2
(b) 6.4  107 W/m 2 (d) 12.8  107 W/m 2

 34. A blue supergiant star has a radius of 7.0  1010 m. The spherical surface behaves as a
blackbody radiator. If the surface temperature is 2.2  104 K, what is the rate at which energy
is radiated from the star?
(a) 1.2  103 J/s (c) 2.0  1023 J/s (e) 1.9  1043 J/s
(b) 7.7  1019 J/s (d) 8.2  1032 J/s

 35. Assuming a filament in a 100 W light bulb acts like a perfect blackbody, what is the temperature
of the hottest portion of the filament if it has a surface area of 6.3  105 m2? The Stefan-
Boltzmann constant is 5.67  108 W/(m 2 ∙ K2).
(a) 130 K (c) 2300 K (e) 30 000 K
(b) 1100 K (d) 5800 K

 36. A person steps out of the shower and dries off. The person’s skin with an emissivity of 0.70 has a
total area of 1.2 m2 and a temperature of 33 °C. What is the net rate at which energy is lost to the
room through radiation by the naked person if the room temperature is 24 °C?
(a) 0.041 W (c) 81 W (e) 47 W
(b) 25 W (d) 67 W

 37. The power radiated by a distant star is 4.2  1027 W. The radius of the star, which may be
considered a perfect radiator, is 1.06  1010 m. Determine the surface temperature of the star.
(a) 2690 K (c) 7240 K (e) 9770 K
(b) 4430 K (d) 8510 K
 38. Object A has an emissivity of 0.95; and its temperature is 25 °C. At what temperature (in degrees
Celsius) does object B, whose emissivity is 0.60, emit radiation at the same rate as object A if both
objects have the same surface area?
(a) 28 °C (c) 61 °C (e) 97 °C
(b) 40 °C (d) 73 °C