Joly photometer

John Joly was an Irish physicist who is best known for his inven6on of the
Joly photometer, which he developed in the late 19th century. The Joly
photometer is a device that is used to measure the intensity of light using the
principles of the inverse square law.

The Joly photometer is an instrument that is used to measure the

intensity of light in a par6cular loca6on or environment. It was invented by Irish
physicist John Joly in the early 20th century and is based on the inverse square
law of light.
The inverse square law states that the intensity of light from a point
source decreases as the distance from the source increases. Specifically, the
intensity is inversely propor6onal to the square of the distance from the
source.
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Mathema6cally, this can be expressed as: 𝑙 = !
"
Where l is the intensity of the light, k is a constant that depends on the
proper6es of the light source, and d is the distance from the source.

To provide more accurate data the construc6ng should contain electric

photocell: a small light source is placed at one end of a long tube, while a small
photocell is placed at the other end. The tube is filled with paraffin wax, which
acts as a filter, absorbing light as it travels through the tube. The intensity of
the light reaching the photocell is then measured, and the inverse square law is
used to calculate the intensity of the original light source.

The inverse square law of light firstly proposed by the English

mathema6cian and physicist Isaac Newton in the 17th century, is a
fundamental principle in physics that describes how the intensity of light
decreases as the distance from the source increases. According to this law, the
intensity of light is inversely propor6onal to the square of the distance from the
source.
In simpler terms, this means that as you move away from a light source,
the amount of light that you receive decreases rapidly. For example, if you are
standing 1 meter away from a light bulb, the intensity of the light you receive is
four 6mes greater than if you were standing 2 meters away. This is because the
light is spread out over a larger area as the distance from the source increases,
and so the intensity of the light decreases.
 The inverse square law of light is a fundamental principle that is used in
many areas of science and engineering, such as op6cs, astronomy, and
photography. For example, astronomers use this law to measure the brightness
of stars and other celes6al objects, while photographers use it to determine
the correct exposure sePngs for their cameras.
It should be noted that the inverse square law of light applies only to
point sources of light, or sources that can be approximated as a single point.
For extended sources, such as light bulbs or fluorescent lamps, the intensity of
light decreases more slowly with distance, and other laws must be used to
describe their behavior.
Construc6on used:
The construc6on of simple Joly photometer is simple, inside the box with 3
holes, 2 of them for passing the light and the last for observing events
happening inside, was placed the sandwich made from 2 paraffin bricks and
aluminium foil between.

Experiment:
Placing the photometer between two sources of light.
1. Only one of the sources illuminates each wax block. The aluminum foil
prevents light from passing through the gaps between the blocks.
2. The photometer and the light sources should be at the same height.
3. The photometer should be placed on a straight line connec6ng the two
sources.
4. The two light sources should be the only ligh6ng sources in the room.
There will be no bright sunlight!
5. To ensure uniform ligh6ng at the photometer, the distance between the
photometer and the nearest light source should be greater than the size
of the wax block.
6. Switch the photometer between the two light sources un6l the two wax
blocks are equally bright.
Calcula6ons:
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1. " "! = " !!
" !
!
"
2. 𝐼$ = 𝐼% "! !
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