Measurement of Planck's constant using

a light bulb

Amrozia Shaheen, Muhammad Omair Qazi

and Muhammad Sabieh Anwar

LUMS School of Science and Engineering

March, 20, 2013

1 Introduction

The purpose of this experiment is to measure Planck's constant through the obser-
vation of black body radiation, which all matter emits by virtue of its temperature
[1, 2, 3]. A simple setup involving a tungsten- lament light bulb as a source of
blackbody radiation, an optical lter as a wavelength selector and a silicon pho-
todetector is used in this experiment. Planck's radiation law is then used to derive
an expression for h in terms of the lament temperature, wavelength and photo-
intensity. Last, students are expected to keep track of the uncertainties associated
with measurements, speci cally their propagation to the experimentally determined
value of Planck's constant and comment on the validity of the experimental method.

KEYWORDS Planck's radiation law
Blackbody
Intensity
Stefan's law
Wein's

displacement law
Tungsten light bulb

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 4 hours

2 Conceptual Objectives

In this experiment, we will,

1. understand the concept of black body radiation and its relation to temperature
T and wavelength ,
2. understand Planck's radiation law and Stefan's law,
3. learn how to infer meaningful data from experimental graphs,
4. learn how error propagates from measured to inferred quantities,
1
 5. practice manipulating error bars and weighted t of a straight line,
6. determine numerical value of Planck's constant h.

3 Experimental objectives

This experiment is designed to determine the value of Planck's constant using a

commercially available incandescent light bulb (60 W) as a source of black-body
radiation. A single color optical lter is also introduced for selecting a wavelength
in the visible range. An electrical setup is used to measure resistance and power
dissipation. AC voltage is used to illuminate the incandescent bulb at di erent
voltages and the corresponding photointensity is measured on a photodetector.
The experiment is divided into two sections. In the rst part students will measure
the temperature of the incandescent bulb lament. In the second part students
will determine the value of Planck's constant by taking into account the measured
intensities and bulb temperatures.

4 Theoretical background

4.1 Thermal or blackbody radiation

We see objects when light is re ected from them. At high temperatures, bodies
become self luminous and start glowing even in the dark. Radiation emitted by
a body due to its temperature is called thermal radiation. All bodies not only
emit but also absorb such radiations from their surroundings and nally come into
thermal equilibrium. If we steadily increase the temperature we notice that the
predominant color shifts from dull red through bright yellow-orange to bluish white
heat. This change in color shows that the frequency distribution of the emitted
radiation changes with temperature. Since the thermal radiation spectrum strongly
depends on temperature, we can easily estimate the temperature of a hot body
through the emitted radiation. This is the basis of color thermometry [1].
In real practice, the radiation emitted by a body not only depends on the tem-
perature but also depends on the material, shape and nature of its surface. Such
factors make it dicult to understand thermal radiation in terms of simple physical
models, just like diculties arise in understanding properties of real gases in term
of simple atomic model. The 'gas problem' was resolved by introducing an 'ideal
gas'. Likewise the radiation problem is solved by introducing the concept of an
'ideal radiator' for which the spectral distribution depends only on the temperature
and on nothing else.
An ideal radiator can be made by forming a cavity within a body, the walls being held
at uniform temperature. A small hole is also pierced inside the cavity to examine the
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 The walls of the ideal radiator
comprise quantized harmonic
oscillators, constantly emitting
radiation into and absorbing
radiation from the cavity

(hc/λ) into
the cavity

(hc/λ) absorbbed
from the cavity

Photon gas

Figure 1: A physical model of a blackbody.

nature of the radiations inside the cavity. This ideal radiator is a called black-body,
it is a perfect emitter and perfect absorber of all the electromagnetic radiation that
falls on it [1, 2, 3]. A physical model is shown in Figure (1).
Some properties of the cavity radiation are given below,
Stefan-Boltzmann law The total emitted power per unit area, over all wavelengths

is called radiant intensity I (T ) and is given by,

∫ 1
P
I (T ) = A = R()d = T 4 ; (1)
0

and
P = AT 4 ; (2)
where,  (5:670  10 8 W/m2 -K4 ) is a constant called the Stefan-Boltzmann con-
stant and A is the surface area of the radiating object. R() is called the spectral
radiancy, tells about how the intensity of the radiation varies with wavelength for
a particular temperature. A body which is not an ideal radiator will obey the same
rule but with a coecient,
I (T ) = "T 4 ; (3)
where " is a dimensionless quantity, called the emissivity of the material. For a
black body, " = 1, but for all other objects the emissivity is always less than one.
Wein's displacement law Wilhelm Wein (1864-1928) deduced that max at which

the spectral radiancy is maximum varies as 1=T and the product is a universal
constant,
max T = 2:898  10 m K: (4)
The spectrum of intensity as a function of wavelength for cavity radiation for se-
lected temperatures is sown in Figure (2). The diagram indicates a wavelength shift
3
of the most intense radiation (indicated by the peak) towards lower wavelength as
the temperature of the black body increases.

The 4000 K curve respresents an object

that glows with yellowish-white color
1.2

Intensity (arb. units)

1.0
4000 K
8

4
3000 K

2 2000 K

1 2 3 4
Wavelength (µm)

Figure 2: The intensity distribution at various temperatures as a function of wave-

length for an ideal blackbody. The arrow shows the region that is approximately
equal to the visible range.

Q 1. For sun, the wavelength at which the spectral radiance is maximum is

500 nm. The radius of the sun is 7:0  108 m [1].

(a) What is the surface temperature of the sun?

(b) What is the radiant intensity of the sun?
(c) What is the total radiated power output of the sun?

Q 2. A surface that is 'white hot' emits about 10 times more power than a 'red
hot' surface of the same area. What does this tells us, quantitatively about the
relative temperatures?
Q 3. The star Betelgeuse appears to glow red, whereas Rigel appears blue in
color. Which star has a higher surface temperature [2]?
Q 4. Estimate the surface temperature of the sun from the following informa-
tion. The sun's radius is given by Rs = 7:0  108 m. The average earth-sun distance
is R = 1:5  1011 m. The power per unit area (at all frequencies) from the sun is
measured at the earth to be 1400 W/m2 . Assume that the sun is a blackbody [3].
4
5 Planck's radiation law

Around the year 1900, attempts were made to nd a simple formula that can t
the experimental curves similar to the ones shown in Figure (2). For example,
Rayleigh and Jeans derived a relationship based on classical physics and his formula
t the curves in the limit of very long wavelengths (low frequencies) much larger
than 50 m. Wein's theoretical expression, though a 'guess' t the experimental
curves at short wavelengths but departed at longer wavelengths. A comparison is
displayed in Figure (3).

4
Intensity (arb. units)

3 Rayleigh-Jeans law

Wien's law
1

1 2 3 4 5 6
Wavelength (µm)

Figure 3: The solid line shows the experimental data at 2000 K, while the dashed
lines represent the predictions of the Rayleigh-Jeans's and Wien's law.

Max Planck tried to reconcile the two radiation laws. He made an interpolation
that remarkably t the experimental data at all wavelengths. Planck's formula
related the intensity of the emitted radiation at a particular wavelength  to the
temperature T by,
( )
2hc 2 1
I (; T ) = 5 e hc=kB T 1 : (5)

Here T is the temperature (in Kelvin), h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of

light and kB is Boltzmann's constant (1:38  10 23 JK 1 ).
Planck's radiation law (5) cab be used to nd the intensity ratio being measured
at the same wavelength  but at two di erent temperatures T1 and T2 [4],
I1 (T1 ) e (hc=kB T2 ) 1
I2 (T2 ) = e (hc=kB T1 ) 1 : (6)

5
In the limit of large temperatures h(hc=)  kB T , the above expression becomes,
I1 (T1 ) e (hc=kB T )
2

I2 (T2 )  e (hc=kB T ) :
1
(7)
Thus, Equation (7) holds good for the visible range and typical lament tem-
peratures (upto 2500 K) in incandescent light bulbs. Planck's constant can be
determined for any pair of measured intensities and their respective temperatures.
Q 5. Use Equation (7) to express h in terms of I1 (T1 ); I2 (T2 ), , T1 , and T2 .
Q 6. Verify that in the limit of very long wavelengths ( ! 1) Planck's radi-
ation law approaches the classical Rayleigh-Jeans law and derive an expression for
it.
Q 7. If we x I1 (T1 ) and the corresponding temperature T1 as reference intensity
Io at temperature To , and vary T2 , what will be the expression for h?
Q 8. By integrating the Planck's radiation law (5) over all wavelengths, show
that the power dissipated per square meter of a cavity surface is given by [1],
( 5 4)
2 k
I (T ) = 15h3 cB2 T 4 = T 4 :
Calculate the value of Stefan-Boltzmann's constant  using the above expression.
What are its units.

6 Primer on light bulbs and their temperature

Incandescent light bulbs are supposed to be the hottest things in our homes. Some
typical temperatures in a common household are given below,
Object Name Temperature (K)
Cooking oven 600
Candle ame 1700
Sui gas ame 2300
Table 1: Approximate steady state temperatures of some household items.

A tungsten light bulb is shown in Figure (4).

The measurement of the temperature of the lament without making direct contact
with bulb is somewhat tricky task [6, 7, 8, 9]. We will use the following technique
to get reasonably accurate results.
For an ideal blackbody, the emitted power can be found out using Stefan-Boltzmann
law,
Pr ad = AT 4 :
6
 Dumet wires Lead wires
Exhaust tube
Fuse

Inert gases
under low
pressure

Cap Stem

Supporting wires Glass

Tungsten filamnet

Figure 4: The inner construction of an incandescent tube.

If we supply electrical energy to the incandescent bulb and measure its resistance
then the electrical power dissipation is,
Pelec = I 2 R: (8)
Assuming that the total electrical power dissipated by the lament is emitted en-
tirely as radiation,
Pelec = Pr ad ;
I 2 R = AT 4 : (9)
For temperatures ranging from room to about 2500 K, tungsten lament obeys a
linear relation between its resistance and temperature,
R(T ) = Ro [1 + (T To )] (10)
where Ro represents ambient resistance measured at ambient temperature To and
is temperature coecient of resistivity. However, Equation (10) requires we have
to rely on the published values of at temperature To for tungsten.
In practice, the lament is coiled once or twice that reduces the e ective radiat-
ing surface area. This introduces unaccounted deviations from the true relation1 .
Instead let us assume a non-linear relation between R and T given by the power
law,
T = R: (11)
Under this assumption, Equation (9) becomes,
Pelec = I 2 R = constant
R4 : (12)
Finally, under the assumption of power law the tungsten lament temperature takes
the form,
( )
R
T = R To : (13)
o
1 It would be unwise to rely on published temperature coecients for commercial tungsten, for

it may also contain unknown amounts of impurities [4] [5].

7
 9. Give one reason for assuming a non linear relation between R and T as
Q

opposed to Equation (10)?

Q 10. Convert the proportionality given in Equation (12) into a logarithmic
equation relating P , R, and . State the advantage of working with logs.

7 The experiment

7.1 Apparatus

1. A commercially available tungsten lament incandescent light bulb rated at

60 W, 220-240 V.
2. Variac (0-220 V),
3. Connecting wires,
4. Digital multimeters to measure current I (mA) and voltage V (V),
5. Bandpass lter of red wavelength (650 nm, Thorlabs FB 650-10),
6. Silicon photo-detector (Newport 818-SL),
7. Aperture to modulate power density incident on detector,
8. Digital oscilloscope (BK Precision 2534),
9. Enclosing black box and cylindrical tube (inner diameter= 87:42 mm, outer
diameter= 89:39 and length= 41 cm), homemade,
10. Optical rail, homemade.

7.2 Experimental procedure

The experimental setup is shown in Figure (5). Complete the assembly as sketched
in gure (5a). Connect a 60 W incandescent light bulb to the variac through an
ammeter (digital mulimetrer) in series. A digital voltmeter is also connected in
parallel to measure voltage values. The variac is an AC transformer that gives
variable voltages.
Note: Make sure the variac is unplugged when you are making electrical

connections. Wear safety gloves. Remember, never touch bare electric wires.

It can be fatal.

You are provided with a cylindrical tube with bulb tted inside it. Inert this cylindrical
tube into the black box. Fix the bulb position as shown in Figure (5c). Now
8
 Ammeter
I
Black box
Variac
Photodetector Filter Iris Cylindrical tube (0-220V)
Digital
oscilloscope V
Voltmeter
Light bulb
(60 W)

Variac
al Black box Tube with bulb
Digitloscope fitted inside
Ammeter
osc il Voltmeter

(b)
Photodetector

Optical
filter

Iris
Set bulb position
at this point
(c) (d)

Figure 5: Experimental setup. (a) Schematic diagram, (b) assembled view, (c)
adjusting the position of the bulb using a sliding lever, and (d) assembly of optical
components inside the black box.

assemble the optical components in a way shown in Figure (5d) and connect the
silicon photodiode to digital oscilloscope.
F Q 11. You are provided with digital multimeter and a thermometer. Measure
the room temperature resistance of light bulb. Note down the laboratory temper-
ature. Note down the uncertainties in the measured quantities.
F Q 12. Carefully switch on the variac and set it at 0:00 V. Place the lid over
the black box. Now switch on the oscilloscope and load Setup 01 from the menu.
Wait for the signal on the oscilloscope to stabilize. Select Auto mode for measure-
ment. Set voltage mode at Max. Set the voltage sensitivity range to 5 mV using
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 V
V I
I R
R P
P T
T Ir ad
Ir ad (1%)
(V) (V) (mA) (mA) ( ) ( ) (W) (W) (K) (K) (mV) (mV)
34 0:4 100 1 329 6 3:31 0:09 976 12 0:4 1% of I value
57
.
.
210
Table 2: Model table for experimental results.

voltage knob. Record it as Ibackgnd (mV). Increase the voltage sensitivity range with
increasing intensity in order to get reasonably accurate value.
F Q 13. Increase the voltage value and set it to some moderate value, say at
33 V. Note down the voltage V (V) and current I (mA) values displayed on the
multimeters. Note down the corresponging uncertainties in measured quantities i.e.,

V and
I . (Hint: Use relationships for evaluating type B uncertainties involving
scale and instrument uncertainties.)
F Q 14. Calculate the values of resistance and power from the measured data.
F Q 15. Record the value of photointensity displayed on the digital oscilloscope.
F Q16. Repeat all steps given above and make a table for di erent voltage
values (30-210 V) with an increment of 20 V as shown in Table (2).
F Q 17. Plot a graph of log(P ) versus log(R) and determine the value of the
slope and the intercept using weighted t of a straight line.
F Q 18. Calculate the value of using equation (12). You will require this
parameter to calculate bulb temperature.
F Q 19. What is the uncertainty in your calculated value of . (Hint: Use
mathematical relationship for uncertainty in slope).
Q 20. Can we justify the assumption of a non-linear relationship between T and
R, just by looking at the logarithmic plot?
F Q 21. Use the value of obtained in Q 18 and Equation (13) to determine
the lament temperature T . Calculate the corresponding uncertainties
T for the
complete range of voltage.
Q 22. Verify that the expression you derived for Planck's constant h has the
form:
( )( ( )) ( )
kB
ln II 1
=h T T : 1 (14)
c o o

Q 23. From the table of results chose appropriate values (the rst value) of
10
intensity I and temperature T to be used as reference parameters for Io and To in
Equation (14).
Q 24. State one problem that may arise in choosing Tmin as reference temper-
ature? (Hint: compare the order of the background intensity, Ibackgnd to Imin ).
F Q 25. Use Equation (14) to plot [( kcB )(ln IIo )] versus the [ T1o T1 ] data points.
F Q 26. Perform weighted t of the straight line to determine the value of the
slope and the intercept.
F Q 27. Calculate the value of h using Equation (14).
F Q 28. What is the uncertainty in your calculated value of h.
F Q29. The published value of Planck's constant has a value of 6.626176x10 34
Js 1

[10]. Calculate the percentage accuracy of your determination of h.

Q 30. Comment on the validity of the experimental method.
Q 31. What are the major sources of uncertainty in this experiment? Suggest
two improvements to the experimental procedure that will account for a higher
percentage accuracy with respect to the published values.

References

[1] David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Kenneth S. Krane, \Physics ", John Willey
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Thomson learning, pp. 68-74 (2005).
[4] Brizuela, Graciela and Alfredo Juan, \Planck's constant determination using
a light bulb", Am. J. Phys. 64(6), pp. 819-821 (1996).
[5] Dryzek, J. and Ruebenbauer, \Planck's constant determination from black-
body radiation." Am. J. Phys, 60(3), pp. 251-253 (1992).
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of a tungsten lament lamp" Eur. J. Phys, 31, pp. 933-942 (2010).
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Philips/lighting. 25 June 2012 www.philips.com/lighting.
[8] Maclsaac, Dan, Gary Kanner and Anderson Graydon, \Basic Physics of the In-
candescent Lamp (Lightbulb)" The Physics Teacher, 37, pp. 520-525 (1999).

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 [9] Vittorio Zanetti, \Temperature of incandescent lamps " Am. J. Phys, 53(6),
pp. 546-548 (1985).
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