Specific Heat of Solid
Specific Heat of Solid
Apparatus: (i) Graphite sample, (ii) Heater filament, (iii) Stop watch (iv) Variac (variable
transformer), (v) Voltmeter, (vi) Ammeter and (vii) Chromel (Nickel-Chromium alloy) Alumel
(Nickel-Aluminium alloy) thermocouple and (viii) temperature reader
Part I: A graphite sample is heated by a variable power unit called variac. The variac supplies a
constant voltage to the coils as shown in fig. 1. To measure the temperature of graphite rod
connect the Chromel-Alumel (Type K) thermocouple to the graphite rod assembly. Apply
constant voltage with variac to the heater filament (say 30 V). Record the thermoelectric voltage
with time on a graph paper. Wait till graphite attains equilibrium temperature (Teq). At
equilibrium, the rate of loss of heat by the Graphite is equal to the rate at which the heat is
supplied. Therefore we can write,
Q = m s ∆T ……………………………… (1)
Or = ………………………………. (2)
But at equilibrium, the rate of heat supplied, ,equals the rate of heat lost by sample due
Teq
to radiation. Therefore,
= = ……………………(3)
= …………………………(4)
Record the equilibrium temperature and estimate the by measuring voltage supplied (V) and
current in the circuit (I).
1
Part – II: This part of the experiment is carried out in order to determine dT/dt at T eq, i.e.
[dT/dt]Teq
the supplied voltage to the filament. Ensure that graphite is heated to Teq +5 °C and then turn off
the variac. Temperature of the sample continuously falls down due to radiation. Record the
temperature of graphite versus time. Slope of the tangent drawn at Teq of T vs. t graph provides
us with [dT/dt]Teq
Teq
Teq = J/Kg/0C ……………………….(5)
Experimental Setup: The figure 1 gives a diagrammatic sketch of the apparatus consisting of
the sample with a built-in heating element, a thermo-couple and variac. The voltmeter and the
ammeter are used for measuring voltage and current, respectively.
To thermocouple
V Variac
A
Graphite Sample
Heater Filament
2
Procedure:
1) Make connections and give an AC voltage of about 25- 35 V by using Variac to heat the
Graphite.
2) Record the temperature while heating and plot it simultaneously till temperature of
graphite becomes constant and estimate the equilibrium temperature.
3) At the equilibrium, note down the voltage across the heater and current passing through
it, as displayed respectively by the voltmeter and ammeter.
4) After reaching the equilibrium, increase the voltage by 5 V and observe that temperature
increases by few degrees.
5) Switch off the power supply and then record the voltage/temperature versus time while
cooling.
6) Plot Temperature ‘T’ vs time ‘t’ graph and then determine specific heat.
2) Does specific heat vary with temperature? Is it same for every material?
3) What are the possible errors in this method? How one can improve the accuracy?
4) What is the relation between thermoelectric voltage and temperature difference of the
junctions?
Additional reading: Susane Picard, David T Burns, Philippe Roger, Determination of specific
heat of graphite sample using absolute and differential methods, Metrologia 44 (2007) 294-302