Laboratory MANUAL PHY310

Modern Physics

Experiment 3. THE STEFAN-BOLTZMANN LAW

Objectives
1. To study the relationship between the power radiated by a blackbody to its temperature.
2. To determine the Stefan-Boltzmann constant.

Theory
The Stefan–Boltzmann law, also known as Stefan’s law, is a fundamental principle in physics that
describes the intensity of thermal radiation emitted by matter based on its temperature. For an ideal
blackbody, the Stefan–Boltzmann law states that the power 𝑃 radiated is directly proportional to the
fourth power of the blackbody’s temperature, denoted as 𝑇. Let’s reinstate equation (1.1) from
Experiment 1 here.

𝑃 = 𝜀𝜎𝐴 𝑇 .
𝑃: Power radiated from the body.
𝐴 : Surface area of radiating body.
𝜀: Emissivity. For an ideal blackbody 𝜀 = 1.
𝜎: Stefan-Boltzmann constant. 𝜎 = 5.670 × 10 W/m K
𝑇: Temperature of the body in Kelvin.

In this experiment, the filament of a light bulb is assumed to behave like a blackbody. The filament is
encased in an evacuated chamber; therefore, we can consider that nearly all of the radiated heat is
through thermal radiation. Consider the heat over time radiated from a resistor in term of electrical
power is

𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 = 𝐼 𝑅. (3.1)
𝐼: electric current.
𝑉: electric potential.
𝑅: resistance of the wire.

We assume all of the electrical energy passing through the filament is radiated in form of thermal
radiation. Here we consider the resistance of the filament in normal condition as below.

𝐿
𝑅= 𝜌 (3.2)
𝐴
𝜌: resistivity.
𝐿: length of wire.
𝐴 : cross-sectional area of the wire.

However, as the filament glows, the temperature rises. This changes the resistivity of the filament due
to the energetic electrons flowing in the filament. We redefine the filament resistivity dependent to
the temperature as

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 Laboratory MANUAL PHY310
Modern Physics

𝜌 = 𝜌 1 + 𝑎(𝑇 − 𝑇 ) . (3.3)
𝜌 : resistivity at temperature 𝑇.
𝜌 : resistivity at reference temperature, take room temperature as
reference.
𝑎: temperature coefficient of resistivity, for tungsten 𝑎 = 4.5 × 10 K .
𝑇: temperature of wire. 𝑇 : reference temperature.

Therefore, the resistance as a function of temperature is expressed as below.

𝐿
𝑅 = 𝜌 1 + 𝑎(𝑇 − 𝑇 ) . (3.4)
𝐴
In general, we have
𝐿 𝐿
𝑅 = 𝜌 , 𝑅 = 𝜌 .
𝐴 𝐴

For this experiment, we are going to find out the relation of power radiated by a blackbody 𝑃 and its
temperature 𝑇. Here, the relation between 𝑃 and 𝑇 can be expressed into a logarithmic function for
easier analysis.

𝑃 = 𝜀𝜎𝐴 𝑇
log 𝑃 = log 𝜀𝜎𝐴 + 4 log 𝑇 (3.5)

Power 𝑃 can be obtained by relation of 𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉. Also, through this relation we can also immediately
obtain the resistance at emission temperature 𝑅 through Ohm’s law 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅, which will be used in
finding the temperature of the filament that is considered as the emission temperature of blackbody.

Methodology
Apparatus
1. A light bulb
2. Power supply
3. Multimeter, 2
4. Rheostat
5. Wires
6. Thermometer

Procedure
1. Set up the apparatus according to diagram in the Figure 3.1.
2. Measure the resistance of the bulb at the room temperature. At the same time measure the
room-temperature.
3. Set the power to 10 V. The rheostat is set to the maximum resistance.
4. Close the circuit and record 𝐼 and 𝑉, and calculate power, 𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉.
5. Use a constant interval to decrease the resistance in the rheostat. For every interval record 𝐼
and 𝑉.

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 Laboratory MANUAL PHY310
Modern Physics

6. Repeat step 3 and 4 for statistical analysis.

Figure 3.1. (a) Experiment 3 diagram.

Analysis
Resistance of the bulb at room temperature, 𝑅 :
Resistivity of the filament at room-temperature, 𝜌 :
Measure the filament size in the bulb, (typically length 3 cm, diameter 0.04 cm), then measure its
cross-sectional area, 𝐴 :
Surface area of the filament, 𝐴 :

Table 3.1 Recording table.

No. Potential, 𝑉 Current, 𝐼 Power, 𝑃 Resistance, Temperature of log 𝑃 log 𝑇

1. Plot the graph for 𝑃 against 𝑇. Determine the shape of the curve.
2. Plot the graph for log 𝑃 against log 𝑇. Determine the shape of the curve.
3. Calculate the gradient from plot log 𝑃 against log 𝑇.
4. Determine the Stefan-Boltzmann’s constant, 𝜎 from the graph.
5. Analyse the error.

Questions
1. How does your result compare to the theoretical value?
2. What do you consider the largest sources of error? Give explanations.

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