EXPERIMENT 3

STEFAN – BOLTZMANN LAW

AIM: To verify the Stefan – Boltzmann’s law

APPARATUS: Variable A/C voltage source (0 to 230 V), A/C ammeter & A/C voltmeter,
tungsten filament lamp, etc.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

A
230 V
AC V Tungsten
filament lamp

BRIEF THEORY: Filament at high temp T gives up its energy at the rate given by

P = A T + B T4

The first term, representing Newton’s law of cooling, can be ignored in comparison with the
second, representing the. Therefore, verification of the Stefan-Boltzmann law involves plotting
ln P as a function of ln T, and showing the slope as equal to 4.

PROCEDURE
.
(i) Connect the filament (incandescent bulb) to ac voltage source and keeping dimmerstat at its
lower limit, switch on the apparatus. Increase the voltage gradually and record current (I) as a
function of V (volt), in smallest possible steps. Allow a few seconds for current to stabilize
before recording each pair of V & I value.
(ii) From the standard graph (T) vs T for tungsten estimate the filament temperature of the
bulb.
(iii) Plot ln P vs ln T and estimate the slope.
(iv) Write down your conclusions.
OBSERVATION TABLE

To = 300 K o = 5.5 x 10-8 m

Ro = 41.5 
P(w) = I x V A / l = o / Ro = 1.33 x 10-9 m; T = (A / l ) RT

V (v) I (A) P(w) ln P RT () T (m) T(o K) from graph lnT

CONCLUSION

QUESTIONS:

1. The relation R =  T4 is exact for true cavities and holds for all temperatures. Why can’t
temperature be defined on the basis of this relation?
2. Do all incandescent solids obey the fourth power law of temperature, R = e  T4,
where e is emissivity?
3. A hole in the wall of a cavity radiator is sometimes called a black body. Why?
4. It is stated that if we look into a cavity where walls are maintained at a constant
temperature no details of the interior are visible. Does this seem reasonable?
5. How can photon energy be given by E = h , when the very presence of the frequency 
in the formula implies that light is a wave?
6. Can you cite an example for the use of the knowledge gained from this experiment?