Experiment 7: Blackbody Radiation

Introduction Stefan Boltzmann Law states that the radiant

heat energy emitted from a surface is
A blackbody refers to an object that emits
proportional to the fourth power of the
thermal radiation. A perfect blackbody will
absolute temperature. It’s equation is given
absorb all incoming light and will not reflect
below:
any. Although all objects emit thermal
radiation, no object can emit thermal
radiation perfectly. E=σ T 4
In the 20th century, Lord Rayleigh, Max Where:
Planck, and many more, studied blackbody
radiation using a device that is made of a σ =5.67 W m−2 K −4
thermally conductive material. Max Planck T is the Temperature
was able to describe the intensity of light E is the
emitted by a blackbody as a function of Energy
wavelength. He also said that the spectrum Wiens Displacement Law states that the
of the said light can be changed by varying blackbody curve for different temperature
the temperature. Max Planck's study on will change the wavelength peak inversely
blackbody radiation is one of the areas of proportional to the temperature. It’s equation
physics that led to the foundation of the is given below:
wonderful science of Quantum Mechanics.
b
Theory λ max=
T
Where:
Blackbody Radiation b = proportionality constant
Planks Law characterizes and T = Temperature
describes the spectral density of an λ max = Maximum Wavelength
electromagnetic radiation emitted by a
blackbody.
Snell’s Law
2 h c2 1
E ( λ , T )= 5 hc The index of refraction of a material can be
λ
e λkT −1 determined using Snell’s Law which is
given by the equation below:
Where:
h is the planks constant
n1sin θ1=n2sin θ2
T is the temperature in kelvin
c is the speed of light Where:
k is the Boltzmann’s constant n1 and n2 are the indices of refraction
E is the Energy θ1 is the angle of incidence
θ2 is the angle of refraction
Methodology
The Materials used for this experiment are
the following: Prism spectrophotometer kit,
Optics Bench, Spectrophotometer Accessory
Kit, Aperture Bracket, Broad Spectrum
Light Sensor, Rotary Motion Sensor,
Voltage Sensor, Replacement Bulbs, Banana
Plugs, a 750 Universal Interface,
DataStudio(Software)

All of the sensors for the setup were

calibrated to assure the precision and
accuracy of the experiment. The light sensor
arm was rotated until it hits the stop against
the angle indicator on the table. The light
source was blocked by placing a hand
between the collimating slit and the
collimating lens. The tare button was then
pressed on the light sensor to zero the
sensor.
The light was unblocked and then in Data
studio, the START button was clicked and
the light sensor arm was slowly rotated
through the spectrum. The temperature of
the bulb was changed by changing the apply
voltage to the bulb using a formula. The
maximum peak of the wavelength was
determined for each temperature using
Wien’s Displacement law.