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TP 8 - Constante quantique et rayonnement thermique

Isabel Lobera Miriam Martı́nez Marcos Requena Elena Cuenca

December 16, 2022

• Groupe 22
• Licence Physique
• Cours Physique expérimentale S5

Contents

1 Introduction 2

1.1 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.2 Radiación de cuerpo negro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3 Wien’s displacement law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Materials 4

3 Results and discussion 5

3.1 Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3.1.1 Angle-wavelength calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3.1.2 Preliminary estimation of filament temperature: Graphical method . . . . . . . 5

3.1.3 Preliminary estimation of filament temperature: Analytical method . . . . . . 7

3.2 Determination of Planck´s constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.3 Obtaining the true temperature of tungsten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4 Conclusion 9

1
 Abstract

In this practice we have studied the thermal emision emitted by tungsten, object we have
aporximado to a black body. With the experimental data obtained, we were able to determine its
temperature and a value for the Planck h constant. We were also able to compare the different
laws proposed to explain the emission of the black body over the years.

1 Introduction

1.1 Motivation

Blackbody radiation was a theoretical punctual problem that studied the interaction of the electro-
magnetic field with matter. Its solution required the use of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
Its importance lies in its being the precursor of quantum theory, since its correct solution required
the postulation of the quantization of energy, giving rise to this theory, which has revolutionised
physics ever since.

The black body problem, however, is not a very useful problem in quantum theory or statistical
mechanics, so once it was solved it became less interesting to the scientific world. Astrophysics,
which initially had no connection with this problem, has perhaps benefited the most from the study
of the black body by applying theories of radiative behaviour to stars. It has also been important
in the study of the cosmic background radiation: assuming the Universe as a whole, its behaviour is
close to that of a black body, so we can associate the frequency of the background radiation with the
temperature of the Universe [?].

1.2 Radiación de cuerpo negro

In a hot body that is in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings, the total emission of thermal
radiation coincides with the absorption of thermal radiation. A black body is an idealisation of a
body in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings but with the special condition that the absorption
of radiation from the surroundings is total and, therefore, so is the emission.

In 1896, the German physicist Wilhelm Wien used a thermodynamic approach to formulate a first
law modelling the wavelength distribution of blackbody radiation, known as Wien’s law, whose
mathematical expression is given by

2πhc2 − hc
L(λ, T ) = e λkT (1)
λ5

In 1900, the British physicist Lord Rayleigh derived the λ−4 dependence of the Rayleigh–Jeans
law based on classical physical arguments and empirical facts. A more complete derivation, which
included the proportionality constant, was presented by Rayleigh and Sir James Jeans in 1905. It´s
mathematical expression is given by

2πkT
L(λ, T ) = (2)
λ4

2
However, although these modelisations predicted the behaviour of blackbody radiation at high
(Wien’s law) and low (Rayleigh-Jeans’ law) frequencies, they failed to describe the spectrum re-
liably: the assumptions used to develop the theory were inadequate.

Planck had to introduce a new hypothesis: energy exchanges between matter and radiation take place
not continuously, but by discrete: indivisible quantities or quanta of energy. The energy quantum is
proportional to the frequency of the radiation E = hν. Based on this idea he came to the conclusion
that blackbody radiation is described by the following expression

2hc2 1
L(λ, T ) = 5 hc (3)
λ e λkT − 1

For low frequencies (large lambda), Planck’s law approaches the Rayleigh-Jeans law, and for high
frequencies (small lambda), it tends towards Wien’s law.

1.3 Wien’s displacement law

Wien discovered that the radiation energy of a black body has a maximum at a certain wavelength
and that the maximum shifts to shorter wavelengths as the temperature increases. For a given tem-
perature T the wavelength at which the radiation energy has such maximum is the one that maximises
the Planck intensity distribution function (expression 3), i.e. the one that satisfies ∂L/∂λ = 0:
 
hc hc
∂L  5 1 hc e λkT hc e λkT
= 0 ⇔ 2hc2 − 6 hc + 7 2  = 0 ⇔ −5 + =0 (4)

hc
∂λ λ e λkT − 1 λ kT λkT e λkT − 1
 hc
e λkT −1

If we call x = hc/λkT , it is easy to see that the above expression is a transcendent equation, as
shown in the equation 5, whose unknown x can be calculated by different mathematical methods to
find approximations of the zeros or roots of a real function.
ex x
−5 + x x
=0 ⇔ + e−x = 1 (5)
e −1 5
Applying for example Newton’s method, it can be arrived to the conclusion that x ≈ 4.965. Thus,
the wavelength that maximises the intensity function for a given temperature T satisfies the equality
x = 4.965 = hc/λmax kT . Wien’s law is therefore written as

hc
λmax T = cte = b = (6)
kx
where b = 2897.6 µmK [?]. The direct consequence of Wien’s law is that the temperature of a
black body and the wavelength at which it emits most strongly have a linear inverse proportionality
relationship.

3
2 Materials

• Lamp with tungsten filament, which will be our material to study, similar to a black body.

• Slit: placed in front of the detector.

• Lens: It had as a function to collimate the light that came

• Prism: responsible for diffracting the white light that arrives to form a continuous spectrum in
the photon detector

• Photon detector: measures the intensity of light that arrives.

• Support for the prism: this support can be rotated so that the different wavelengths enter the
detector.

Figure 1: Setup

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3 Results and discussion

3.1 Calibration

Before starting to take measurements, the device must be calibrated so that the energy distribution
(in intensity) of all the wavelengths of the radiation emitted by the filament can be obtained.

3.1.1 Angle-wavelength calibration

As mentioned above, the radiation from the filament is directed towards a prism which, using the
phenomenon of refraction whereby each wavelength has a different deviation, is able to divide the
radiation and separate the photons depending on their wavelength. The lens through which the radi-
ation then passes allows the radiation to be concentrated on the slit incorporated in the goniometer.
The role of the slit is to select a particular range of wavelengths dλ from the spectrum according
to the orientation of the goniometer, i.e. the angle θ at which it is oriented. As the goniometer
is rotated towards larger angles, the slit will select smaller and smaller wavelengths. The radiation
emerging from the slit is then captured and the intensity (number of photons per unit area) reaching
the detector is transformed into an electrical signal that is amplified, modelled and processed in the
Capstone software. To capture the entire emission spectrum, it is therefore necessary to rotate the
goniometer until all the directions in which the different wavelengths have been deflected are covered.

The intensity distribution provided by the software is a function of the angle rotated by the go-
niometer, so it is necessary to calibrate the device in wavelengths, that is, to establish a relationship
between λ and θ, presumably of the type λ(θ) = mθ + n. For this, the following experimental method
has been followed: the goniometer has been positioned on the blue-green spectral line and has been
rotated towards smaller angles, crossing the green and yellow spectral lines until reaching the red
one. In this way, the goniometer has been rotated by an angle of ∆θ and has travelled a spectral
width in the emission spectrum equivalent to ∆λ = λred − λgreen . The slope m of the wavelength
modelling corresponds to the ratio between these intervals, i.e. m = ∆λ/∆θ. In addition, knowing
the angle at which a spectral line whose wavelength is also known, it is immediate to obtain the
ordinate in the origin of the modelling as n = λred − mθred

Experimentally it has been obtained that the blue-green spectral line (λgreen = 500 nm) is at θgreen =
0◦ and the red spectral line (λred = 670 nm) is at θred = 3.8◦ . With these results we have found that
the parameters of the modelling are

m = ∆λ 670−500

∆θ = 3.8 = 44.73
(7)
n = 670 − 44.73 × 3.8 = 667.03

So the linear curve is given by λ(θ) = 44.73 θ + 667.03

3.1.2 Preliminary estimation of filament temperature: Graphical method

Once the device had been calibrated in wavelengths, it was proposed to determine a first approx-
imation for the temperature of the tungsten filament using the emission spectrum obtained in the
laboratory. To do this, the angle of the goniometer was varied while the intensities of the different
wavelengths that conform the spectrum were recorded. Experimentally, it has been obtained that

5
the wavelength for which a maximum intensity is recorded is λexp
max = 965 nm. Figure 2 shows the
representation of the intensity distribution where this maximum can be clearly intuited.

Figure 2: Emission spectrum of the tungsten filament obtained experimentally

The experimentally obtained spectrum does not fit the distribution described by Planck. This is
because the tungsten filament is not a faithful representation of an ideal black body. However,
planck’s results can be used to obtain the temperature and an experimental value for planck’s constant
because the tungsten filament emits a wavelength spectrum with a characteristic peak, as predicted
by planck.

To determine the temperature, a graphical method based on the search for a theoretical curve whose
maximum emission coincides approximately with the wavelength obtained in the laboratory λexp max
has been used.

First, the theoretical emission curves have been plotted for blackbody temperatures T of 10000,
5000, 3000, 1000 and 500 K, as shown in Figure 3a. These curves are given by Planck’s law for
electromagnetic radiation emitted by a black body (equation 3), and have been represented using
the following values for the constants involved: c = (2.998 × 108 ) m/s [?], h = (6.626 × 10−34 ) Js
[?] and k = (1.381 × 10−23 ) J/K [?]. In this first stage it has been found that the temperature must
have a value close to 3000 K.

(a) (b)

Figure 3: Planck’s law representation for different temperatures

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The same procedure was then followed, but the temperature range was limited and refined. On
this second occasion, the curves for T ∈ [4000 : 2200] K have been plotted in steps of 200.
These representations are shown in Figure 3b, where it can be seen that the best estimate for the
temperature is Texp,1 = 3000 K, since the curve obtained for that temperature is the one with the
maximum closest to the wavelength that registered a maximum of intensity in the emission spectrum
of the filament.

3.1.3 Preliminary estimation of filament temperature: Analytical method

The above graphical method is rudimentary and inaccurate, and although it provides a first approxi-
mation of the filament temperature, there is a better method to obtain this quantity based on Wien’s
displacement law.

As deduced in the theoretical introduction, there is a pattern of coincidence in the emission curves
for different blackbody temperatures. Wien showed that the wavelength of the peak of the blackbody
radiation curve decreases linearly as its temperature increases. Mathematically this law is written
according to the equation 6. Knowing the theoretical value of the Wien constant b and the wavelength
of maximum blackbody emission, it is immediate to obtain the blackbody temperature as T = b/λmax .
For the wavelength λexp
max = 965 nm of the peak observed in the laboratory, the temperature of the
filament calculated is Texp,2 = 3002.69 K.

3.2 Determination of Planck´s constant

To experimentally calculate the Planck constant, we have represented Planck’s law for a fixed tem-
perature of Texp,1 = 3000 K and for several values of h, and at the same time, the experimentally
obtained spectrum as seen in Figure 6. Gradually changing the value of h, we have matched the
highs of both curves. When the two maximums have coincided we have looked at what was the
value of h used, being this the experimental value obtained for h. To compare both graphs it was
necessary normalizing them, dividing both by their maximum value so that the maximum value in
each graph is 1. Following the process described above we have found an experimental value for the
Planck constant of hexp = (6.6 × 10−34 )Js

Figure 4: Planck’s law representation for different values of Planck´s constant and the experimental emission spectrum

7
3.3 Obtaining the true temperature of tungsten

To find the actual temperature, we followed the same procedure as to find the value of the Planck
constant. This time we have set h to the experimental value found (hexp = (6.6 × 10−34 )Js) and
have been varying the value of T until the two peaks of both curves have overlapped, obtaining an
experimental temperature for tungsten of Texp = 3000K

Figure 5: Planck’s law representation for different temperatures and the experimental emission spectrum

Comparison of Planck’s law, Wien’s law and Rayleigh-Jeans’ law

In this section we will graphically compare the laws of Planck, Wien and Rayleigh-Jeans. Rayleigh-
Jeans’ law like Planck’s attempts to explain the spectral emission of electromagnetic radiation from
a black body for any given wavelength at a fixed temperature. This law is known as the ultraviolet
catastrophe since for large wavelengths it gives very good results but as it is done at small lengths
the law predicts an energy production that tends to infinity which is physically possible. That is
why this law is known for its bad behavior for small wavelengths such as ultraviolet. It is given by
the formula 2.

Where ν is the frequency of radiation and L(ν, T ), the intensity emitted by the black body. Wien’s
law has been explained above and is given by formula 1 and Planck’s law has also been explained
previously, whose formula is 3.

Figure 6: Planck’s law, Wien’s law and Rayleigh-Jeans’s law representation for different values of thewavelength

8
We can see in the graph everything explained previously. Wien’s law adapts almost perfectly to
Panck’s law for small wavelengths, below about 1200 nm. However, the Rayleigh-Jeans law suits only
very large wavelengths, so much so that it cannot be seen on the graph, but when the wavelength
tends to infinity, it is when the Rayleigh-Jeans law adapts perfectly to the Planck curve. And finally,
Planck’s law collects the latter two, perfectly representing the experimental data obtained for the
electromagnetic radiation of a black body.

4 Conclusion

As a conclusion in this practice we have been able to study the characteristics of a black body. By
recording the intensity values as a function of the wavelength it emitted, we were able to determine
experimentally what its temperature was. We have also been able to propose an approximation of the
value of the Planck constant, comparing the curves obtained experimentally with the theoretically
expected ones. Overall, the results have been quite good and consistent with reality, so the overall
result of the practice has been satisfactory.