2/9/2024

Unit - 2
Conduction

Scalar or Vector?

1
 2/9/2024

Notation

Coordinate Systems

2
 2/9/2024

Steady or Transient HT

Lumped System ?

Multidimensional HT

3
 2/9/2024

Heat Generation
A medium through which heat is conducted may involve the conversion of electrical, nuclear, or chemical
energy into heat (or thermal) energy, such conversion processes are characterized as heat generation.
Examples:
• Temperature of a resistance wire rises rapidly.
• Heat is generated in the fuel elements of nuclear reactors.
• Exothermic chemical reactions
• Absorption of radiation is heat generation when
penetrate deep into the body while being absorbed
gradually.
• Absorption of solar energy by an opaque body occurs
within a few microns of the surface, and can be treated as
specified heat flux on the surface.

Heat Generation
• Heat generation (𝑔̇ ) is a volumetric phenomenon (unit - W/m3).
• The rate of heat generation in a medium may vary with time as well as position within the medium.
• When the variation of heat generation with position is known, the total rate of heat generation in a medium
of volume V can be determined from

𝐺̇ = 𝑔̇ 𝑑𝑉

In the special case of uniform heat generation, as in the case of electric resistance heating throughout a
homogeneous material, the above relation reduces to 𝐺̇ = 𝑔̇ 𝑉 , where 𝑔̇ is the constant rate of heat generation
per unit volume.

4
 2/9/2024

• Increasing h may require the installation of a pump or fan, or replacing the existing one with a larger one, but
this approach may or may not be practical.
• The alternative is to increase the surface area by attaching to the surface extended surfaces called fins made
of highly conductive materials such as aluminum.

• Finned surfaces are manufactured by

extruding, welding, or wrapping a thin
metal sheet on a surface.
• Fins enhance heat transfer from a
surface by exposing a larger surface
area to convection and radiation.

10

5
 2/9/2024

Figure: Schematic of typical finned-tube heat exchanger 11

12

6
 2/9/2024

Figure: (a) Straight fin of uniform cross-section; (b) Straight fin of non-uniform cross-section;
(c) Annular fin; (d) Pin fin

13

Figure:
(a) Straight fin of uniform cross-
section;
(b) Cylindrical tubes with fins of
rectangular profile;
(c) Longitudinal fin of trapezoidal
profile;
(d) Longitudinal fin of parabolic
profile;
(e) Cylindrical tube with radial fins
of rectangular profile;
(f) Cylindrical tube with radial fins
of truncated conical profile;
(g) Annular fin;
(h) Truncated conical fin;
(i) Parabolic spine

14

7
 2/9/2024

In the analysis of fins, following assumptions to be consider for convenience in the analysis:
• Temperature is uniform across the fin thickness and only a function of x.
• Steady operation
• No heat generation in the fin,
• Thermal conductivity k of the material to remain constant.
• The convection heat transfer coefficient h to be constant and uniform over the entire surface of the fin.
• Radiation from the surface is negligible.

15

• When a solid body is being heated by the hotter fluid surrounding it

(such as a potato being baked in an oven), heat is first convected to the
body and subsequently conducted within the body.
The Biot number is the ratio of the internal resistance of a body to heat
conduction to its external resistance to heat convection.

• Therefore, a small Biot number represents small resistance to heat conduction, and thus small
temperature gradients within the body.
• Lumped system analysis assumes a uniform temperature distribution throughout the body,
which will be the case only when the thermal resistance of the body to heat conduction (the
conduction resistance) is zero.
• Thus,
Lumped system analysis is exact when Bi = 0 and approximate when Bi > 0.
• Of course, the smaller the Bi number, the more accurate the lumped system analysis.
16

8
 2/9/2024

• Then the question we must answer is, How much accuracy are we willing to sacrifice for the
convenience of the lumped system analysis?
• It is generally accepted that lumped system analysis is applicable if
𝑩𝒊 ≤ 𝟎. 𝟏
• When this criterion is satisfied, the temperatures within the body relative to the surroundings
(i.e., T - T∞) remain within 5 percent of each other even for well-rounded geometries such as
a spherical ball.
• Thus, when Bi < 0.1, the variation of temperature with location within the body will be slight
and can reasonably be approximated as being uniform.

17

• The first step in the application of lumped system analysis is the calculation of the Biot
number, and the assessment of the applicability of this approach.
• One may still wish to use lumped system analysis even when the criterion Bi < 0.1 is not
satisfied, if high accuracy is not a major concern.
• Small bodies with high thermal conductivity are good candidates for lumped system analysis,
especially when they are in a medium that is a poor conductor of heat (such as air or another
gas) and motionless.

18

9
 2/9/2024

The characteristic length is defined as the ratio of volume to the surface area.
𝑽
𝑳𝒄 =
𝑨𝒔
And the temperature distribution in lumped system is defined as
𝑻 𝒕 −𝑻
= 𝒆 𝒃𝒕
𝑻𝒊 − 𝑻
Where the exponent is expressed as
𝒉𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒕 𝒌𝑳𝒄
𝒕= = ×
𝝆𝑽𝑪𝒑 𝝆𝑳𝒄 𝑪𝒑 𝝆𝑳𝒄 𝑪𝒑 𝒌𝑳𝒄
𝒉𝑳𝒄 𝒌 𝒕 𝒉𝑳𝒄 𝒕
= = 𝜶 𝟐
𝒌 𝝆𝑪𝒑 𝑳𝟐𝒄 𝒌 𝑳𝒄
Where
𝜶𝒕
𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 (𝑭𝒐) =
𝑳𝟐𝒄 19

𝜶𝒕 𝒌 𝒕 𝒌 𝒕 𝑳𝟐𝒄 ∆𝑻
𝑭𝒐 = = =
𝑳𝟐𝒄 𝝆𝑪𝒑 𝑳𝟐𝒄 𝝆𝑪𝒑 𝑳𝟐𝒄 𝑳𝟐𝒄 ∆𝑻
𝟏 𝟏
𝑭𝒐 = 𝒌𝑳𝟐𝒄 ∆𝑻 ×
𝑳𝒄 𝑳𝟑𝒄
𝝆𝑪𝒑 ∆𝑻
𝒕
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐋 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝟑
𝑭𝒐 =
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐜𝐢𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝟑

The Fourier number is a measure of heat conducted through a body relative to heat stored.
Fourier number signifies the degree of penetration of heating or cooling effect through a solid.

For small Fo, large t will be required to get significant temperature changes.
A large value of the Fourier number indicates faster propagation of heat through a body.
20

10
 2/9/2024

A person is found dead at 5 PM in a room whose temperature is 20°C. The temperature of the body is
measured to be 25°C when found, and the heat transfer coefficient is estimated to be h = 8 W/m2·°C.
Modeling the body as a 30-cm-diameter, 1.70-m-long cylinder, estimate the time of death of that person?

21

• Variation of temperature with time and position in 1-D is considered such as those associated with a large
plane wall, a long cylinder, and a sphere.
• Consider a plane wall of thickness 2L, a long cylinder of radius ro, and a sphere of radius ro initially at a
uniform temperature Ti.

All three cases possess geometric and

thermal symmetry:
• the plane wall is symmetric about its
center plane (x = 0),
• the cylinder is symmetric about its
centerline (r = 0), and
• The sphere is symmetric about its center
point (r = 0).

22

11
 2/9/2024

• At time t = 0, each geometry is placed in a large

medium that is at a constant temperature T∞ and
kept in that medium for t > 0.
• When the wall is first exposed to the
surrounding medium at T∞ < Ti at t = 0, the
entire wall is at its initial temperature Ti.
• But the wall temperature at and near the
surfaces starts to drop as a result of heat transfer
from the wall to the surrounding medium.
• This creates a temperature gradient in the wall
and initiates heat conduction from the inner
parts of the wall toward its outer surfaces.

23

• Note that the temperature at the center of the

wall remains at Ti until t = t2, and that the
temperature profile within the wall remains
symmetric at all times about the center plane.
• The temperature profile gets flatter and flatter
as time passes as a result of heat transfer, and
eventually becomes uniform at T = T∞.
• That is, the wall reaches thermal equilibrium
with its surroundings. At that point, the heat
transfer stops since there is no longer a
temperature difference.

24

12
 2/9/2024

• The formulation of the problems for the determination of the one dimensional transient temperature
distribution T(x, t) in a wall results in a partial differential equation:.
𝝏𝟐 𝑻 𝟏 𝝏𝑻
=
𝝏𝒙𝟐 𝜶 𝝏𝒕
Initial Condition:
𝑻 𝒙, 𝟎 = 𝑻𝒊
Boundary Conditions:
𝝏𝑻
=𝟎
𝝏𝒙 𝒙 𝟎
𝝏𝑻
−𝒌 = 𝒉 𝑻 𝑳, 𝒕 − 𝑻
𝝏𝒙 𝒙 𝑳
• The solution, however, normally involves infinite series, which are inconvenient and time-consuming to
evaluate.
𝑻 = 𝑻(𝒙, 𝜶, 𝑻𝒊 , 𝒌, 𝒉, 𝑳, 𝑻 )

25

Non-dimensionalization
𝑻 = 𝑻(𝒙, 𝜶, 𝑻𝒊 , 𝒌, 𝒉, 𝑳, 𝑻 )
• Therefore, there is clear motivation to present the solution in tabular or graphical form. However, the solution
involves the parameters 𝒙, 𝜶, 𝑻𝒊 , 𝒌, 𝒉, 𝑳, and 𝑻 which are too many to make any graphical presentation of
the results practical.
• In order to reduce the number of parameters, we nondimensionalize the problem by defining the following
dimensionless quantities:
𝑻 𝒙, 𝒕 − 𝑻
𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝜽 𝒙, 𝒕 =
𝑻𝒊 − 𝑻
𝒙
𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝑿 =
𝑳
𝒉𝑳
𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝑩𝒊 = (𝑩𝒊𝒐𝒕 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓)
𝒌
𝜶𝒕
𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞: 𝝉 = 𝟐 (𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓)
𝑳
• The nondimensionalization enables us to present the temperature in terms of three parameters only: X, Bi,
and Fo. This makes it practical to present the solution in graphical form.

26

13
 2/9/2024

• For a cylinder or sphere, replace the space variable x by r and the half-thickness L by the outer radius ro.
• Note that the characteristic length in the definition of the Biot number is taken to be the half-thickness L for
the plane wall, and the radius ro for the long cylinder and sphere instead of V/As used in lumped system
analysis.
• It is very convenient to express the solution by approximating that Fo (τ) > 0.2, given as

• where the constants A1 and λ1 are functions of the Bi number only, and their values are listed in Tables
against the Bi number for all three geometries.
• The function J0 is the zeroth-order Bessel function of the first kind, whose value can be determined from
Table
27

Heisler Charts: Transient

Temperature Charts 28

14
 2/9/2024

Heisler Charts: Transient Temperature

29
Charts

• Noting that cos (0) = J0(0) = 1 and the limit of (sin x)/x is also 1.
• These relations simplify to the next ones at the center of a plane wall, cylinder, or sphere:

• Once the Bi number is known, the above relations can be used to determine the temperature
anywhere in the medium.
• The determination of the constants A1 and λ1 usually requires interpolation. 30

15
 2/9/2024

31

Heisler Charts: Transient Temperature Charts 32

16
 2/9/2024

33

34

17
 2/9/2024

35

𝟐
A steel plate (𝜶 = 𝟏. 𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎 𝟓𝒎 ; 𝒌 = 𝟒𝟑 𝑾/𝒎𝑲), of thickness 2L = 10 cm, initially at a uniform temperature of 250
𝒔

°C is suddenly immersed in an oil bath at 𝑻 = 45°C. Convection heat transfer coefficient between the fluid and the
surfaces is 700 W/(m2C).
(i) How long will it take for the centre plane to cool to 100°C?
(ii) What fraction of the energy is removed during this time?
(iii) Draw the temperature profile in the slab at different times.

36

18
 2/9/2024

37

38

19
 2/9/2024

𝐴 = 1.1016
𝜆 = 0.796

39

A thermocouple junction, which may be approximated as a sphere, is to be used for temperature measurement in a gas stream.
The convection coefficient between the junction surface and the gas is h = 400 W/m2.K, and the junction thermo-physical
properties are k = 20 W/m.K, c = 400 J/kg.K, and density = 8500 kg/m3. Determine the junction diameter needed for the
thermocouple to have a time constant of 1 s. If the junction is at 25°C and is placed in a gas stream that is at 200°C, how long
will it take for the junction to reach 199°C?

40

20
 2/9/2024

ME204

Heat Transfer
Unit – 3: Radiation Heat Transfer

Dr. Rajesh Choudhary

Contents
• Thermal radiation,
• Monochromatic and total emissive power.
• Basic laws of radiation.
• Radiation shape factors,
• Black and grey surfaces,
• Heat transfer in presence of re-radiating surfaces.

42

21
 2/9/2024

Introduction
• Radiation differs from the other two heat transfer mechanisms in that it does not require the presence of
a material medium to take place.
• Energy transfer by radiation is fastest (at the speed of light) and it suffers no attenuation in a vacuum.
Also, radiation transfer occurs in solids as well as liquids and gases.
• Radiation heat transfer can occur between two bodies separated by a medium colder than both bodies.
• For example, solar radiation reaches the surface of the earth after passing through cold air layers at high
altitudes.

43

Introduction
• James Clerk Maxwell (Physicist):
Postulated in 1864 that accelerated charges or changing electric currents give rise to electric and
magnetic fields.
These rapidly moving fields are called electromagnetic waves or electromagnetic (EM) radiation,
EM waves represent the energy emitted by matter as a result of the changes in the electronic
configurations of the atoms or molecules.
• Heinrich Hertz (1887)
Experimentally demonstrated the existence of EM waves.
EM waves transport energy just like other waves, and all electromagnetic waves travel at the speed
of light in a vacuum, which is C0 = 2.9979 x 108 m/s.

44

22
 2/9/2024

Introduction
• Electromagnetic waves are characterized by their frequency ν or wavelength λ. These two properties in a
medium are related by
𝒄
𝝀=
𝝊
𝒄
• The speed of propagation in a medium is related to the speed of light in a vacuum by 𝒄 = 𝟎 , where n is
𝒏
the index of refraction of that medium.
• The refractive index is essentially unity for air and most gases, about 1.5 for glass, and about 1.33 for
water.
• The commonly used unit of wavelength is the micrometer (μm) or micron, where 1 μm = 10-6 m.
• The frequency of an electromagnetic wave depends only on the source and is independent of the medium
through which the wave travels.
• The frequency (the number of oscillations per second) of an electromagnetic wave can range from less
than a million Hz to a septillion Hz or higher, depending on the source.

45

Introduction
• Max Planck in 1900 in conjunction with his quantum theory proposed the electromagnetic radiation as
the propagation of a collection of discrete packets of energy called photons or quanta.
• In this view, each photon of frequency (ν) is considered to have an energy of
𝒉𝒄
𝒆 = 𝒉𝝂 = 𝝀
where h = 6.6256 x 10-34 J ·s is Planck’s constant.
• The energy of a photon is inversely proportional to its wavelength. Therefore, shorter-wavelength
radiation possesses larger photon energies.
• It is no wonder that we try to avoid very-short-wavelength radiation such as gamma rays and X-rays
since they are highly destructive.

46

23
 2/9/2024

Thermal Radiation
• The electromagnetic radiation encountered in practice covers a wide range of
wavelengths, varying from less than 10-10 μm for cosmic rays to more than
1010 μm for electrical power waves.
• The electromagnetic spectrum also includes gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet
radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, thermal radiation, microwaves, and
radio waves.
• The type of electromagnetic radiation that is pertinent to heat transfer is the
thermal radiation emitted as a result of energy transitions of molecules, atoms,
and electrons of a substance.
• Temperature is a measure of the strength of these activities at the microscopic
level, and the rate of thermal radiation emission increases with increasing
temperature.
• Thermal radiation is continuously emitted by all matter whose temperature is
above absolute zero.

47

Thermal Radiation
• Thermal radiation is also defined as the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that extends from
about 0.1 to 100 μm, since the radiation emitted by bodies due to their temperature falls almost
entirely into this wavelength range.
• Thermal radiation includes the entire visible and infrared (IR) radiation as well as a portion of the
ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

48

24
 2/9/2024

Thermal Radiation
• Visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum lies between 0.40 and 0.76 μm.
• Light is characteristically no different than other electromagnetic radiation, except that it happens to
trigger the sensation of seeing in the human eye.
• Light, or the visible spectrum, consists of narrow bands of color from violet (0.40–0.44 μm) to red
(0.63–0.76 μm).
• A body that emits some radiation in the visible range is called a light source.
• The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun is known as solar radiation, and nearly all of it falls
into the wavelength band 0.3–3 μm.
• Almost half of solar radiation is light (i.e., it falls into the visible range), with the remaining being
ultraviolet and infrared.

49

Thermal Radiation
• The radiation emitted by bodies at room temperature falls into the infrared region of the spectrum,
which extends from 0.76 to 100 μm.
• Bodies start emitting noticeable visible radiation at temperatures above 800 K.
• The tungsten filament of a lightbulb must be heated to temperatures above 2000 K before it can emit
any significant amount of radiation in the visible range.
• The ultraviolet radiation includes the low-wavelength end of the thermal radiation spectrum and lies
between the wavelengths 0.01 and 0.40 μm.
• Ultraviolet rays are to be avoided since they can kill microorganisms and cause serious damage to
humans and other living organisms.
• About 12% of solar radiation is in the ultraviolet range, and it would be devastating if it were to reach
the surface of the earth.

50

25
 2/9/2024

Heat Transfer due to Radiation

• The electrons, atoms, and molecules of all solids, liquids, and gases above absolute zero
temperature are constantly in motion, and thus radiation is constantly emitted, as well as being
absorbed or transmitted throughout the entire volume of matter.
• Radiation is a volumetric phenomenon.
• For opaque (nontransparent) solids such as metals, wood,
and rocks, radiation is considered to be a surface
phenomenon.
• The radiation characteristics of surfaces can be changed
completely by applying thin layers of coatings on them.

51

Blackbody Radiation
An idealized body which emits the maximum amount of radiation from the surface at a
given temperature, is called Blackbody.
• A blackbody is defined as a perfect emitter and absorber of radiation.
• At a specified temperature and wavelength, no
surface can emit more energy than a blackbody.
• A blackbody absorbs all incident radiation,
regardless of wavelength and direction.
• Also, a blackbody emits radiation energy
uniformly in all directions per unit area normal to
direction of emission.
• That is, a blackbody is a diffuse emitter. The term
diffuse means “independent of direction.”

52

26
 2/9/2024

Blackbody Radiation… Stefan-Boltzmann’s Law

• The radiation energy emitted by a blackbody per unit time and per unit surface area was
determined experimentally by Joseph Stefan in 1879 and expressed as
𝑬𝒃 𝑻 = 𝝈𝑻𝟒
• This relation was theoretically verified in 1884 by Ludwig Boltzmann and known as the
Stefan–Boltzmann law and Eb is called the blackbody emissive power.
• Although a blackbody would appear black to the eye, a distinction should be made
between the idealized blackbody and an ordinary black surface.
Any surface that absorbs light (the visible portion of radiation) would appear black to the
eye, and a surface that reflects it completely would appear white.
• For example, snow and white paint reflect light and thus appear white. But they are
essentially black for infrared radiation since they strongly absorb long-wavelength
radiation.
• Surfaces coated with lampblack paint approach idealized blackbody behavior.
53

Blackbody Radiation… Stefan-Boltzmann’s Law

• Another type of body that closely resembles a blackbody is a large cavity with a small
opening.
• Radiation coming in through the opening of area A will undergo multiple reflections, and
thus it will have several chances to be absorbed by the interior surfaces of the cavity
before any part of it can possibly escape.
• Also, if the surface of the cavity is isothermal at temperature T, the radiation emitted by
the interior surfaces will stream through the opening after undergoing multiple reflections,
and thus it will have a diffuse nature.
• Therefore, the cavity will act as a perfect absorber and perfect
emitter, and the opening will resemble a blackbody of surface
area A at temperature T, regardless of the actual radiative
properties of the cavity.

54

27
 2/9/2024

Blackbody Radiation… Stefan-Boltzmann’s Law

• The Stefan–Boltzmann law gives the total blackbody emissive power Eb, which is the
sum of the radiation emitted over all wavelengths.
Spectral blackbody emissive power: the amount of radiation energy emitted by a
blackbody at an absolute temperature T per unit time, per unit surface area, and per unit
wavelength about the wavelength.
• For example, we are more interested in the amount of radiation an incandescent light bulb
emits in the visible wavelength spectrum than we are in the total amount emitted.

55

Blackbody Radiation… Plank’s Law

• The relation for the spectral (monochromatic) blackbody emissive power Ebλ was developed by
Max Planck in 1901 in conjunction with his famous quantum theory.
• This relation is known as Planck’s law and is expressed as
𝑪𝟏 𝑾
𝑬𝒃𝝀 𝝀, 𝑻 = 𝟓
𝝀 𝒆𝒙𝒑 𝑪𝟐 /𝝀𝑻 − 𝟏 𝒎𝟐 . 𝝁𝒎
where
𝑪𝟏 = 𝟐𝝅𝒉𝒄𝟐𝟎 = 𝟑. 𝟕𝟒𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝑾. 𝝁𝒎𝟒 /𝒎𝟐
𝒉𝒄𝟎
𝑪𝟐 = 𝒌
= 𝟏. 𝟒𝟑𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎𝟒 𝝁𝒎. 𝑲
T is the absolute temperature of the surface,
λ is the wavelength of the radiation emitted, and
k = 1.38065 x 10-23 J/K is Boltzmann’s constant.
• This relation is valid for a surface in a vacuum or a gas. For other mediums, it needs to be
modified by replacing C1 by C1/n2 and C2 by C2/n, where n is the index of refraction of the
medium.
56

28
 2/9/2024

Blackbody Radiation…Plank’s Law

• The relation for the spectral (monochromatic) emissive power Ebλ was developed by Max
Planck in 1901 in conjunction with his famous quantum theory.
• Planck’s law describes the spectral density of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a black body in
thermal equilibrium at a given temperature T, when there is no net flow of matter or energy
between the body and its environment.
Ebλ = f(λ)
Ebλ is the Monochromatic Emissive Power, which means the energy irradiated by a body after it
absorbs energy of the same wavelength, per unit area, per unit time.
• Monochromatic is used to signify that the energy absorbed is of single wavelength.
• It is generally used in when heat transfer of bodies are compared with a standard black body. Their
ratio is called emissivity, ε.

57

Blackbody Radiation…Plank’s Law

• The emitted radiation is a continuous function of
wavelength.
• At any specified temperature, it increases with
wavelength, reaches a peak, and then decreases with
increasing wavelength.
• At any wavelength, the amount of emitted radiation
increases with increasing temperature.
• As temperature increases, the curves shift to the left to the
shorter wavelength region.
• Consequently, a larger fraction of the radiation is emitted
at shorter wavelengths at higher temperatures.

𝑪𝟏 𝑾
𝑬𝒃𝝀 𝝀, 𝑻 =
𝝀𝟓 𝒆𝒙𝒑 𝑪𝟐 /𝝀𝑻 − 𝟏 𝒎𝟐 . 𝝁𝒎
58

29
 2/9/2024

Blackbody Radiation…Plank’s Law

• The radiation emitted by the sun, which is considered to
be a blackbody at 5780 K (or roughly at 5800 K), reaches
its peak in the visible region of the spectrum.
• Therefore, the sun is in tune with our eyes.
• On the other hand, surfaces at T ≤ 800 K emit almost
entirely in the infrared region and thus are not visible to
the eye unless they reflect light coming from other
sources.

59

Blackbody Radiation…Wein’s Displacement Law

• The wavelength at which the peak occurs for a specified
temperature is given by Wien’s displacement law as
𝝀𝑻 𝒎𝒂𝒙.𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 = 𝟐𝟖𝟗𝟕. 𝟖 𝝁𝒎. 𝑲
• This relation was originally developed by Willy Wien in
1894 using classical thermodynamics.
• Wien’s displacement law is locus of the peaks of the
radiation emission curves.
• The peak of the solar radiation, for example, occurs at λ =
2897.8/5780 = 0.50 μm, which is near the middle of the
visible range.
• The peak of the radiation emitted by a surface at room
temperature (T = 298 K) occurs at 9.72 μm, which is well
into the infrared region of the spectrum.

60

30