ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Unit Operations Laboratory 1

Experiment No. 2
INVERSE SQUARE LAW FOR HEAT AND
STEFAN-BOLTZMANN LAW

Submitted by:
Group 3

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Name:

Student No.

Bantog, John Ely C.

Hernandez, Lisa Antoinette B.
Ibay, Ferdinand S. Jr.
Marbida, Angelique C.
Rafon, Mikaella S.A.

201012707
201011150
201010309
201010877
201010744

Submitted to:
Engr. Albert dela Cruz Evangelista
August 4, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature:

Abstract/ Introduction......1

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

Objectives..2
Materials/ Equipments.2
Setup..2
Theory7
Procedures.9
Results and Discussion.10
Conclusion12
References.12

Appendices

A. Experimental Data.13
B. Sample Computations14
C. Attendance Sheet16

ABSTRACT

Thermal energy can be transferred from one place to another by three processes:
convection, conduction or radiation. In convection, matter moves away from a region and
carries heat with it. A common example is the heating of an object by the movement of
surrounding air. In conduction, the atoms or molecules making up a substance interact in order
to transport hear. In this experiment, the third of these mechanisms was focused, thermal
radiation in the form of electromagnetic waves. Thermal radiation of objects near room
temperature is mainly in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. At higher
temperatures - about 600 or 700 C - radiation will start to be in the visible region. Thus, an
object glows red or orange at such temperatures. At even higher temperatures, emission of light
will be throughout the visible region and the object might be described as white hot.

In this experiment, the Inverse Square Law was verified in the laboratory. The radiation
flux from a point source varies as one over the square of the distance from the source. The
thermal radiation was measured at various distances from the heat source to test this law. On
the other hand, the following experiment proved Stefan- Boltzmann Law which states that at
very high temperatures, the amount of radiation absorbed is negligible compared to that
emitted, and so it can be neglected

I.

OBJECTIVES
1.

To show that that the intensity of radiation on the surface is inversely

proportional to the square of the distance of the surface from the radiation

2.

source.
To show that the intensity of the radiation varies as the fourth power of the
source temperature.

II.

MATERIALS / EQUIPMENTS:
1.

Thermal Radiation Unit

III. EQUIPMENT SETUP:

A.

Inverse Square Law for Heat

B.

Stefan-Boltzmann Law

Figure 2-1. Thermal Radiation Unit

Figure 2-2. Radiometer on Detector Stand

Figure 2-3. Instrument Console

Figure 2-4. Thermal Radiation Unit

IV. THEORY:
Any point source that spreads its influence equally in all directions without a limit to its
range will obey the inverse square law. This comes from geometrical considerations. The

intensity of the influence at any given radius r is the source strength divided by the area of the
sphere. Being strictly geometric in its origin, the inverse square law applies to diverse
phenomena.
As one of the fields which obey the general inverse square law, a point radiation source
can be characterized by the relationship below whether you are talking about Roentgens, rads
or rems. All measures of exposure will drop off by inverse square law.

Figure 2-5. Inverse Square Law

The source is described by a general "source strength" S because there are many ways
to characterize a radiation source - by grams of a radioactive isotope, source strength in Curies,
etc. For any such description of the source, if you have determined the amount of radiation per
unit area reaching 1 meter, then it will be one fourth as much at 2 meters.
The wavelength of radiation at which the power is a maximum, , varies as the
reciprocal of absolute temperature, T. Wiens law states that:
= b/T
where b is a constant equal to 2.898 mm*K.

The amount of thermal radiation given off by an object obviously varies with its
temperature. In 1879 Josef Stefan found an empirical relationship between the absolute
temperature of an object, T, and the thermal power (P) per unit area (A) radiated by an object,
denoted by R:
R = P/A = eT4
where e is called the emissivity, and the constant of proportionality, , is equal to 5.6703 x 10-8
Wm-2K-4. Emissivity varies between 0 and 1. Ludwig Boltzmann derived this equation
theoretically in the 1880s, and so it is now referred to as the Stefan-Boltzmann law. An ideal
black body perfectly absorbs all radiation that strikes it and is also a perfect emitter and has e =
1.
When radiation falls on an object, a portion of the radiation is reflected and the
remainder is absorbed. Dark objects absorb more radiation than light objects and so usually
have higher emissivity. Lighter objects are better reflectors. Just as the Stefan-Boltzmann law
describes how radiation emission varies with temperature, the radiation absorbed, Rabs, can be
described by:
Rabs = P/A = aT4,
where a is the coefficient of absorption and, like the emissivity, varies between 0 and 1. When
a hot object is in surroundings at a lower temperature, it emits more radiation than it absorbs.
When the object is in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings, then the rate of emission and
absorption of radiation must be the same, and so e = a. The net power per unit area radiated by
an object at a temperature T in a room at a temperature To is then
R = e(T4 To4).

V.

PROCEDURE:
A. Inverse Square Law for Heat

1. Set power control to wide position and allow approximately 15 minutes for the
heater to reach a stable temperature before beginning the experiment..
2. Record the radiometer reading (R) and the distance from the heat source (X) for
a number of positions of theradiometer along the horizontal track. It will take
approximately 2 minutes for the radiometer to stabilize after being moved to
each new positions.

Initial Values of Variables to be Used

Distance from the heat source (X)= 80mm. Note that the radiometer sensor
surface is 65mm from the center line of the detector carriage and therefore
centerline position will be 865mm.

B. Stefan-Boltzmann Law
1. Set the power source to maximum on the instrument console.
2. Record the radiometer reading (R) and the temperature reading at ambient
conditions then for selected increments of increasing temperature to maximum
within a practical range. Both readings should be noted simultaneously at any
given point. It is recommended that while waiting for the black plate
temperature to stabilize between each increase of the heater power control the
reflective disc is placed in the radiometer to prevent heating effect and zero
drift.

Initial Values of Variables to be Used

Distance from Radiometer black plate (X)= 200mm
Distance from black plate to heat source (Y)= 50mm

VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

A. Inverse Square Law for Heat

3.00
2.90

f(x) = - 0.54x + 3.88

2.80
2.70
2.60
log X

2.50
2.40
2.30
2.20
2.10
2.00
1.70

1.90

2.10

2.30

2.50

2.70

2.90

3.10

log R

The Radiation intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the
source.
Radiation Intensity

B. Stefan-Boltzmann Law

1
Distance 2

Readings
Temperature
Reading
(T)

Calculations

Radiometer
Reading
(R)

Ts

TA

Qb = 11.07*R

Qb=(Ts-TA)

W/m

W/m

W/m

55

18

309.15

300.15

199.26

197.2758

58

20

313.15

300.15

221.4

221.6502

64

25

318.15

300.15

276.75

272.4256

75

34

327.15

300.15

376.38

372.8178

99

57

348.15

300.15

630.99

627.3756

132

97

377.15

300.15

1073.79

1067.5402

Qb calculated from Radiometer Reading is mostly greater than the Q b calculated

from the temperature. The StefanBoltzmann law describes the power radiated from
a black body in terms of its temperature. The temperature of a blackbody
radiator increases, the overall radiated energy increases and the peak of the radiation
curve moves to shorter wavelengths. Specifically, the StefanBoltzmann law states that
the total energy radiated per unit surface area of a black body across all wavelengths per
unit time is directly proportional to the fourth power of the black body's thermodynamic
temperature T
Nomenclature:
Qb = Energy emitted by unit area of a black body surface (W/m2)
TS = Source temperature of radiometer and surroundings
TA = Temperature of radiometer and surroundings (K)
= Stefan-Boltzmann constant equal to 5.67 x 10-8

VII. CONCLUSIONS:

Based on the actual results of the conducted experiment, it was proven that the intensity
of radiation is proportional to the source temperature. It is also observable in two equations used
to calculate Qb. So to put this in simplest form:
Intensity source temperature
Also, the following experiment proved that the intensity of radiation is inversely
proportional to the square of distance. As evident in the data recorded. So, when the distance of
the radiometer decreases, the intensity of radiation increases. Thus, to explain this in simplest
form:
Intensity

1
Distance 2

In this experiment, all of the needed data could be gathered in the instrument. The
ambient temperature could be read in the thermocouple 2 and the value was reliable. But
sometimes the values of radiometer reading (R) was diverging and we needed to move the wire
connected from instrument console to the radiometer to obtain more reliable readings.

VIII.REFERENCES:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/isq.html#c4
https://www.farlabs.edu.au/nuclear/explain-inverse-square-law/
http://radiopaedia.org/articles/inverse-square-law
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/stefan.html
http://www.britannica.com/science/Stefan-Boltzmann-law
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/radiation.html

APPENDICES
Appendix A. Experimental Data

A. Inverse Square Law for Heat

Distance, x
800
750
700
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150

Radiometer, R
63
73
85
98
113
131
158
192
242
304
411
584
869
1429

B. Stefan-Boltzmann Law
Temperature
Reading
(T)

Radiometer
Reading
(R)

TA

W/m

55

18

300.15

58

20

300.15

64

25

300.15

75

34

300.15

99

57

300.15

132

97

300.15

Note: TA = Temperature of radiometer and surroundings (K)

Appendix B. Sample Computations
A. Inverse Square Law for Heat

log x
2.90
2.88
2.85
2.81
2.78
2.74
2.70
2.65
2.60
2.54
2.48
2.40
2.30
2.18

log R
1.80
1.86
1.93
1.99
2.05
2.12
2.20
2.28
2.38
2.48
2.61
2.77
2.94
3.16

3.00
2.90
2.80

f(x) = - 0.54x + 3.88

2.70
2.60
log X

2.50
2.40
2.30
2.20
2.10
2.00
1.70

1.90

2.10

2.30

2.50

2.70

log R

slope=m=

B. Stefan-Boltzmann Law
Derivation of Qb = 11.07 * R

y 2.182.90
=
=0.537
x 3.161.8

2.90

3.10

v2
Qincident = ( v 2+ L2 ) * Qemitted
0.0632
Qincident = ( 0.0632+ 0.22 ) * Qemitted
Qincident = 11.07 * Qemitted
Where:
Qincident = Qb , Qemitted = R
Qb = 11.07 * R
Qb computation
Qb = 11.07 * R

Qb = (Ts4 TA4)

Qb = 11.07 * 18
Qb =19 9.26

Qb = 5.67x10-8(328.154 300.154)
Qb = 197.2758

Qb = 11.07 * 20
Qb = 221.4

Qb = 5.67x10-8(331.154 300.154)
Qb = 221.6502

Qb = 11.07 * 25
Qb = 276.75

Qb = 5.67x10-8(337.154 300.154)
Qb = 272.4256

Qb = 11.07 * 34
Qb = 376.38

Qb = 5.67x10-8(348.154 300.154)
Qb = 372.8178

Qb = 11.07 * 57
Qb = 630.99

Qb = 5.67x10-8(372.154 300.154)
Qb = 627.3756

Qb = 11.07 * 97
Qb = 1073.79

Qb = 5.67x10-8(405.154 300.154)
Qb = 1067.5402

Appendix C: Attendance Sheet

Name:
6. Bantog, John Ely C.
7. Hernandez, Lisa Antoinette B.
8. Ibay, Ferdinand S. Jr.

Student No.
201012707
201011150
201010309

Signature:

9. Marbida, Angelique C.
10. Rafon, Mikaella S.A.

201010877
201010744