Activity: Thermal radiation at twice the temperature
Contemporary Challenges 2021 (5 years)
This small group activity has students reasoning about how the Planck distribution shifts when the temperature is doubled. This leads to a qualitative argument for the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
- group Small Group Activity 10 min. Student handout (PDF)
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Stefan-Boltzmann blackbody radiation
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Media
This small whiteboard question introduces the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
Question:
When the temperature of a black surface is doubled, what happens to the total energy emitted per unit time?- Increase by 2 times
- Increase by 4 times
- Increase by 8 times
- Increase by 16 times
- Keywords
- Stefan-Boltzmann blackbody radiation
- Learning Outcomes
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