ERIC Number: EJ901515
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Nov
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-0807
EISSN: N/A
Probing Planck's Law at Home
Bonnet, I.; Gabelli, J.
European Journal of Physics, v31 n6 p1463-1471 Nov 2010
We report on the physics around an incandescent lamp. Using a consumer-grade digital camera, we combine electrical and optical measurements to explore Planck's law of black-body radiation. This simple teaching experiment is successfully used to measure both Stefan's and Planck's constants. Our measurements lead to a strikingly accurate value for Planck's constant: h = 6.7 [plus or minus] 0.4 x 10[superscript -34] kg m[superscript 2] s[superscript -1]. A digital camera is thus sufficiently good equipment to measure a constant directly related to quantum mechanics. The simplicity of the proposed experiments makes this paper appropriate for undergraduate students interested in the experimental aspects of fundamental physics. (Contains 6 figures, 1 table and 6 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Photography, Quantum Mechanics, Physics, Science Instruction, College Science, Science Experiments, Measurement Techniques, Measurement Equipment, Light
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A