Time evolution of temperature help

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a first-year astronomy problem involving the cooling of an object, described by a differential equation relating thermal energy and radiative output. The original poster seeks assistance in deriving the time evolution of temperature from the given equation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to rearrange the differential equation and integrate it but expresses uncertainty about the next steps. Some participants suggest that the equation is separable and provide insights into further manipulation of the equation.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, with some providing guidance on how to proceed with the separation of variables. There appears to be a collaborative effort to clarify the steps involved in solving the equation, with no explicit consensus reached yet.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions difficulties with LaTeX formatting and expresses a desire to resolve the question before a math-related deadline. The discussion includes references to constants and parameters relevant to the problem, such as the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and the Boltzmann constant.

fasterthanjoao
Messages
730
Reaction score
1
First year astronomy question, goes as follows:

"A closely exact description of the cooling described above is to consider the differential equation which says that rate of charge of thermal energy equals the rate of radiative
output. That is:

[tex]\frac{d}{dt} \frac{\left(3MkT\right)}{m_p} = -4*pi*R²*T^4[/tex] -eqtn1

where M, R are constant. Show that the resulting time evolution of the temperature is then given by:

T(t)```````````````1
--- = ---------------
T(0) ``` (1+3t/t_cool)^(1/3)

(kept getting problems in my latex for that part, so i just typed it out..., i'd like to get this question sorted before i have to go to math)

anyway, its also said that:

````````````3Mk
t_cool = -----------
``````````4*pi*R²*T³*sigma

everything has its usual meaning, sigma is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, k is the Boltzmann constant.

------------

i'm not really that sure what to do, I tried rearranging eqtn one after taking dT/dt out, "multiplying" each side by dt then integrating. after that, I'm really not much closer to the point. any guides on where to go appreciated. thanks.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
I don't see the problem. This equation is separable:

[tex]\frac{dT}{T^4}=\frac{-4\pi m_pR^2\sigma}{3Mk}dt[/tex]
 
yeah i see that, I've tried to take it some steps further but I'm getting in a bit of a mess. could you try the next step or two, not sure what it is I'm having the problem with.
 
[tex]\frac{1}{3}(T_0^{-3}-T^{-3})=\frac{-4\pi m_pR^2\sigma t}{3Mk}[/tex]

[tex]T^{-3}=T_0^{-3}+\frac{4\pi m_pR^2\sigma t}{Mk}[/tex]

[tex]\frac{T_0^3}{T^3}=1+\frac{4\pi m_pR^2T_0^3\sigma t}{Mk}[/tex]

That help?
 
Last edited:
very much so. thanks. glad to lay that to rest
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
1K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K