How can I calculate the cooling time for a ball of iron?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the cooling time for a ball of iron that is initially heated to 1073 K and needs to cool down to 1063 K. The context includes parameters such as the volume of the iron, its density, and specific heat capacity, along with the mention of Newton's law of cooling.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the applicability of Newton's law of cooling in a vacuum and question how energy transfer occurs under those conditions. There is an exploration of alternative methods, such as calculating the heat required to lower the temperature and considering the use of Stefan-Boltzmann's law.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different interpretations of the problem and questioning the assumptions made regarding heat transfer in a vacuum. Some guidance has been offered regarding alternative approaches, but no consensus has been reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the constraints of the problem, including the environment being a vacuum, which affects the applicability of certain cooling laws.

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Homework Statement



A boll of iron with the volume ##V=\frac{4 \pi 0.01^3}{3}## heats up to 1073 K in a chamber with vacuum, how long will it take until the iron is at 1063 K? The given data is this:
##\rho_{iron} = 7870 kg/m^3##
specific heat.. ##c_i = 0.5 \cdot 10^3 J/(kg \cdot K)##

Homework Equations


Newtons law of cooling: ##T(t)=(T_1-T_0)e^{-\frac{k}{c}t}+T_0##

The Attempt at a Solution



Im stuck with that ##k## in the exponential. I know how to use the differential equation but i can't solve for ##t## as long as i have that unknown ##k## there, right? Can I approximate it or something?

Can I do something else? Since they give me the volume and density I'm thinking that maybe i should go with some other approach?
 
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Newton's law of cooling does not apply in a vacuum. How does energy transfer happen in a vacuum?
 
mfb said:
Newton's law of cooling does not apply in a vacuum. How does energy transfer happen in a vacuum?

Ofc, don't know what I was thinking. But hey, then I could just calculate the amount of heat needed to lower the temp. by 10 K and then use Stefan Boltzmanns law to solve for ##dt## right? Can I approximate it for a black body?
 
The problem is solved! :)
 
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