Temperature of filament using its area, power, and emissivity

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the temperature of a filament using its area, power, and emissivity. Participants are examining the implications of emissivity on the calculations and questioning the accuracy of a reference value provided in a textbook.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are discussing the use of the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the role of emissivity in their calculations. There are questions about the interpretation of emissivity values and whether the textbook's answer may contain errors. Some participants are also exploring the necessity of including certain geometric factors in their calculations.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants sharing their thoughts on potential errors in the textbook and the implications for their calculations. There is a mix of interpretations regarding the need for specific terms in the calculations, and some participants are seeking clarification on these points.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the assumption that the filament behaves similarly to a blackbody radiator, and there is uncertainty about the accuracy of the textbook's values. The discussion also touches on the physical characteristics of the filament and its exposure in the context of heat loss.

Fluxthroughme
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I have entered the emissivity in the calculation so that we can treat it as a blackbody, allowing us to use I_{tot} = \sigma T^4. My book tells me the correct answer is 2.06*10^4, which I'd normally put down to a misprint, but if I use my value, I get a value for the next part which is a factor of 10 off. So either I'm wrong, or they followed through with an error of theirs?

Thanks for any help.
 
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26 or 0.26 ?
 
CWatters said:
26 or 0.26 ?

e = 0.26 = \frac{26}{100}. Which is why there is a 26 on the bottom and a second 100 on the top.

Edit: If you don't understand why I have put e there, or why it's even in the calculation, I'd be fine if you could help me achieve the answer via a different method.
 
Sorry that was the only possible error I could see.
 
CWatters said:
Sorry that was the only possible error I could see.

Is this to say I should assume that the book has this answer wrong and, as a consequence, the other answer is wrong, too?

Either way, thank you :)
 
Fwiw, a typical temperature for an incandescent light bulb would be around 3000K. At 20000K the tungsten would evaporate.
Btw, you didn't need to add a pi r squared term. The ends of the wire are not exposed.
 
haruspex said:
Fwiw, a typical temperature for an incandescent light bulb would be around 3000K. At 20000K the tungsten would evaporate.
Btw, you didn't need to add a pi r squared term. The ends of the wire are not exposed.

Sorry, I don't understand why I don't need the pi r squared term? Isn't the fillament just a cylinder, so the radiations comes from the whole of the surface area?
 
Won't make much difference either way as the area of the ends is small.
 
Fluxthroughme said:
Sorry, I don't understand why I don't need the pi r squared term? Isn't the fillament just a cylinder, so the radiations comes from the whole of the surface area?
The ends of the filament will be the electrical connection into the circuit. They will leak a small amount of heat by conduction, perhaps more than would be lost by the same area through radiation, but you've no information on that.
 

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