(b) State Kirchhoff's law. From Stefan's law derive Newton's law of cooling. [6]
Kirchhoff's Laws:
- Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL): The algebraic sum of currents entering a node (junction) is zero. ΣIin = ΣIout
- Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL): The algebraic sum of voltages around any closed loop in a circuit is zero. ΣV = 0
Derivation of Newton's Law of Cooling from Stefan's Law:
Stefan's Law: P = εσAT4 where P is power radiated, ε is emissivity, σ is Stefan-Boltzmann constant, A is surface area, and T is absolute temperature.
Consider an object at temperature T cooling in surroundings at temperature T0. The net power radiated is:
Pnet = εσA(T4 - T04)
If T ≈ T0, then we can approximate (using binomial expansion or Taylor series):
T4 - T04 ≈ 4T03(T - T0)
Substituting this into the net power equation gives:
Pnet ≈ 4εσAT03(T - T0)
Since power is related to the rate of heat loss (dQ/dt) and heat loss is related to temperature change (dQ = mc dT), we get (assuming constant specific heat capacity 'c' and mass 'm'):
mc(dT/dt) = -4εσAT03(T - T0)
This simplifies to Newton's Law of Cooling:
dT/dt = -k(T - T0) where k = (4εσAT03)/(mc)