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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2001  > February  >
In the Classroom
Resources for Student Assessment
The Planck Radiation Law: Exercises Using the Cosmic Background Radiation Data
S. Bluestone
Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740
Cover
February 2001
Vol. 78 No. 2
p. 215
Abstract
Max Planck's blackbody radiation law is an early encounter that physical chemistry students have with quantum mechanics. To enhance students' interest, three simple exercises are presented based on the cosmic microwave background radiation data (CBR), the "relic" from the big bang primeval explosion. The CBR data free from atmospheric effects were obtained in 1989 from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which confirmed that all of space is filled with isotropic microwave radiation characterized by a single temperature corresponding to the Planck distribution law. From the radiation distribution data students are asked to find the characteristic temperature, verify Wien's displacement law, and calculate the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. The COBE satellite radiation distribution data (including weighting factors) are given.
More Information
*  Citation
 Bluestone, Syndey. J. Chem. Educ. 2001 78 215.
*  Keywords
 Physical Chemistry; Quantum Chemistry; Thermodynamics; Computer Assisted Instruction
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 December 22, 2000
August 31, 2005
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