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Planck
Equation
Written in December 1900 by Max Planck, who correctly described the
amount of light emitted as a function of wavelength for a blackbody. It also
was the start of the Quantum age because Planck used the new term Quanta in
this revolutionary equation. Planck's theory was used by Einstein in 1905 to
explain the photoelectric effect, and again in 1917 to understand the atomic
level processes inside a blackbody cavity. The following equation was the
beginning of what is known as modern physics:
ε
C1
λ
5
(
e
C
2/λΤ
−1)
W/m3
where M is spectral radiance (energy emitted),
ε
is the emissivity (equal to 1
for the blackbody),
λ
is the wavelength, T is temperature absolute, and C1
and C2 are the first and second radiation constants which are equal to 3.742
×
10-16 W• m2, and 1.4388
×
10-2m• K, respectively. Planck’s equation
describes the blackbody emission curves below.
Power Supply
The small transformer that converts 110v or 220v AC electrical power to the
12 volts DC use by the interface box and probe.
Probe
A generic term that is used to describe many types of temperature sensors.
BASF defines the optics, in combination with the stainless steel tube
containing the electronics, as the probe or probe head.
Μ(
λ,Τ
)
=
