Abstract:

The response of a thermally homogeneous system to a periodical heat inflow was studied. The results of the calculations and the experiment proved that the system's temperature changed periodically with a certain phase delay [iopmath latex="$\phi$"] [/iopmath] relative to the stimulus (heat influx) and dependent on the period [iopmath latex="$T_{\rm h}$"] T_h [/iopmath] and the system's relaxation time [iopmath latex="$\tau$"] [/iopmath] , according to the equation [iopmath latex="$\tan\phi = 2 \omega \tau$"] tan = 2 [/iopmath] , where [iopmath latex="$\omega = 2 \pi/T_{\rm h}$"] = 2/T_h [/iopmath] . This relationship can be used for determination of [iopmath latex="$\tau$"] [/iopmath] and the heat capacity of the system. The simple theory and experiment is a good example for understanding other relaxing processes of the exponential form and may be helpful to physics teachers at university level.

Language: English

Document Type: Miscellaneous

Affiliations: 1: Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznan, Poland 2: Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland