In a previous article in this journal,1 we reported on a laboratory activity in which students used a derivation from the Stefan-Boltzmann law to calculate planetary temperatures and compare them to measured values from various (mostly online) sources. The calculated temperatures matched observed values very well with the exceptions of Venus and the dwarf planet Pluto.
REFERENCES
1.
Michael C.
LoPresto
and Nichole
Hagoort
, “Determining planetary temperatures with the Stefan-Boltzmann law
,” Phys. Teach.
49
,113
–116
(Feb. 2011
).2.
J. T.
Houghton
, The Physics of Atmospheres
(Cambridge University Press
, Cambridge
, 1986
), p. 2
.3.
J. E.
Frederick
, Principles of Atmospheric Science
(Jones and Bartlett
, Sudbury, MA
, 2008
), p. 53
.4.
J. M.
Wallace
and P. V.
Hobbs
, Atmospheric Science -An Introductory Survey
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, New York
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), p. 290
.5.
B.
Ryden
and B. M.
Peterson
, Foundations of Astrophysics
(Pearson Addison-Wesley
, San Francisco
, 2010
), pp. 198
–199
, shows the same expression.6.
B. W.
Carroll
and D. A.
Ostlie
, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics
(Pearson Addison-Wesley
, San Francisco
, 2007
), p. 725
.9.
E.
Chaisson
and S.
McMillan
, Astronomy Today
(Pearson Addison-Wesley
, San Francisco
, 2011
), p. A
–5
.10.
De
Pater
and J.
Lissauer
, Planetary Sciences
, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press
, 2010
), pp. 58
–59
.11.
12.
www.azsolarcenter.org/tech-science/renewable-energy-overview/thegreenhouse-effect.html. Used with permission.
13.
Ref. 6, p.
735
.15.
Ref. 3, p.
64
.16.
Ref. 6, p.
772
.17.
20.
Ref. 3, p.
66
.21.
Ref. 3, p.
69
.22.
Ref. 3, p.
75
.23.
24.
Ref. 10, p.
70
.26.
© 2013 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2013
American Association of Physics Teachers
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