Herschels Project

LEONARDO AVILA
TRACY YANG

Question
1. Herschels original purpose for performing his experiment is to measure the amount of heat in
each color of visible light.
2. The purpose of control in an experiment is to do the comparison between outside and inside
temperature.
3. The frequency of red light with a wavelength of 650nm
3.00x10^8=FxW
3.00x10^8=Fx6.5x10^-7
F=(3.00x10^-8)/(4.75x10^-7)

F=6.31x10^14

Question
4. The frequency of blue light with a wavelength of 475nm
3.00x10^8=FxW
3.00x10^8=Fx4.75x10-7
F=(3.00x10^8)/(4.75x10^-7)
F=6.31x10^14
5. Red light

Blue light

E=hf

E=hf

E=(6.626x10^-34(4.61x10^14)

E=(6.626x10^-34)(6.31x10^14)

E=3.054x10^-19

E=4.18x10-19

6. Red light has a higher frequency.

What is the problem

Does different color have different temperature ?
How does color related to the temperature ?

Objective
To perform a version of the experiment of
1800, in which a form of radiation other
than visible light was discovered by the
famous astronomer Sir Frederick William
Herschel.

Procedures
1. Place a sheet of white paper inside a shoebox
2. Tape three thermometers together and place inside box
3. Cut a small notch in the top of the box and position a small glass
prism so that the spectrum is projected inside the box
4. Arrange the thermometers in the blue, the red, and next to the
red portions of the spectrum
5. Place for 60 seconds, and record the temperature.
6. Repeat 10 times ( 10 minutes in total).

Record your observations of the prism and effects

it has on light.
The white light could be dissected into its component colors
by an isosceles prism having equal sides and angles.

Herschel coated the bulbs of the thermometers he

used with black powder. What was the purpose of this?
1. The experiment WILL NOT WORK without the paint
(Herschel soot-blackened his thermometers in the
original experiment).
2. The bulbs of the thermometer is coated with black to
absorbed heat better.

What factors do you need to consider as you

decide how to recreate Herschels
experiment?
1. Glass prisms work much better than plastic ones
2. do experiment in direct sunshine, when the Sun is high
(noon). Putting the prism in the cut notch provides
stability and easy rotation.
3. Blacken the bulbs of the thermometers with black paint.
Flat black spray paint works best, but even a black magic
marker will yield results.

Temperature
( C)

Red

Blue

Beyond Red

ambient (initial)

30

30

30

1 minute

33

35

32

2 minute

33

34

35

3 minute

34

34

34

4 minute

32

34

39

5 minute

32

35

40

6 minute

33

35

39

7 minute

33

35

39

8 minutes

33

36

39

9 minutes

32

36

39

10 minutes

32

37

37

Change

Shade

Which thermometer showed the

greatest difference in temperature?
The highest temperature is found outside the visible
spectrum, where infrared light is falling on the
thermometers.

What problems did you encounter in

your experimental design?
1. The thermometer would not stay in the same place
during the experiment.
2. The temperature of the thermometer is not easy to read
under the sun.

What changes could be made to improve

the results?
1. Drill a hole in the box to make sure the thermometer
stay in the same place during the experiment.
2. Make sure the temperature the thermometers start at
the same temperature