Physics S-10: Introduction to Theoretical Physics

Summer 2016

Homework #2

Due Tuesday, July 5

Problem 1: By optimizing the function f (x) x1/x , show without using a calculator that e > e .

Problem 2: Find all the possible values of ii .

Problem 3: A blackbody (not generally to be confused with a black hole) is an object that perfectly absorbs
and emits electromagnetic radiation at all wavelengths. When studying radiation from a hot object, regarding
the object as being a blackbody often serves as a good first approximation.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, and in one of the groundbreaking conceptual triumphs that helped
usher in the era of quantum theory, Planck correctly deduced the precise spectrum of radiation produced by
a blackbody at a given temperature. A key ingredient was Plancks postulate that electromagnetic radiation
consists of discrete quanta of energy called photons.
Using concepts beyond what we can cover in this course, physicists building on Plancks work showed that
an object radiating as a blackbody at a temperature T (measured in Kelvins) emits energy according to the
Stefan-Boltzmann law,
P = AT 4 ,
where the power P = dE/dt is the instantaneous rate of energy radiated per unit time, A is the objects surface
area, and the Stefan-Boltzmann constant is defined as

4
2 kB
J
' 5.670373 108 2
.
3
60~ c2
m s K4

Moreover, physicists showed that although a blackbody emits radiation at all wavelengths, the radiation is peaked
at a particular wavelength max that dominates the radiation and depends on the blackbodys temperature T
according to Wiens law,
b
max ' ,
T
where the constant of proportionality b, known as the Wien displacement constant, is given by
b ' 2.8977729 103 m K.
(a) Treating the human body as a blackbody of surface area A = 2 m2 and effective surface temperature
T ' 33 C ' 300 K, calculate the rate P of radiated energy loss by a human being in the empty vacuum of
outer space, as well as the peak emission wavelength max . Qualitatively speaking, where in the electromagnetic
spectrum does this peak wavelength lie?
(b) Repeat part (a) for the sun, treating the sun as a spherical blackbody of radius R ' 695 700 km and
temperature T ' 5800 K.
(c) Consider a blackbody of surface area A that cools down with time according to the time-dependent temperature function T (t) = T0 exp (rt), where T0 T (0) is the objects temperature at the initial time t = 0.
What is the total amount of energy E radiated by the object from t = 0 to t = ? Be sure to check limiting
cases in your formula for E.

Problem 4: As we discussed earlier, a spherical black hole of total mass-energy M c2 has radius
2GN M
c2
and, as first deduced by Bekenstein, an associated entropy


kB c3 A
SBH
,
GN ~ 4
R=

where A = 4R2 is the surface area of the black holes event horizon.
For most familiar systems, the systems entropymeaning the logarithm S kB log W of the number W of
states consistent with the systems overall appearanceis positively related to the systems total energy U . For
example, a box containing a gas of particles has far more allowed configurations at high temperature than it
does if its temperature is close to absolute zero.
In general, the temperature of a system (measured in units of Kelvins) is defined to be the rate at which the
systems energy U grows as a function of the systems entropy S:
U
.
S
One can show that in the case of a box containing a gas of particles, this definition of T is proportional to the
average kinetic energy of each particle.
T

(a) Regarding U = M c2 as the black holes mass-energy, Hawking surmised from the nonzero entropy SBH that
black holes should have a nonzero temperature TH 6= 0. Follow Hawking by showing from the definition of
temperature that
~c3
.
TH =
8GN kB M
Hawking argued that we can interpret this temperature as corresponding to a small amount of radiation being emitted continuously by even the most isolated black hole. Loosely speaking, particle-antiparticle pairs
quantum-mechanically emerging from the vacuum of space near the event horizon can split apart before they
can recombine, with one member of the pair falling into the black hole and the other escaping and carrying
away a net mass-energy.
Perfectly isolated black holes therefore gradually evaporate with time, although as their mass-energy M decreases, their Hawking temperature TH and the evaporation rate both increase. For typical black holes in our
universe, however, this evaporation is overwhelmed by the rate at which black holes absorb matter from nearby
stars and gas, and as material falls into the black hole, friction causes the material to heat up to temperatures
that vastly exceed the black holes underlying Hawking temperature. A black holes Hawking temperature is
therefore extremely difficult to observe directly.
(b) Assuming a perfectly isolated black hole and working in the blackbody approximation in which we treat
the black hole as an object that emits Hawking radiation at all wavelengths at an overall power P = dU/dt
determined by the Stefan-Boltzmann formula, where the minus sign in this expression for P refers to the fact
that the evaporating black hole is losing energy U with time, show that the rate at which the black hole loses
mass is given by


dM
~c4
1
=
2
dt
15360GN M 2
and that the total time tev it takes for the black hole to evaporate fully is given in terms of the black holes
initial mass M0 by the formula
5120G2N M03
tev =
.
~c4
(c) For a black hole whose mass is equal to 10 solar masses, compute the value of the Hawking temperature
TH . Is it big or small compared with room temperature? Assuming that the black hole is perfectly isolated,
how long (in years) would it take to evaporate completely? Using Wiens law, determine the peak wavelength
of its emitted radiation. Where in the electromagnetic spectrum does this peak wavelength lie?
(d) A blue whale has a mass of approximately 105 kg. What would be the radius R of a black hole with a mass
of 10,000 blue whales? Repeat part (c) for this black hole.