PASCO TD-8564 THERMAL EFFICIENCY APPARATUS - Manual (Page 24)

Thermal Efficiency Apparatus 012-05443A
20
Experiment 4: Thermal Conductivity
Introduction
The rate at which heat is conducted through a material of thickness x and cross-sectional
area A depends on the difference in temperature between the sides (
∆
T) and the thermal
conductivity (k) of the material.
Power =
Heat
Time
=
kA (
∆
T)
x
For the Thermal Efficiency Apparatus, the Peltier device has 71 couples and each couple
consists of 2 elements, so there is a total of 142 elements which conduct heat (Figure 9).
Each element has a length to area ratio of 8.460 cm -1 . So
x
A
=
8.460cm
–1
142
. Use the data taken
in Experiment 2 for the Open Mode to calculate the thermal conductivity of the Peltier
device:
k =
P
H (OPEN)
(x / A)
∆
T
Question
➀
How does the thermal conductivity of the Peltier device compare with the thermal conduc-
tivity of copper?
Figure 4.1 One Couple Equals Two Elements
Copper
P
N