12.3 Prevost's Theory of Exchanges

A body at all temperatures radiates heat and the rate of emission depends on temperatures of the body. Consider an enclosure the walls of which are maintained at a constant temperature. If a body at a lower temperature is placed inside the enclosure, the temperature of the body would rise till it becomes the same as that of the enclosure. In this case, the amount of heat absorbed by the body from the enclosure per second is greater than that emitted by the body in the same time so that there is a net gain of heat by the body. If the body were at a higher temperature than that of the enclosure, the rate of emission of heat by the body would be greater than the rate of absorption of heat from the enclosure. This ...

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