Cosmic Radiation Background

In this experiment you will determine the Kelvin temperature of the cosmic radiation background by fitting Planck’s radiation distribution equation to COBE satellite data.  The theoretical background, materials and chemicals, experimental procedure, data, calculations, and references for this experiment are all described in detail in the MS Word document Cosmic Radiation Background.

Data

The data in this lab is provided in the Cosmic Radiation Background document referred to above and consists of the spectral brightness function versus radiation wavenumber gathered by the Cosmic Background Explorer, COBE satellite launched by NASA in 1989.

Safety

Since the data for this lab are provided for you, there are no particular safety precautions that you need to be aware in this lab.