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0 Introduction
1
The amount of heat produced each second in a conductor by a current of
electricity is proportional to the resistance of the conductor and to the square of the
current.

The joule is the unit of energy or work in the mks (meter-kilogram-second)

system of units. It is the work done when a force of 1 N acts through a distance of 1
meter and is the synonymous with a newton-meter of work. One joule is equivalent
to 1 watt-second, 107 ergs, 0.7376 foot-pounds, and 9.48 x 10-4 Btu.

Joules Law is defined as the rate of heat production by a steady current in

any part of an electrical circuit that is proportional to the resistance and to the
square of the current, or, the internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on its
temperature.

The current that flows through a conductor developed an amount of heat

wherein work is expressed in joule. Basically, the law states that when electric
current flows through a pure resistance, the quantity of heat produced in the
conductor is proportional to the time of current flow, to the resistance and to the
square of the current. Consequently, every time an increase of work is made there
is also an increase in joules.

Objective

The objective of this experiment is to measure the mechanical equivalent of

heat by the electrical method.

The purpose of this experiment is to find the ratio between the mechanical
unit and the heat unit of energy by using an electric current as a current and
equating supplied by the current, expressed in joules, to the same energy
expressed in calories.
2
3 Materials / Equipments

1) Immersion heater for 5) D.C. voltmeter (0 – 15 volts)

12-volt operation 6) D.C. ammeter (0 – 5 amperes)
2) Calorimeter 7) Beam Balance
3) Digital Thermometer 8) Rheostat
4) Stop Watch 9) D.C. Power Supply
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Question and Answer (Analysis)

1. The main error in the experiment is the reading of the voltmeter. This is
because there is an inaccurate reading the calibration of the said device.
Another thing is the power supply, the power supply sometimes shutdown
another reason why we fail to record the correctness of the data we are
experimenting.

2.

3.
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Conclusion
4 Joule's laws are a pair of laws concerning the heat produced by a current
and the energy dependence of an ideal gas to that of pressure, volume, and
temperature, respectively. Joule's first law, also known as the Joule effect, is a
physical law expressing the relationship between the heat generated by the current
flowing through a conductor. It is named for James Prescott Joule who studied the
phenomenon in the 1840s. It is expressed as:
5
6

7 where Q is the heat generated by a constant current I flowing through a

conductor of electrical resistance R, for a time t. When current, resistance and time
are expressed in amperes, ohms, and seconds respectively, the unit of Q is the
joule. Joule's first law is sometimes called the Joule–Lenz law since it was later
independently discovered by Heinrich Lenz. The heating effect of conductors
carrying currents is known as Joule heating.

Joule's second law states that the internal energy of an ideal gas is
independent of its volume and pressure, depending only on its temperature.

8 Reference
9 Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved.
10 http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/J/AE_Joules_law.html