Temperature distribution along a metal filament heated in vacuum by DC current

Abstract

A numerical method is presented for the solution of the differential equation for temperature distribution along a filament heated electrically and subjected to heat loss by radiation according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law and heat conductivity (effect of leads). The solution can be precisely found if the temperature calculation is started from the filament centre. In this way reliable temperature and resistance distributions are obtained at division of the whole length into a few hundred pieces. The calculated results are compared with Langmuir's experimental data, which demonstrates the great usefulness and reliability of this approach. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.