University of Zakho

College OF Engineering
Mechanical Department
Subject / Engineering Analysis
Third stage

Newton’s Law of Cooling

Prepared by:
Sabr rabah & Kasar Nagib
Supervised: Dr. Shaker M. Rasheed
Year: 3
2022-2023
Contents
What is Newton’s Law of Cooling?.................................................................3
History:...............................................................................................................4
Relationship to mechanism of cooling:............................................................5
State and prove Newton’s law of cooling........................................................5
Examples of Newton’s Law of Cooling:..........................................................8
1. Forensic Science:.........................................................................................8
2. Chilled Soda Can:.......................................................................................9
3. Cooling Down of Hot beverages:...............................................................9
Hot and Cold Liquid kept at Ambient Temperature:...................................9
Hot and Cold Liquid kept at Ambient Temperature:...................................9
Solving example about newton law of cooling:................................................10
Conclusion:......................................................................................................13
References:.......................................................................................................14

2
What is Newton’s Law of Cooling?

Newton's law of cooling states that the rate of heat loss of a body is directly

proportional to the difference in the temperatures between the body and its
surroundings. The law is frequently qualified to include the condition that the
temperature difference is small and the nature of heat transfer mechanism remains
the same. As such, it is equivalent to a statement that the heat transfer coefficient,
which mediates between heat losses and temperature differences, is a constant.
This condition is generally met in heat conduction (where it is guaranteed
by Fourier's law) as the thermal conductivity of most materials is only weakly
dependent on temperature. In convective heat transfer, Newton's Law is followed
for forced air or pumped fluid cooling, where the properties of the fluid do not vary
strongly with temperature, but it is only approximately true for buoyancy-driven
convection, where the velocity of the flow increases with temperature difference.
Finally, in the case of heat transfer by thermal radiation, Newton's law of cooling
holds only for very small temperature differences.

When stated in terms of temperature differences, Newton's law (with several

further simplifying assumptions, such as a low Biot number and a temperature-
independent heat capacity) results in a simple differential equation expressing
temperature-difference as a function of time. The solution to that equation
describes an exponential decrease of temperature-difference over time. This
characteristic decay of the temperature-difference is also associated with Newton's
law of cooling.

3
History:

Newton’s Law of Cooling was developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1701. The law
was not stated, as it is in the present form, initially. Newton noted that the rate of
temperature change of a body is proportional to the difference in temperatures
between the body and its surroundings. The law got its present form, after the
confusion between the concepts of heat and temperature, much after 1701. 
In 2020, Shigenao and Shuichi repeated Newton's experiments with modern
apparatus, and they applied modern data reduction techniques.[4] In particular,
these investigators took account of thermal radiation at high temperatures (as for
the molten metals Newton used), and they accounted for buoyancy effects on the
air flow. By comparison to Newton's original data, they concluded that his
measurements (from 1692 to 1693) had been "quite accurate".

Fig (1) Sir Isaac Newton

4
Relationship to mechanism of cooling:

Convection cooling is sometimes said to be governed by "Newton's law of

cooling." When the heat transfer coefficient is independent, or relatively
independent, of the temperature difference between object and environment,
Newton's law is followed. The law holds well for forced air and pumped liquid
cooling, where the fluid velocity does not rise with increasing temperature
difference. Newton's law is most closely obeyed in purely conduction-type cooling.
However, the heat transfer coefficient is a function of the temperature difference in
natural convective (buoyancy driven) heat transfer. In that case, Newton's law only
approximates the result when the temperature difference is relatively small.
Newton himself realized this limitation.

A correction to Newton's law concerning convection for larger temperature

differentials by including an exponent, was made in 1817 by Dulong and Petit.
[5] (These men are better-known for their formulation of the Dulong–Petit
law concerning the molar specific heat capacity of a crystal.)
Another situation that does not obey Newton's law is radiative heat transfer.
Radiative cooling is better described by the Stefan–Boltzmann law in which the
heat transfer rate varies as the difference in the 4th powers of the absolute
temperatures of the object and of its environment.

5
 Fig (2)
State and prove Newton’s law of cooling:

A hot body left to itself slowly cools down to the surrounding’s temperature. It was
Newton who found that the rate of cooling depends on the temperature difference
between the hot body and the surrounding. Newton’s law of cooling states that, the
rate of energy loss by a hot body is directly proportional to the temperature
difference of hot body and surrounding (if the temperature difference is small).

where ∆Q is the amount of heat lost in ∆t seconds by a hot body. Consider a hot
body at temperature T. Let T0 be the temperature of its surroundings. According to
Newton’s law of cooling. Rate of loss of heat ∝ Temperature difference between
the body and its surroundings

Where k is a proportionality constant depending upon the area and nature of the
surface of the body. Let m be the mass and s the specific heat of the body at
temperature T.
If the temperature of the body falls by small amount dT in time dt, then the amount
of heat lost is dQ = msdT …(2)

6
∴ Rate of loss of heat is given by:

Continue:

7
Using equation (4) we can calculate the time of cooling of a body through a
particular range of temperatures.

If we plot a graph by taking different values of temperature difference

∆T = T – T0 along y-axis and the corresponding values of t along x-axis, we get a
curve of the form shown in figure (a). It clearly shows that the rate of cooling is
higher initially and then decreases as the temperature of the body falls.

Examples of Newton’s Law of Cooling:

1. Forensic Science:
One of the major applications of Newton’s law of
cooling can be easily seen in forensic science. The
detectives and forensic scientists note down the
temperature of the dead body and the room
temperature of the crime scene.

8
2. Chilled Soda Can:

When we store a soda can in the refrigerator, it gets

chilled. On extracting this cold can out and subjecting it
to the normal room temperature, it begins to attain the
ambient temperature. The temperature of the can and the
surroundings is well known and recorded.

3. Cooling Down of Hot beverages:

The time taken by a hot beverage to cool down is easy to

calculate with the help of Newton’s law of cooling. It
must be observed that a hot beverage cools down quickly
during the first few minutes of exposure to room
temperature.

Hot and Cold Liquid kept at Ambient Temperature:

Newton’s law of cooling is also helpful in determining the rate at which a liquid
reaches ambient temperature. When a hot liquid and a cold liquid beverage is
subjected to room temperature, it can be easily observed that the hot drink quickly
attains room temperature, whereas the cold drink takes a much longer time to reach
the ambient temperature.

Hot and Cold Liquid kept at Ambient Temperature:

Newton’s law of cooling is also helpful in determining

the rate at which a liquid reaches ambient temperature.
When a hot liquid and a cold liquid beverage is subjected
to room temperature, it can be easily observed that the hot
drink quickly attains room temperature, Newton’s law of
cooling is easy to observe.

9
 Solving example about newton law of cooling:
1.A thermometer r is taken from a room that is 20 ℃ to the outdoor where the temperature
is ℃ . After one minute, the thermometer read 12 ℃. use Newton law of cooling to
answer following question.

a. What will the reading on thermometer be after one more minute?

b. when will the thermometer read 6 ℃ ?

dT
a. dt
=k (5−T )

T (0) = 20

T = 5 + 15 e−kt

When T(1) = 12

dT
dt
= k (Ts - T)

T(0) = To

T(t1) = T1

T = Ts + (To - Ts)e−kt

T1 = Ts + (To - Ts) e−kt

(To - Ts) e−kt 1 = T1 – Ts

T 1−T s
e
−kt 1
= ¿−Ts

10
 ¿−T s
e−t 1 =
T 1−Ts

1
( ¿−T s )
K = t 1 ln T 1−Ts

Returning now to the problem at hand (with the thermometer), we see that the temperature
function is:

( ) = 20
0
7
T = 5 + 15
15

and,

( ) = 12
1
7
T (1) = 5 + 15
15

To find what the thermometer will read two minutes after being taken outside, we compute

( ) = 8.3
2
7
T (2) = 5 + 15
15

Which tell us that the thermometer will read about 8.3 c, two minutes after being outside.

Finally, to determine when the thermometer will read 6°c :

( )
t
7
b. 5 + 15 =6
15

15 ( )7 t
15
=1

( )
t
7 1
=
15 15

(( ) ) = ln ( )
t
7 1
ln
15 15

t ln ( )
7 t
15
1
= ln 15 ( )
11
 ln(1 /15)
t=
ln(7 /15)

t = 3.5

Thermometer will reach to 6c, after 3.5 minutes from being outside

2. The temperature of a body dropped from 200°c to 100°c for the first hour. Determine

how many degrees the body cooled in one hour more if the environment temperature
is 0°c?

At the end of the first hour the body has cooled to 100∘. Therefore, we can write the
following relationship:

After 2nd hour the body's temperature becomes equal to X degrees:

Thus, we obtain the system of two equations with three unknowns: 

We cannot determine uniquely the body's temperature X after the 2nd hour from this
system. However, we can derive the dependence of X on the environment
temperature TS. Express the function e−k from the first equation:

12
If, for example, the surrounding environment temperature is zero degrees, the body's
temperature X in 2 hours will be:

Conclusion:
In conclusion, Newton’s Law of Cooling proves that the rate of cooling is an
exponential function. The hot water cools by less and less as time progresses; it
gets harder to cool because it wants to reach an equilibrium with the room
temperature. Applications of this law (To predict how long it takes for a hot object
to cool down at a certain temperature, To find the temperature of a soda placed in a
refrigerator by a certain amount of time and It helps to indicate the time of death
given the probable body temperature at the time of death and current body
temperature).

13
 References:
o http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~sellerme/sfehtml/classes/math2202/
newtonslawofcoolingsolutions.pdf
o https://math24.net/newtons-law-cooling.html
o https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252380812_Newton's_law_of_cooling-
A_critical_assessment
o https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
339895190_Application_of_Newton's_law_of_cooling_in_production_line
o https://thefactfactor.com/facts/pure_science/physics/numerical-problems-on-
newtons-law-of-cooling/8268/

14