What is #k# in Newton's Law of Cooling?

1 Answer
May 27, 2015

Newton's Law of cooling has the following formula:
#T (t) = T_e + (T_0 − T_e )*e^ (- kt)#

where T# (t) # is the temperature of the object at time t, # T_e# is the constant temperature of the environment,# T_0# is the initial temperature of the object, and #k# is a constant that depends on the material properties of the object.

So, #k# is a constant in relation to the same type of object. If we change the object and its material properties, the constant #k# will have a different value (for instance, silver will have a different #k# from wood).