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What Is Thermal Conductivity
What Is Thermal Conductivity
Thermal conductivity is a measure of the ability of a certain material to transfer or conduct heat. Conduction
occurs when a temperature gradient is present across the material. Its units are (W/mK) and is denoted either by λ
or k.
The second law of thermodynamics specifies that heat will always flow from a higher temperature to a lower
temperature.
represents the heat energy transferred per unit time through the material. This is expressed in joules per
second or watts.
In order to calculate the thermal conductivity constant, one would use the following equation:
The thermal conductivity of a specific material is dependent on its density, moisture content, structure,
temperature and pressure.
How is it measured?
Some common techniques to measure thermal conductivity are:
In the case of solids, a slight modification to this method is needed whereby the hot wire is supported on a backing
so that there is no penetration of the solid. It works in the temperature range of 298 – 1800 K and is a fast,
accurate technique but has a key limitation in that it only works on low-conductivity materials.
Within the metals group, silver has the highest thermal conductivity constant and bismuth has the lowest.
Thermal conductivity of non-metallic liquids is much lower than the thermal conductivity of metals, and the lowest
thermal conductivity is seen in gases. Among the gases, hydrogen and helium have relatively high thermal
conductivities.