thermal conductivity

thermal conductivity

English

Noun

thermal conductivity (plural thermal conductivities)

1. (physics) A measure of the ability of a material to conduct heat, often denoted k, λ, or κ.

Usage notes

The heat (thermal energy) flow P_th through a plate made of a given material depends on the thermal conductivity λ of that material, the surface of the plate A, the temperature difference over the plate ΔT and the thickness of the plate d, and follows the formula:

${\\displaystyle P{_{t}}{_{h}}=\\lambda \\ {\\frac {A\\times \\Delta T}{d}}}$

Thus, the higher the conductivity, the higher the heat flow. The unit of thermal conductivity in SI system of units is W·m^-1·K^-1.

Synonyms

• heat conductivity

Related terms

• thermal conductance

Translations

measure of the ability to conduct heat

Chinese: Mandarin: 熱導率 (zh), 热导率 (zh) (rèdǎolǜ) Danish: varmeledningsevne c, varmekonduktivitet c, termisk konduktivitet c Finnish: lämmönjohtavuus Georgian: თბოგამტარობის კოეფიციენტი (tbogamṭarobis ḳoepicienṭi), თბოგამტარობა (tbogamṭaroba) German: Wärmeleitfähigkeit f Hungarian: hővezetés Japanese: 熱伝導率 (ねつでんどうりつ, netsu dendōritsu) Romanian: conductivitate termică f, conductivitate calorică f Spanish: conductividad térmica f Swedish: värmeledningsförmåga (sv) c