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:

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

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／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 (hu)
• 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