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Thermal conduction

Alternative Titles: conduction, heat conduction

Thermal conduction, transfer of energy (heat) arising from temperature differences between adjacent parts of a body.

  • An overview of temperature, thermal energy, and the effect of temperature on skin.
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Thermal conductivity is attributed to the exchange of energy between adjacent molecules and electrons in the conducting medium. The rate of heat flow in a rod of material is proportional to the cross-sectional area of the rod and to the temperature difference between the ends and inversely proportional to the length; that is the rate H equals the ratio of the cross section A of the rod to its length l, multiplied by the temperature difference (T2T1) and by the thermal conductivity of the material, designated by the constant k. This empirical relation is expressed as: H = −k(A/l)(T2T1). The minus sign arises because heat flows always from higher to lower temperature.

A substance of large thermal conductivity k is a good heat conductor, whereas one with small thermal conductivity is a poor heat conductor or good thermal insulator. Typical values are 0.093 kilocalories/second-metre-°C for copper (a good thermal conductor) and 0.00003 kilocalories/second-metre°C for wood (poor thermal conductor).

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3. In simple metals irradiation decreases conductivity for both heat and electricity. Conduction of both in metallic crystals is attributable to their ordered structure. The more perfect the structure, the better is the conduction. Frenkel defects, generated by irradiation, therefore decrease both conductivities. In extreme cases conductivity decrease of orders of magnitude has been observed....
thermal conduction
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