thermal conductivity

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the amount of heat per unit time per unit area that can be conducted through a plate of unit thickness of a given material, the faces of the plate differing by one unit of temperature.

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thermal conductivity British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: conductivity.   λ.   k.  a measure of the ability of a substance to conduct heat, determined by the rate of heat flow normally through an area in the substance divided by the area and by minus the component of the temperature gradient in the direction of flow: measured in watts per metre per kelvin

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thermal conductivity Scientific  

1. A measure of the ability of a material to transfer heat. Given two surfaces on either side of the material with a temperature difference between them, the thermal conductivity is the heat energy transferred per unit time and per unit surface area, divided by the temperature difference. It is measured in watts per degree Kelvin.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thermal conductivity

When tested, these high-purity samples demonstrated a remarkable thermal conductivity above 2,100 W/mK -- surpassing not only earlier experimental results but also the theoretical ceiling itself.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025

"We modeled the thermal conductivity as a varying parameter, and we figured out the extent of improvement needed in thermal conductivity to see a meaningful temperature reduction."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024

This is the first study that predicts the extent to which tuning the thermal conductivity of paper can enhance transformer life.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024

To maximize the high thermal conductivity of diamond, the researchers integrated a 3C-SiC layer, a cubic polytype of silicon carbide, between GaN and diamond.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023

In 1846 he began experiments on the temperature of the earth at different depths and in different soils near Edinburgh, which yielded determinations of the thermal conductivity of trap-tufa, sandstone and pure loose sand.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various