What is the relationship between thermal conductivity and specific heat?

Thermal conductivity is the ability to transfer heat while the specific heat is the ability to hold a particular amount of heat.

Does high specific heat mean low thermal conductivity?

High thermal conductivity translates to high heat transfer, meaning the fluid will heat or cool quicker than one with low thermal conductivity. Specific heat capacity refers to the amount of heat energy required to increase the temperature of a unit of a given substance by 1°C.

What does it mean to have a low specific heat capacity?

Explanation: Specific heat is Jg−oK . A low value means that it does not take very much energy to heat or cool it. Adding heat to a “low specific heat” compound will increase its temperature much more quickly than adding heat to a high specific heat compound.

What does it mean if a material has a high thermal conductivity a low one?

Mainly metals have very high thermal conductivity which compares well to what is known about metals. As well, insulating materials such as aerogel and insulation used in homes has a low thermal conductivity, indicating that they do not let heat pass through them easily.

Does higher specific heat mean better conductor?

High heat capacity does not imply the material will be a poor thermal conductor. In fact, it is the opposite. Also, contrary to what is mentioned in the other answers, heat capacity and thermal conductivity are correlated.

Does thermal conductivity depends on heat capacity?

In metals, heat conductivity is primarily due to free electrons. At low temperatures well below the Debye temperature, thermal conductivity decreases, as does the heat capacity, due to carrier scattering from defects at very low temperatures.

What is the relation between specific heat capacity and thermal heat capacity?

The heat capacity and the specific heat are related by C=cm or c=C/m. The mass m, specific heat c, change in temperature ΔT, and heat added (or subtracted) Q are related by the equation: Q=mcΔT.

Why do metals have a low specific heat capacity?

Metal atoms in pure metal are very close together and are able to transfer heat easily via conduction from one atom exciting the other atoms next to it. So the amount of energy it takes to heat a metal is relatively small to that of water for example.

Why is it important to know the specific heat capacity of a substance?

Explanation: Specific heat capacity is a measure of the amount of heat energy required to change the temperature of 1 kg of a material by 1 K. Hence it is important as it will give an indication of how much energy will be required to heat or cool an object of a given mass by a given amount.

Is high or low thermal conductivity better?

A material’s thermal conductivity is the number of Watts conducted per metre thickness of the material, per degree of temperature difference between one side and the other (W/mK). As a rule of thumb, the lower the thermal conductivity the better, because the material conducts less heat energy.

What does it mean when a certain material has a high or low specific heat?

A substance with a high specific heat capacity can absorb a large quantity of heat before it will raise in temperature (water has a high specific heat). A substance with a low specific heat requires relatively little heat to raise its temperature (copper has a low specific heat).

What is the relationship between specific heat and heat conductivity?

There is no direct relationship between the two other than that they are both thermal properties of materials. For example, aluminum has high heat conductivity and relatively low specific heat, while lead has relativity low thermal conductivity and much higher specific heat.

What units are used to measure thermal conductivity?

One example of suitable units for thermal conductivity is Watts/meter-Celsius. It is BOTH thermal conductivity AND specific heat capacity required for which material keeps hot water hot longer. You would desire a low thermal conductivity and a high specific heat capacity.

What is the thermal conductivity coefficient k?

The thermal conductivity coefficient k is a material parameter depending on temperature, physical properties of the material, water content, and the pressure on the material [3]. The coefficient k is measured in watts per meter Kelvin (or degree) (W/mK).

Why don’t electrons contribute specific heat in metals?

This is because electric and thermal conductivity are due to the electrons, however the specific heat is mostly due to the ion vibrations (phonons). Despite “classical” intuition electrons contribute almost nothing for specific heat in metals.