Abstract
To minimize the propagation of the effects of an abrupt change in temperature, an insulating material is required with a low thermal diffusivity. This property is proportional to the thermal conductivity and inversely proportional to the density and the specific heat, but because of the comparative invariance of the latter property among typical insulating materials, the diffusivity is almost proportional to the ratio of conductivity to density. Although the conductivity of non-metallic materials decreases generally as the gross density decreases, their ratio, and hence the diffusivity, is found to pass through a minimum, so that materials with the lowest conductivities do not necessarily have low diffusivities.
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BRINKWORTH, B. Thermal Diffusivity of Non-metallic Materials. Nature 201, 1309 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2011309a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2011309a0
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