Thermal Diffusivity
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Related to Thermal Diffusivity: Fourier number
thermal diffusivity
[′thər·məl ‚di·fyü′siv·əd·ē] (physics)
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Thermal Diffusivity
a physical parameter of a substance that characterizes the rate of change of its temperature in transient thermal processes. Thermal diffusivity is a measure of the thermal-inertia properties of a substance. It is numerically equal to the ratio of the substance’s thermal conductivity and the product of its specific heat (at constant pressure) and density. Thermal diffusivity is expressed in m2/sec.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
thermal diffusivity
The thermal conductivity divided by the product of the specific heat and unit weight; an index of the ease with which a material undergoes a change in temperature.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.