Difference between Thermal Diffusivity and Thermal Conductivity?

Thread Starter

bender1958

Joined May 19, 2016
1
Like it in the thread title,

can anybody offer a simple explanation of the difference between diffusivity and conductivity? I did some searching and while I found some solid info like this, I can't quite spell out the difference in my own words, makes me feel a bit dumb as it's not really. Diffusivity is more about the spread of the difference in temperature, yes?
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Have you read the Wiki?

The key to understanding a term like "thermal diffusivity" is to understand the units and how they relate. For instance you cannot understand "speed" until you understand "distance" and "time". Remember that the glossary definitions are an attempt to describe in words what is already precisely defined by the terms.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,285
Diffusivity refers to how fast the heat travels through the material.
Conductivity refers to thermal resistance of the material.
 
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