Thermal conductivity the list of thermal conductivities. These should be considered approximate due to the uncertainties related to material definitions. High energy generation rates within electronics or turbines require the use of materials with high thermal conductivity such as copper "(see: Copper in heat exchangers)", aluminium, and silver. On the other hand, materials with low thermal conductance, such as polystyrene foam and fire brick, are used in building construction or in furnaces in an effort to slow the flow of heat, i.e. for insulation purposes. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is "thermal resistivity", usually expressed in kelvin-meters per watt (K⋅m⋅W). For a
Thermal conductivity detector the circuit compensates for drift due to flow or temperature fluctuations. Changes in the thermal conductivity of the column effluent flow across resistor 3 will result in a temperature change of the resistor and therefore a resistance change which can be measured as a signal. Since all compounds, organic and inorganic, have a thermal conductivity different from helium, all compounds can be detected by this detector. The TCD is often called a universal detector because it responds to all compounds. Also, since the thermal conductivity of organic compounds are similar and very different from helium, a TCD will respond similarly