Electrical resistivity and conductivity ions. In biological membranes, currents are carried by ionic salts. Small holes in cell membranes, called ion channels, are selective to specific ions and determine the membrane resistance. The electrical resistivity of a metallic conductor decreases gradually as temperature is lowered. In ordinary conductors, such as copper or silver, this decrease is limited by impurities and other defects. Even near absolute zero, a real sample of a normal conductor shows some resistance. In a superconductor, the resistance drops abruptly to zero when the material is cooled below its critical temperature. An electric current flowing in a loop of superconducting wire
Thermal conductivity thermal conductivity, which is its reciprocal, is frequently given in specific units of formula_8. It is therefore often-times necessary to convert between absolute and specific units, by also taking a component's physical dimensions into consideration, in order to correlate the two using information provided, or to convert tabulated values of material thermal conductivity into absolute thermal resistance values for use in thermal resistance calculations. This is particularly useful, for example, when calculating the maximum power a component can dissipate as heat, as demonstrated in the example calculation here. "Thermal conductivity λ is defined as ability of material to transmit heat