Copper greater strength than monocrystalline forms. The softness of copper partly explains its high electrical conductivity (59.6×10 S/m) and high thermal conductivity, second highest (second only to silver) among pure metals at room temperature. This is because the resistivity to electron transport in metals at room temperature originates primarily from scattering of electrons on thermal vibrations of the lattice, which are relatively weak in a soft metal. The maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is approximately 3.1×10 A/m of cross-sectional area, above which it begins to heat excessively. Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a
Thermal conductivity measurement This leads to the following expression Note that the first two terms in the brackets on the RHS are constants. Thus if the probe temperature is plotted versus the natural logarithm of time, the thermal conductivity can be determined from the slope given knowledge of Q. Typically this means ignoring the first 60 to 120 seconds of data and measuring for 600 to 1200 seconds. A variation on the Transient Line Source method is used for measuring the thermal conductivity of a large mass of the earth for Geothermal Heat Pump (GHP/GSHP) system design. This is generally called Ground Thermal