Thermal conductivity heat flow may not be exactly the same as the direction of the thermal gradient. In metals, thermal conductivity approximately tracks electrical conductivity according to the Wiedemann–Franz law, as freely moving valence electrons transfer not only electric current but also heat energy. However, the general correlation between electrical and thermal conductance does not hold for other materials, due to the increased importance of phonon carriers for heat in non-metals. Highly electrically conductive silver is less thermally conductive than diamond, which is an electrical insulator, but due to its orderly array of atoms it is conductive of heat via phonons. The
Thermal conductivity measurement temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity than in the steady-state techniques. Although some expertise in thin film patterning and microlithography is required, this technique is considered as the best pseudo-contact method available. (ch23) The freestanding sensor-based 3ω technique is proposed and developed as a candidate for the conventional 3ω method for thermophysical properties measurement. The method covers the determination of solids, powders and fluids from cryogenic temperatures to around 400 K. For solid samples, the method is applicable to both bulks and tens of micrometers thick wafers/membranes, dense or porous surfaces. The thermal conductivity and thermal effusivity can be measured