The thermal conductivity, typically abbreviated by k, is an important property of a material. It is a material-dependent value. Thermal conductivity is a thermodynamic property and a transport property that relates the vector rate of heat flow per unit area q to the vector gradient of temperature ∇T. This proportionality, observed experimentally for fluids and solids, is known as Fourier's law of heat conduction.
The thermal conductivity varies with temperature and pressure in much the same way as viscosity. The ratio k/k0 can be correlated with T/T0 as given in the three correlations under the Variation of Viscosity with Temperature section in the Viscosity lesson.
Related ▪ L - Conduction
▪ L - Fourier's Law, The Conduction Rate Equation