Thermal properties as a research area focuses on the quantitative characterization, prediction, and control of how materials and systems store, conduct, and exchange heat. It encompasses investigation of thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion, and related transport coefficients across temperature, pressure, and phase regimes. Research typically integrates experimental calorimetry and thermal analysis, steady-state and transient heat-flow methods, and atomistic or continuum simulations to elucidate phonon, electron, and radiative contributions. This domain underpins advances in thermal management, energy conversion, high-temperature materials, cryogenics, and micro/nanoscale heat transfer, often coupling with mechanical, electrical, and structural behavior.
Chinese researchers have developed a new carbon nanotube insulator that can withstand high temperatures up to 2,600°C, outperforming all other materials used for extreme-temperature applications. This breakthrough could be ...
A research team from Aarhus University, Denmark, has measured and explained the exceptionally low thermal conductivity of the crystalline material AgGaGe3Se8. Despite its ordered structure, the material behaves like a glass ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 3, 2025
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86
How can thermoelectric generators (TEGs) help advance future lunar surface habitats? This is what a recent study published in Acta Astronautica hopes to address as a team of researchers from the Republic of Korea investigated ...
Space Exploration
Aug 25, 2025
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30
Half of the sun's radiant energy falls outside of the visible spectrum. On a cold day, this extra infrared light provides additional warmth to residential and commercial buildings. On a warm day, it leads to unwanted heating ...
Nanophysics
Aug 18, 2025
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127
Graphite has attracted global interest due to its unique anisotropic properties, including excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. Widely used as a battery anode material and in applications such as electromagnetic ...
Nanomaterials
Aug 12, 2025
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98
Global standards for heating comfort are largely based on cooler, northern hemisphere climates. How relevant are these benchmarks in low-cost housing in warmer African regions?
Environment
Aug 11, 2025
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26
A team of theoretical researchers used thermal effective theory to demonstrate that quantum entanglement follows universal rules across all dimensions. Their study was published online in Physical Review Letters.
General Physics
Aug 6, 2025
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1929
Crystals and glasses have opposite heat-conduction properties, which play a pivotal role in a variety of technologies. These range from the miniaturization and efficiency of electronic devices to waste-heat recovery systems, ...
General Physics
Jul 28, 2025
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139
Researchers taking the first-ever direct measurement of atom temperature in extremely hot materials inadvertently disproved a decades-old theory and upended our understanding of superheating.
Condensed Matter
Jul 23, 2025
2
402
Multi-wavelength light sources are required for optical transceivers to increase data. However, scaling the laser array size increases thermal crosstalk, which may affect laser efficiency and reliability.
Optics & Photonics
Jul 21, 2025
0
28
