Electrically conductive and Thermally insulating materal

[Sandip]

Are there any materials that are electrically conductive but are thermally insulating?

 

[Bystander]

How insulating/non-conductive?

 

[Nidum]

- and what do you want it for ?

This type of requirement can often be met using a mechanical assembly . Many interpretations but conceptually thin wires for the electricity going through holes in sheets of good thermal insulator .

 

[Sandip]

I want to heat a thin electrically conductive substrate to a high temperature by passing current through it. Unfortunately the electrical wires made of copper conduct the heat away after a certain point. So, an electrical conductivity of >10^6 S/m (basically metal) to conduct the electricity, but at the same time thermal conductivity of <0.2 W/mK so that it does not conduct the heat away.

 

[Nidum]

Use high resistance feed wires and increase the supply voltage .

If you use something like Nichrome wire and get your sums right the wire will get hot enough to be in thermal equilibrium with the substrate .

 

[Nidum]

Another way of doing the same thing is to use thermal buffering .

Blocks or rings of copper are arranged to surround the test piece and are heated by external means to a temperature similar to that of the test piece .