Thermal inertia vs effusivity, what is the difference?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of thermal inertia and thermal effusivity, exploring their definitions, equations, and the confusion surrounding their relationship. Participants express challenges in finding coherent information on these topics, particularly in academic resources.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration with the lack of clear information on thermal inertia and effusivity, noting that they are often referenced interchangeably in sources like Wikipedia.
  • Another participant defines effusivity as a measure of a material's ability to transfer heat and describes thermal inertia as relating to the time required for a material to reach thermal equilibrium.
  • A different participant suggests that thermal diffusivity is the correct term for describing the time needed for an object to reach thermal equilibrium, leading to a correction from another participant who disputes this claim.
  • One participant recommends a specific textbook, "Transport Phenomena" by Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot, as a better source for understanding these concepts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach consensus on the definitions and relationships between thermal inertia, effusivity, and thermal diffusivity. There are competing views and some corrections of earlier claims, indicating ongoing uncertainty in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in their current resources, noting that many academic texts focus primarily on thermal conductivity without adequately addressing thermal inertia or diffusivity.

carter7gindenv
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Hello, I'm slowly getting crazy about this stuff. I'm trying to understand what are thermal inertia/effusivity and information have been incoherent so far. The best example of that is seen on wikipedia where the only mention of thermal inertia is in the article
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volumetric_heat_capacity
However in the very section of thermal inertia the article refers to thermal effusivity with the same equation. o_O

I've tried my university physics section but the books talks only about thermal conductivity ( not even thermal diffusivity ).
So far I understood that thermal inertia is akin to mechanical inertia. It is how the material is opposed to change its temperature. I understand that thermal effusivity is how the material exchange heat with its environment. However I don't understand what are their respective equations and why oh god why is it so hard to find information about those concepts.

So here am I humbly asking for helps. :sorry:
Thanks in advance!

ps: I'm not sure that I posted in the right section : /Edit: two scientific article talking about either effusivity or inertia with the same formula
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2015/pdf/2914.pdfhttps://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0143-0807/24/4/353/meta
 
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Effusivity is a quantitative measure of a material's ability to transfer heat.

Thermal inertia (as I hear it used) addresses the time required for a material to reach thermal equilibrium (longer time = higher thermal inertia) - it tends to be used qualitatively. 'High thermal inertia' could be due to a large quantity of heat being required (specific heat) or poor conductivity, or both.
 
For what I've read it's thermal diffusivity which describe the time need for an object to reach thermal equilibrium?
 
carter7gindenv said:
For what I've read it's thermal diffusivity which describe the time need for an object to reach thermal equilibrium?
This is incorrect.
 
carter7gindenv said:
Summary: Difference between thermal inertia and effusivity

Hello, I'm slowly getting crazy about this stuff. I'm trying to understand what are thermal inertia/effusivity and information have been incoherent so far. The best example of that is seen on wikipedia where the only mention of thermal inertia is in the article
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volumetric_heat_capacity
However in the very section of thermal inertia the article refers to thermal effusivity with the same equation. o_O

I've tried my university physics section but the books talks only about thermal conductivity ( not even thermal diffusivity ).
So far I understood that thermal inertia is akin to mechanical inertia. It is how the material is opposed to change its temperature. I understand that thermal effusivity is how the material exchange heat with its environment. However I don't understand what are their respective equations and why oh god why is it so hard to find information about those concepts.

So here am I humbly asking for helps. :sorry:
Thanks in advance!

ps: I'm not sure that I posted in the right section : /Edit: two scientific article talking about either effusivity or inertia with the same formula
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2015/pdf/2914.pdfhttps://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0143-0807/24/4/353/meta
Your problem is that you are learning this from crappy sources. See Transport Phenomena by Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot to get a solid fundamental understanding.
 
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