> Michael S. Lorrey, <retroman@together.net>, writes:
>
> Is there such a thing as a thermal superconductor?
If one does not restrict the view to solids, supercooled helium is supposed to conduct heat at the speed of sound in the fluid, but I do not know the details. I am told if you have a volume of superfluid helium then you cant have a warmer pocket within the superfluid mass. It is either all superfluid or all non-superfluid. This came up as an issue with the Gravity Probe B satellite, an instrument which is inside a dewar filled with superfluid helium. I dont know if it fits the SciFi definition of a thermal superconductor tho.
Since a true thermal superconductor would be up against the limits imposed by the second law of thermodynamics, it is appropriate that *extropians* should be discussing it. {8^D spike