From: Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Date: Tue Mar 16 1999 - 21:54:30 MST
> 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
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