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Thermal conduction in strongly coupled plasmas: especially liquid alkali metals
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 1997
Abstract
In earlier work, we have noted on semi-empirical grounds that the electrical conductivity σ in strongly coupled plasmas can be written as a linear form σ=σ0Γ in terms of the usual plasma coupling parameter Γ. Here, this is combined with the Wiedemann–Franz law to yield a zeroth-order treatment of thermal conductivity κ in such strongly coupled plasmas. Some refinement is needed to explain the properties of the heavier liquid alkali metals beginning with Na. This refinement follows from the nearly free-electron theory of electrical resistivity ρ=σ−1. Finally, a relation is forged between ρ, κ and the shear viscosity η at the freezing point of liquid alkali metals.
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- 1997 Cambridge University Press
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