The thermal and electrical conductivities of metals at high temperatures

A method of investigating the electrical and thermal conductivities of metals at high temperatures is described. The theory of the method depends upon the application of ideas which are fundamental in the study of electrical contact phenomena. The ratio of the thermal to the electrical conductivity of platinum has been determined from 1200° C to the melting point (1773° C) and from the melting point to 2300° C by making simultaneous observations of electrical potential and maximum temperature in a short wire through which current is passed. The wire terminates in two blocks of the same metal, and the ends of the wire are not assumed to be plane isothermal (and equipotential) surfaces. The wire remains in place when partly molten so that observations are extended well into the molten range. The method is independent of the exact geometrical configuration of the conducting system. The details of the arrangement of the apparatus and of the method of temperature measurement are given. The results are discussed in relation to the properties of the molten metal bridges formed between the electrodes of electrical contacts and to the value of theLorenz factor in theWiedemann-Franz law.