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Wiedmann Franz Law

The Wiedemann–Franz law describes the proportional relationship between thermal and electrical conductivities in metals, stating that the ratio of thermal conductivity to electrical conductivity is proportional to temperature. While this law holds true at high temperatures, it fails at low and intermediate temperatures due to inelastic scattering of charge carriers. Additionally, the correlation does not apply to non-metals, where phonon carriers play a significant role in heat conduction.

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33 views1 page

Wiedmann Franz Law

The Wiedemann–Franz law describes the proportional relationship between thermal and electrical conductivities in metals, stating that the ratio of thermal conductivity to electrical conductivity is proportional to temperature. While this law holds true at high temperatures, it fails at low and intermediate temperatures due to inelastic scattering of charge carriers. Additionally, the correlation does not apply to non-metals, where phonon carriers play a significant role in heat conduction.

Uploaded by

drgurunikileshmuruganm
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Wiedemann–Franz Law – Lorenz Number

At a given temperature, the thermal and electrical conductivities of


metals are proportional, but raising the temperature increases the thermal
conductivity while decreasing the electrical conductivity. This behavior is
quantified in the Wiedemann–Franz law. This law states that the ratio of
the electronic contribution of the thermal conductivity (k) to the electrical
conductivity (σ) of a metal is proportional to the temperature (T).

Qualitatively, this relationship is based upon the fact that the heat and
electrical transport both involve the free electrons in the metal. The
electrical conductivity decreases with particle velocity increases because the
collisions divert the electrons from forward transport of charge. However, the
thermal conductivity increases with the average particle velocity since that
increases the forward transport of energy. The Wiedemann-Franz law is
generally well obeyed at high temperatures. In the low and intermediate
temperature regions, however, the law fails due to the inelastic scattering of
the charge carriers.
It must be noted, the general correlation between electrical and thermal
conductance does not hold for other materials, due to the increased
importance of phonon carriers for heat in non-metals.

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