In the latest wrinkle to be discovered in cubic boron arsenide, the unusual material contradicts the traditional rules that govern heat conduction, according to a new report by Boston College researchers in the February, 2019 edition of the journal Nature Communications.
In the latest wrinkle to be discovered in cubic boron arsenide, the unusual material contradicts the traditional rules that govern heat conduction, according to a new report by Boston College researchers in the February, 2019 edition of the journal Nature Communications.
Usually, when a material is compressed, it becomes a better conductor of heat. That was first found in studies about a century ago. In boron arsenide, the research team found that when the material is compressed the conductivity first improves and then deteriorates.
The explanation is based on an unusual competition between different processes that provide heat resistance, according to the co-authors Professor David Broido and Navaneetha K. Ravichandran, a post-doctoral fellow, of the Department of Physics at Boston College. This type of behavior has never been predicted or observed before.
The findings are consistent with the unconventional high thermal conductivity that Broido, a theoretical physicist, and colleagues have previously identified in cubic boron arsenide.
Read more at Boston College
