For Educators · Thermal Resistance
Thermal Resistance for a copper wire
Built for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs. Simulate a copper wire live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.
Composite Wall Heat TransferLive
R-value & U-value
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Heat flows through a wall like current through resistors in series. Each layer's thermal resistance is its thickness over its conductivity; adding them gives the total R-value, and the heat flux is the temperature difference divided by it. Insulation, with very low conductivity, dominates the R-value — the steep temperature drop shows where it does its work.
Data Inspector
Total R-value2.71 m²K/W
U-value0.37 W/m²K
Heat flux9.6 W/m²
Governing equation
Reading this result: The insulation layer carries the most thermal resistance, so the temperature falls most steeply across it. A total R-value of 2.71 m²K/W lets 9.6 W/m² flow for this 26°C difference.
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