Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Protocol for Measuring the Thermal Properties of a Supercooled Synthetic Sand-water-gas-methane Hydrate Sample
Published on: March 21, 2016
Communication: minimum in the thermal conductivity of supercooled water: a computer simulation study
F Bresme1, J W Biddle2, J V Sengers2
1Chemical Physics Section, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom and Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491, Norway.
Abstract:
We report the results of a computer simulation study of the thermodynamic properties and the thermal conductivity of supercooled water as a function of pressure and temperature using the TIP4P-2005 water model. The thermodynamic properties can be represented by a two-structure equation of state consistent with the presence of a liquid-liquid critical point in the supercooled region. Our simulations confirm the presence of a minimum in the thermal conductivity, not only at atmospheric pressure, as previously found for the TIP5P water model, but also at elevated pressures. This anomalous behavior of the thermal conductivity of supercooled water appears to be related to the maximum of the isothermal compressibility or the minimum of the speed of sound. However, the magnitudes of the simulated thermal conductivities are sensitive to the water model adopted and appear to be significantly larger than the experimental thermal conductivities of real water at low temperatures.
Related Concept Videos
Superconductor
Theory of Metallic Conduction
In this theory, Newton's second law of motion is used to determine the acceleration of an electron in the presence of an applied electric field. Then, its velocity is expressed via this acceleration.
An electron moves through the crystal, containing positive ions,...
Types Of Superconductors
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
Joule-Thomson Effect
This experiment forces high-pressure gas through a throttle valve or a porous plug to a lower-pressure region. The gas expands as it passes through to...
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I

