In physics, the WiedemannFranz law is the ratio of the electronic contribution of

the thermal conductivity () to the electrical conductivity () of ametal, and is

proportional to the temperature (T).[1]

Theoretically, the proportionality constant L, known as the Lorenz number, is equal

to

This empirical law is named after Gustav Wiedemann and Rudolph Franz, who
in 1853 reported that / has approximately the same value for different metals
at the same temperature.[2] The proportionality of / with temperature was
discovered by Ludvig Lorenz in 1872.
Qualitatively, this relationship is based upon the fact that the heat and electrical
transport both involve the free electrons in the metal.

The mathematical expression of the law can be derived as following.

Electrical conduction of metals is a well-known phenomenon and is attributed
to the free conduction electrons, which can be measured as sketched in the
figure. The current density j is observed to be proportional to the
applied electric field and follows Ohm's law where the prefactor is the
specific electrical conductivity. Since the electric field and the current density
are vectors Ohm's law is expressed here in bold face. The conductivity can in
general be expressed as a tensor of the second rank (33 matrix). Here we

restrict the discussion to isotropic, i.e. scalar conductivity. The

specific resistivity is the inverse of the conductivity. Both parameters will be
used in the following.
Drude (c. 1900) realized that the phenomenological description of
conductivity can be formulated quite generally (electron-, ion-, heat- etc.
conductivity). Although the phenomenological description is incorrect for
conduction electrons, it can serve as a preliminary treatment.
The assumption is that the electrons move freely in the solid like in an ideal
gas. The force applied to the electron by the electric field leads to
anacceleration according to

This would lead, however, to an infinite velocity. The further

assumption therefore is that the electrons bump into obstacles (like
defects orphonons) once in a while which limits their free flight. This
establishes an average or drift velocity Vd. The drift velocity is related
to the average scattering time as becomes evident from the following
relations.

Contents
[hide]

1 Temperature dependence

2 Limitations of the theory

3 See also

4 External links

5 References

Temperature dependence[edit]

The value L0 = 2.44108 W K2 results from the fact that at low

temperatures (

K) the heat and charge currents are carried

by the same quasi-particles: electrons or holes. At finite

temperatures two mechanisms produce a deviation of the
ratio

from the theoretical Lorenz value L0: (i) other

thermal carriers such as phonon or magnons, (ii) inelastic

scattering. In the 0 temperature limit inelastic scattering is weak
and promotes large q scattering values is favored (trajectory a in
the figure). For each electron transported a thermal excitation is
also carried and the Lorenz number is reached L=L0. Note that in
a perfect metal, inelastic scattering would be completely absent in
the limit
vanish

K and the thermal conductivity would

. At finite temperature small q scattering

values are possible (trajectory b in the figure) and electron can be

transported without the transport of an thermal excitation L(T)<L0.
In every system at higher temperature the contribution of phonon
to thermal transport is important. This can lead to L(T)>L0. Above
the Debye temperature the phonon contribution to thermal
transport is constant and the ratio L(T) is again found constant.

Sketch of the various scattering process important for the WiedemannFanz law.

For references see: [3] [4]

Limitations of the theory[edit]

Experiments have shown that the value of L, while roughly
constant, is not exactly the same for all materials.Kittel[5] gives
some values of L ranging from L = 2.23108 W K2 for copper at
0 C to L = 3.2108 W K2for tungsten at 100 C.
Rosenberg[6] notes that the WiedemannFranz law is generally
valid for high temperatures and for low (i.e., a few Kelvins)
temperatures, but may not hold at intermediate temperatures.
In many high purity metals both the electrical and thermal
conductivities rise as temperature is decreased. In certain
materials (such as silver or aluminum) however, the value
of L also may decrease with temperature. In the purest samples of
silver and at very low temperatures, L can drop by as much as a
factor of 10.[7]
In degenerate semiconductors, the Lorenz number L has a strong
dependency on certain system parameters: dimensionality,
strength of interatomic interactions and Fermi-level. This law is not
valid or the value of the Lorenz number can be reduced at least in
following cases: manipulating electronic density of states, varying
doping density and layer thickness in superlattices and materials
with correlated carriers. [8] [9]

See also[edit]

Drude model

External links[edit]

Strong violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law