Convert Calories per Second-Centimeter-Celsius to Watts per Meter-Kelvin

The Calorie per Second-Centimeter-Celsius (symbol: cal/(s·cm·°C)) is a unit of thermal conductivity. A CGS-system unit of thermal conductivity equal to exactly 418.4 W/(m·K) — a large unit, appropriate only for highly conductive solids like pure metals at low temperatures. cal/(s·cm·°C) appears almost exclusively in: pre-1980s chemistry and physics literature (Bridgman's high-pressure thermal-conductivity measurements published 1920s-50s; Maxwell-Eucken and Bruggeman-model effective-medium thermal-conductivity papers in J. Chem. Phys.), Eastern-European and Soviet engineering documentation that retained CGS units into the 1990s, and historical-era thermochemistry textbooks. Reference values in this unit are inconveniently small for most materials (copper ~0.96 cal/(s·cm·°C); aluminum 0.57; iron 0.12; water 0.0014) which is part of why the unit fell out of favor in favor of W/(m·K). Today mostly useful for interpreting historical data and older thermochemistry papers. Convert cal/(s·cm·°C) to W/(m·K) by multiplying by 418.4.

It belongs to the metric measurement system.

Calories per Second-Centimeter-Celsius are commonly used in insulation design, heat exchanger engineering, and material science.

The Watt per Meter-Kelvin (symbol: W/(m·K)) is a unit of thermal conductivity. The SI unit of thermal conductivity k (ISO 80000-5 §5-9) — the rate of heat flow through a unit thickness of material per unit cross-sectional area per unit temperature gradient, defined by Fourier's law of heat conduction q = −k·∇T. W/(m·K) is the universal reference for steady-state and transient heat-conduction calculations, material selection for thermal management, building-envelope insulation design, and thermal-interface-material specification. Reference values per ASM Handbook and NIST: silver 429 W/(m·K, the highest of common metals); copper 401; aluminum 237; brass 109; carbon steel 50; stainless 304 16; titanium Ti-6Al-4V 6.7; glass 1.0; concrete 1.0-1.7; wood 0.12-0.17 (parallel to grain) / 0.04-0.05 (perpendicular); air at 25 °C 0.026 (this single value is why fiberglass / cellulose / aerogel insulation work — they immobilize air); polystyrene foam (EPS, XPS) 0.030-0.040; fiberglass batt 0.040; aerogel (Aspen Spaceloft) 0.015 — the lowest of common engineering materials. Every CFD solver, thermal-analysis tool (Ansys Mechanical Thermal, COMSOL Heat Transfer, ABAQUS), and building-energy simulation (EnergyPlus, IES VE, DesignBuilder per ASHRAE 90.1 compliance) uses W/(m·K).

It belongs to the metric measurement system.

Watts per Meter-Kelvin are commonly used in insulation design, heat exchanger engineering, and material science.