diffusivity

[ dif-yoo-siv-i-tee ]

noun

, Physics.

1. the property of a substance indicative of the rate at which a thermal disturbance, as a rise in temperature, will be transmitted through the substance.

diffusivity

/ ˌdɪfjuːˈsɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. a measure of the ability of a substance to transmit a difference in temperature; expressed as the thermal conductivity divided by the product of specific heat capacity and density
2. physics
   1. the ability of a substance to permit or undergo diffusion
   2. another name for diffusion coefficient
3. another name for diffusion

Word History and Origins

Origin of diffusivity¹

First recorded in 1875–80; diffusive + -ity

Example Sentences

Using machine learning to compute the statistical distribution of the individual contributions, they were able to model the alloy and calculate its diffusivity orders of magnitude more efficiently than computing whole trajectories.

From Science Daily

"We've shown that you can extract the distribution of those, the probability of seeing a kinoson of a certain magnitude, and add them all up to get the true diffusivity. On top of that you can tell how different elements are diffusing in a solid."

From Science Daily

More damage tends to increase diffusivity, because there is less nerve structure penning the water in.

From The Guardian

Instead of rising, diffusivity fell in a region called the vermis, which handles visual and auditory signals.

From The Guardian

Here we show that the collective vertical migration of centimetre-scale swimmers—as represented by the brine shrimp Artemia salina—generates aggregation-scale eddies that mix a stable density stratification, resulting in an effective turbulent diffusivity up to three orders of magnitude larger than the molecular diffusivity of salt.

From Nature