Thermal conductivity In physics, thermal conductivity (often denoted k, ?, or ?) is the property of a material to conduct heat. Thermal conductivity of materials is temperature dependent. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is called thermal resistivity. Thermodynamics QUDT http://qudt.org/vocab/quantity#Thermalconductivity ODM2 Units Type Controlled Vocabulary ODM2 Working Group A vocabulary for describing the type of the Unit or the more general quantity that the Unit represents.