Styrofoam in the context of Foam food container

⭐ Core Definition: Styrofoam

Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in color and is owned and manufactured by DuPont. DuPont also has produced a line of green and white foam shapes for use in crafts and floral arrangements.

The term styrofoam is argued to have become a genericized trademark; as it is often used in the United States as a colloquial term to refer to expanded (not extruded) polystyrene foam (EPS). Outside the United States, EPS is most commonly referred to as simply "polystyrene" with the term "styrofoam" being used in its capacity to describe all forms of extruded polystyrene, not just the Dupont brand itself. Polystyrene (EPS) is often used in food containers, coffee cups, and as cushioning material in packaging. Styrofoam is, however, a denser material than EPS and is more commonly suited to tasks such as thermal insulation.

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Styrofoam in the context of Thermal conductivity

The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by $k$ , $\lambda$ , or $\kappa$ and in SI units is measured in W·m·K. In such units, it is the amount of thermal energy in watts (joules per second) that flows from a hotter region to a colder region per Kelvin (or degree Celsius) difference in temperature per meter of separation.

Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal conductivity. For instance, metals typically have high thermal conductivity and are very efficient at conducting heat, while the opposite is true for insulating materials such as mineral wool or Styrofoam. Metals have this high thermal conductivity due to free electrons facilitating heat transfer. Correspondingly, materials of high thermal conductivity are widely used in heat sink applications, and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is called thermal resistivity.

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Styrofoam in the context of Thermal conductivity and resistivity

The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by $k$ , $\lambda$ , or $\kappa$ and in SI units is measured in W·m·K. In such units, it is the amount of thermal power in watts (joules per second) that flows from a hotter region to a colder region per Kelvin (or degree Celsius) difference in temperature per meter of separation.

Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal conductivity. For instance, metals typically have high thermal conductivity and are very efficient at conducting heat, while the opposite is true for insulating materials such as mineral wool or Styrofoam. Metals have this high thermal conductivity due to free electrons facilitating heat transfer. Correspondingly, materials of high thermal conductivity are widely used in heat sink applications, and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is called thermal resistivity.

View the full Wikipedia page for Thermal conductivity and resistivity

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Styrofoam in the context of Foam food container

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⭐ Core Definition: Styrofoam

Styrofoam in the context of Thermal conductivity

Styrofoam in the context of Thermal conductivity and resistivity