Theoretical considerations on the hot-wire method applied to solids under pressure

We have examined the theory behind the hot-wire method for determining the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of solids under pressure. Temperature corrections due to finite thermal conductivity of the wire are large but do not influence the determination of the thermal properties of the surrounding solid. The three coupled heat equations for the wire, medium, and the cell wall have been solved and we find that the wall effects are small. The most important correction comes from the temperature dependence of the thermal properties of the solids and it can explain part of the errors observed in experiments.