Researchers have been perplexed for the past five years with the unusually high thermal conductivity $(k)$ of nanoparticle-laden colloidal solutions (nanofluids). Although various mechanisms and models have been proposed in the literature to explain the high $k$ of these nanofluids, no concrete conclusions have been reached. Through an order-of-magnitude analysis of various possible mechanisms, we show that convection caused by the Brownian movement of these nanoparticles is primarily responsible for the enhancement in $k$ of these colloidal nanofluids.

• Received 20 September 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.025901