mleku on Nostr: my hypothesis is that as it isn't liable to burn until about 4000 degrees, in a metal ...

my hypothesis is that as it isn't liable to burn until about 4000 degrees, in a metal case it is a massive thermal sink

what makes a "thermal store" is about its latency between absorbing and re-emitting the heat it absorbs... the problem with metals is they are conductive, and thus they re-emit fast as the heat goes in, and then goes out

a decently packed mass of charcoal powder has a lot of air spaces between the dust and the carbon itself is a poor conductor, but it is not a bad conductor, and it can hold a very high temperature, and thus it acts as a store

put it this way, the same thing applies to electricity, i think... a super capacitor is the highest capacity electrostatic store currently known, and is literally two chunks of powdered charcoal interfaced by a thin layer of insulating glass, which can withstand the thermal effect of the electrostatic discharge

i think if it holds and leaks electricity efficiently it probably also holds and leaks heat the same way