Discontinuity waves, shock formation and critical temperature in crystals (Q1969991)

This is an interesting physical example of the loss of genuine nonlinearity for a generalized Maxwell-Cattaneo equation of a rigid heat conductor. This loss (corresponding to a change of regime for the propagation of a discontinuity wave) occurs at a critical temperature for which the second sound is clearly observed in dielectric crystals such as NaF, Bi, \(^3\text{He}\), \(^4\text{He}\).