Abstract
The speed of a second-sound wave in liquid helium II is known to depend on amplitude, and thermal shocks may form. Prediction of the shock velocity depends on which conservation laws hold across the discontinuity. When dissipation is taken into account a smooth but rapidly varying wave profile is predicted in place of a discontinuity. It is shown how waves of this kind may be used to resolve an uncertainty surrounding one of the conserved quantities across a shock. A number of wave profiles are also exhibited in the vicinity of a critical equilibrium temperature.

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