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Sandia's Smart Heat Pipe

Posted by Hemos on from the move-that-heat-outta-here dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Science Blog is reporting a story from Sandia National Laboratory, best known for its nuclear weapons research. "Evacuating heat is one of the great problems facing engineers as they design faster laptops by downsizing circuit sizes and stacking chips one above the other. The heat from more circuits and chips increase the likelihood of circuit failures as well as overly heated laps. "Space, military, and consumer applications, are all bumping up against a thermal barrier," says Sandia researcher Mike Rightley, whose newly patented "smart" heat pipe seems to solve the problem. The simple, self-powered mechanism transfers heat to the side edge of the computer, where air fins or a tiny fan can dissipate the unwanted energy into air."

11 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. Too late... by Quaryon · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... for this guy.

    Q.

    1. Re:Too late... by Big+Mark · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wonder what kind of science he was doing...

      Perhaps all the talk about "fluid interchange" was a bit too much for him to handle in a mature manner...

      -Mark

    2. Re:Too late... by badansible · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a 'smart heat pipe'? Now I understand.

    3. Re:Too late... by AGMW · · Score: 2, Funny
      Indeed. I friend managed to give himself a 3rd degree burn on his foot from a Hot Water Bottle that was OK to pick up. He went to sleep with his foot resting on the sucker and woke up with a cooked foot!

      Unfortunately, he's a vegitarian.

      --
      Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
      handmadehands.co.uk
  2. keep my coffee warm by jkcity · · Score: 4, Funny

    When they have found a way to channel the heat into keeping my cup of coffee warm while I'm reading then i'll be intrested.

  3. Re:Wrong chips! by Bluesman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, you can get a Mac...

    And I believe I've heard mention on this site of some alternative Operating Systems to Windows. I'll try to find the link to that article.

    --
    If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
  4. Heat donation by DarkHelmet · · Score: 3, Funny
    Oh cool... Maybe I can now donate the excess heat generated from my Athlon to pour, freezing children in the street.

    Glad it's all done for a good cause. I just hope it's tax deductible

    --
    /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
  5. Re:there's an idea... by jcoy42 · · Score: 5, Funny
    I never understood why computer geeks working in cold labs suck down the caffenine.

    Because when we find ourselves in the data center at the system console, it's usually because something Very Bad has happened. Our brain decides (at a subliminal level) to take drastic measures to avoid having to deal with such tasks in the future.
    --
    Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
  6. fried geek anyone? by elmegil · · Score: 4, Funny
    transfers heat to the side edge of the computer, where air fins or a tiny fan can dissipate the unwanted energy into air.

    Or your skin.

    --
    7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
  7. Possible Problems and uses by oldstrat · · Score: 3, Funny

    /.
    This guy may have had the external vents in the wrong location.

    On the other hand the extra heat vented to the outside edges could be a handy deterent to theft, just change from sleep mode to heat mode.

    And I'm eager to Evaluate the new George Foreman laptop.

  8. Re:there's an idea... by Dynedain · · Score: 3, Funny

    When you drink enough caffiene, you begin to get jittery...the heat your body produces through the muscle spasms is similar to that produced by shivering....hence the caffeine helps keep you warm.

    --
    I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....