Sandia's Laptop Heatpipes Closer To Market

mckennabluedot.com writes "Laptops aren't truly portable until you can stand to sit with one on your lap for more than 30 minutes. Sandia National Labs has developed small copper 'wicks' to transport methanol--and waste heat--from one area of a computer to another, where it can be dispersed more efficiently, comfortably and compactly than with heat sinks. The technology is being licensed to an undisclosed startup." So this stuff (mentioned here previously) might soon make it to a lap near you.

Comments

Related Technology: CoolPad

[pheph]

Although I haven't received mine yet, I've read excellent reviews of the incredibly simple (and cheap) Laptop CoolPad. They offer Traveller and Podium (read: big and clunky) versions... Anyone had any experience with these?

Methanol?

[nihilogos]

I'd like to see this option on Dell's site

* Upgrade to Gin or Vodka coolant $49.95

I can see the warnings already...

[dark-br]

If we can't trust society with a cup of hot McDonalds coffee how can we trust people with phase change methanol?

I can see the warnings stickered to future laptops: Do not use this laptop near an open flame. Smoking near this laptop is strictly prohibited!

Re:Flammable liquid in my lap?

[bugnuts]

The amount of "flammable liquid" probably is under a few ml.

Hope you're not driving home in a gasoline-burning vehicle. Reminds me of Archie Bunker, when presented with a meal of tongue exclaims, "I'm not eating anything that came out of a cow's mouth. Gimme some eggs."

but

[xao gypsie]

but that takes away from the good ol' days of snuggling by the laptop on a cold winter's night, surfing the internet wishing the laptop was a woman and the heat source was a real fire......*sigh*......im lonely...

xao

Re:but

[wideBlueSkies]

Yeah, and on those [b]really[/b] lonely nights you'd get a little thrill when the fan kicks in.

I know. I've been there.

Re:Exhaust Pipes?

[ejaw5]

add on a fat coffee-can tip to the pipe and slap on a Type-R sticker and you 486 laptop will be running like a P-4!!

*Glowing* Hot* Cyber* Balls!*

[teamhasnoi]

Here in Minnesota, we like hot laptops. If your G4 Powerbook is bothering you in your not-so-frosty climes, please send it to me.

You will have done a good deed, and have the satifaction that some Minnesota girl is removing some of her clothing while using your old hardware. After me, that is.

Hot and Bothered?

[Myriad]

Laptops aren't truly portable until you can stand to sit with one on your lap for more than 30 minutes.

Wait a sec... isn't getting all hot and bothered down there supposed to be a good thing?

What? It's not? Do what with a girl?.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I get it! So you're saying I've had it all wrong all this time? Damn...

Blockwars: a realtime, head-to-head game similar to Tetris.

Mmmmm

[NiftyNews]

Maybe someone will create a heat-sink mod that transfer the heat to a tiny griddle instead.

Mmmm....laptop steak.

"Glowing Cyber Balls" considered harmful

[K-Man]

I want to make it clear to everyone here that any reference to the "glowing cyber balls" story, however indirect, is strictly forbidden in this forum.

Actually....

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

It appears that we can't trust society with information. I'm tired of everyone citing the infamous hot coffee case as the shining example of a frivolous lawsuit.

In the case that you're "citing" (I use quotes because you obviously don't know any of the facts.) the coffee was served at 180 F. This is quite a bit hotter than one expects to receive coffee at. For a fun experiment, try brewing some coffee and taking the temperature of it. Your experiment won't yield coffee at this temperature. Second of all, the McDonalds outlet had received over 700 complaints about their coffee being too hot. Other McDonalds have not and do not receive this many complaints about their coffee. It was partially because of these complaints that McDonalds was found negligent - they had plenty of information that the coffee was too hot but chose to ignore it because it was considered better for business to keep the coffee hot at all times so fewer fresh pots would have to be made. Furthermore, the woman in question (79 years old when the incident occured - your typical "victim" looking to get rich quick, right? Oh wait, she'd never filed a lawsuit before in her life.) received third degree burns on her groin, thighs, and buttocks. These burns required skin grafts and an extended stay in the hospital. The woman racked up medicals bill as a result of this. The award was also reduced from the original 2.6 million dollar settlement to 480,000 dollars.

Understanding law isn't quite as easy as just reading some headlines Mohammed.