Lord_of_the_Dense
April 9th, 2004, 09:10 AM
Tiny bolts of lightning may create wind currents small enough to cool computers of the future, say researchers at Purdue University who have filed for a patent on the ingenious system.
"This is a groundbreaking idea," said Purdue mechanical engineering professor Suresh Garimella.
When Lightning Strikes Gold
With more circuitry and components, future computer chips will generate more heat. Researchers have suggested using liquid coolants, but they pose challenges the nano-lightning method may avoid.
"The key attribute of this work is that it sticks with air cooling while possibly providing the same rate of cooling as a liquid," Garimella said.
Heat sinks that contain fins to dissipate heat currently cool most desktop computer chips. Bulky fans create air that carries away the heat.
Read entire story here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=75&ncid=75&e=3&u=/nf/20040408/tc_nf/23637).
"This is a groundbreaking idea," said Purdue mechanical engineering professor Suresh Garimella.
When Lightning Strikes Gold
With more circuitry and components, future computer chips will generate more heat. Researchers have suggested using liquid coolants, but they pose challenges the nano-lightning method may avoid.
"The key attribute of this work is that it sticks with air cooling while possibly providing the same rate of cooling as a liquid," Garimella said.
Heat sinks that contain fins to dissipate heat currently cool most desktop computer chips. Bulky fans create air that carries away the heat.
Read entire story here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=75&ncid=75&e=3&u=/nf/20040408/tc_nf/23637).