Fire up the ionic wind generators, he’s using Photoshop again
I don’t know if this is a post for here or PimpYourWork, but eh, we’ll do it here (more science than work I guess). We know that electrical resistance makes heat (this how toasters and electric heaters work, btw) and our computers are packing in so many electro-bits (I made that up) that heat generation is a big problem. I have no less than three devices handy to help keep my laptop cool. All involve passive cooling (letting more cool air get to the machine), not what if the processors were made to cool themselves!
US researchers have developed a prototype device that creates a “breeze” made up of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.
The “ionic wind”, the scientists say, will help to manage the heat generated by increasingly powerful, yet ever-shrinking devices.
[snip]
The prototype, which is attached to a mock computer chip, works by shifting charged particles from one end of the device to the other. As a voltage is applied to the ionic engine, positively charged particles (ions) are produced, and are dragged towards a negatively charged wire (a cathode), forcing constant air movement.
The team found the prototype engine boosted cooling
The researchers said that when it was used in conjunction with a conventional fan, air molecules, rather than getting stuck, were dragged across the chip’s surface boosting cooling.
The team said the device increased the cooling rate from a conventional fan by up to 250%.
Source: BBC NEWS | Technology | Tiny wind engines cool computers
Sure, while this is a long way off, if I’m right, the more powerful the processor the stronger the wind so the better the cooling. This could help computers get pretty dern powerful!
August 17th, 2007 at 9:32 am
I saw this announcement the other day. However, I’m a bit skeptical about how practical it’ll be, for a couple of reasons.
One reason is that it’s generally a very bad idea to have high voltages and ions around CMOS circuitry, since it doesn’t take very much charge deposition to blast through a CMOS gate (which ruins the device).
Next, ion currents tend to impart heat to the target, even if it is a very small amount (Voltagexcurrent). In the extreme case, the electrodes can even be sputtered, although one presumes that the current is only in the range of a few microAmps or less for this application.
Third, there’s the issue of Ozone production. Ozone is bad news all around. It’s an extremely reactive form of Oxygen that reacts with lots of things much more readily than atmospheric Oxygen. Plus, it causes headaches for some people, even in tiny amounts. And, in addition to Ozone, I’d be worried about production of various Nitrogen Oxides, some of which are equally nasty biologically.
I really have to wonder if a better approach might not be to study hydrodynamics (or, even to invent a new branch of science called pneumodynamics, dealing with the flow of air,) to find a way of sculpting the thermal surface to cause turbulence that would enhance cooling.
I’m not saying that the research should be stopped, since there’s definitely a potential there to improve chip cooling, but it needs to be approached cautiously.
Dave