WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 24 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found a way to cool microchips that uses miniature lightning bolts to propel air over electronics without moving parts such as fans.
The method could allow the use of higher-performance chips, which otherwise would melt under their own heat, said the researchers, from Purdue University.
Microchips in current computers are cooled with metal fins that radiate heat. The fins are coupled to bulky fan assemblies to carry away heated air. But conventional fans take up too much space and energy for laptop computers, so manufacturers use hollow copper heat pipes to conduct heat.
The new technique uses electrodes made of extremely tiny carbon tubes with tips only billionths of a meter wide. The tubes create tiny lightning bolts that electrify or ionize the air surrounding them.
The resulting free electrons, or ions, form clouds that can be moved via electrical attraction or repulsion. By switching the voltages of electrodes roughly a million times per second, the ions make repeated collisions with neutral molecules and produce a cooling breeze, the researchers said.
