Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Heatsink Revolutionized

Michael Clayton sent me a link to an absolutely stunning piece of technology last week. Here's the article:
The fanless spinning heatsink: more efficient and immune to dust

That's right--a spinning heatsink. Here's a description:
There’s a fundamental flaw with fan-and-heatsink cooling systems: no matter how hard the fan blows, a boundary layer of motionless, highly-insulating air remains on the heatsink.

...But what if you did away with the fan? What if the heatsink itself rotated? Well, believe it or not, rotating the heat exchanger obliterates the boundary layer, removes the need for a fan, and it’s so efficient that it can operate at low and very quiet speeds.

This is potentially a disruptive technology, and there's a follow-up interview where inventor Jeff Koplow answers reader's questions. I think I was even more impressed after reading his answers--clearly, this doesn't sound like a hoax.

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