Cooling Using Thin Film Polymers
Category: CoolingPosted: August 11, 2008 09:58AM
Author: Nemo
Computer enthusiasts are familiar with devices that change temperatures in response to an electrical field. Peltier devices are one form thermal electric cooling used by some enthusiasts looking for that extra edge, albeit at a hefty power cost. These types of devices are not practical for the average computer and their power budget makes them completely unusable in notebooks. Another approach is to use an electrocaloric material such as that developed by Penn State researchers that consists of a thin polymer film. Applying an electrical field across the film rearranges the atoms in the polymer and thus its temperature. The researchers have managed to obtain about a 12 degree Centigrade temperature swing with the new material which can operate at temperatures as low as 55 degrees Centigrade. While this is certainly not extreme cooling by overclocking standards, it could lead to less bulky and more efficient cooling for notebooks. Any practical applications are a ways off though as it currently takes a 120 volt potential to get the polymer's atomic arrangement to move. That would have to be brought down by at least a factor of 10 to make it practical to use in cooling laptops and other portable devices.
