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  3. Why does electrical equipment get hot?

Why does electrical equipment get hot?

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  • M Malcolm Smart

    I might use that line next time I out. Sidle up to a young women at the bar and say "Hey, is that some type of friction down on the atomic layer or what?" Certainly would beat - "Hey - you're hot!"

    "More functions should disregard input values and just return 12. It would make life easier." - comment posted on WTF

    "This time yesterday, I still had 24 hours to meet the deadline I've just missed today."

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    martin_hughes
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    You're a complete Charlie, but you still get a 5 :)

    Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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    • M martin_hughes

      In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

      Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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      peterchen
      wrote on last edited by
      #4

      Imperfection. Electrons interacting with the lattice, making the lattice vibrate, which we see as "heat". Higher clock frequencies mean capacitors (which are fundamental to most integrated circuits you find in a CPU) allow more current to pass, and there is always some resitance in the paths.


      We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
      My first real C# project | Linkify!|FoldWithUs! | sighist

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      • M martin_hughes

        You're a complete Charlie, but you still get a 5 :)

        Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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        peterchen
        wrote on last edited by
        #5

        martin_hughes wrote:

        You're a complete Charlie, but you still get a 5

        Unfortunately, not from the girl. Unless she's geek, which is pretty atomfrictional to begin with. So it's actually a good filter, which might be very fortunate.


        We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
        My first real C# project | Linkify!|FoldWithUs! | sighist

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        • M martin_hughes

          In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

          Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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          Fred_Smith
          wrote on last edited by
          #6

          First Law of Thermodynamics[^] )in layman's terms): Heat is work and work is heat. After that, I get lost... Fred

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          • M martin_hughes

            In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

            Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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            Marc Clifton
            wrote on last edited by
            #7

            In about 100 years, physicists will discover that there's something smaller than quarks even. Hamsters spinning in little cages. So, give those hamsters a rest and turn your computer off. :) Marc

            Thyme In The Country
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            My Blog

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            • M Marc Clifton

              In about 100 years, physicists will discover that there's something smaller than quarks even. Hamsters spinning in little cages. So, give those hamsters a rest and turn your computer off. :) Marc

              Thyme In The Country
              Interacx
              My Blog

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              martin_hughes
              wrote on last edited by
              #8

              That kind of talk might be fine in beard and hat country, but round my way it's considerd witchcraft!

              Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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              • M martin_hughes

                In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                cp9876
                wrote on last edited by
                #9

                If it didn't need power you wouldn't have to plug it in. Most of the power is turned into heat, a bit into other radiation - light, radio, x-rays if a CRT, and some sound. A tiny tiny little bit of energy might be stored in a flash memory device. I'm not sure if anyone knows the limits of how much energy is actually needed to process / store information (interesting philosophical question - it is Sunday), but I suspect that it is many orders of magnitude less than we use.


                Peter "Until the invention of the computer, the machine gun was the device that enabled humans to make the most mistakes in the smallest amount of time."

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                • M martin_hughes

                  In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                  Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                  David Crow
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #10

                  martin_hughes wrote:

                  Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                  Exactly. Electrons moving from point A to point B. This is why incandescent bulbs are often called heaters whose byproduct is light. People often ask why it's not a good idea to check the air pressure in your car tires if they are hot. This is because the air pressure in a tire will increase due to the air atoms inside of it getting hot (from friction) and expanding.


                  "A good athlete is the result of a good and worthy opponent." - David Crow

                  "To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne

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                  • M martin_hughes

                    In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                    Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                    Andy Brummer
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #11

                    In completely technical jargon, there is coupling between the phonon field and the free electron field. Essentially electrons bumping into the atoms causes vibrations in the atomic lattice which is heat. However, when some conductors are cold enough they become superconductors. When that happens pairs of electrons couple through interactions with the phonon field and those pairs are bosons. This allows the pairs to travel without resistance and without generating heat.


                    This blanket smells like ham

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                    • M martin_hughes

                      In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                      Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                      TheGeneral69
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #12

                      the power supply, through the use of a catalyst, turns atmoshperic CO2 and water vapor into methane and ozone (that's what the fan is for). the ozone is passed over an enzyme, which converts it to oxygen, which is released (through the fan). the methane molecules are chained together forming kerosene through non-aqueous osmosis. the kerosene is then burned to power your computer, and that's where the heat comes from.

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                      • M martin_hughes

                        In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                        Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                        wout de zeeuw
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #13

                        martin_hughes wrote:

                        more fans than you can shake a stick at

                        You from texas by any chance?

                        Wout

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                        • W wout de zeeuw

                          martin_hughes wrote:

                          more fans than you can shake a stick at

                          You from texas by any chance?

                          Wout

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                          Rob Graham
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #14

                          All those cute little electrons passing by make the silicon get all hot.

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                          • R Rob Graham

                            All those cute little electrons passing by make the silicon get all hot.

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                            Vaclav_
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #15

                            Let’s get “serious” folks. We are all generally yakking about CPU stuff with fans. How about internal IDE drives – you could fry an egg on them after few hours of banging on the keyboard. I got three of them packed together in an old HP minitower. They have no fans and there is very little room to dissipate all that heat. What is temperature spec for them? Or are they disposable after few years? PS Who said electrons are cute? After how many beers?

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                            • W wout de zeeuw

                              martin_hughes wrote:

                              more fans than you can shake a stick at

                              You from texas by any chance?

                              Wout

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                              martin_hughes
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #16

                              Nope - if I were from Texas, my PC would have its own Air Conditioning unit :)

                              Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                              • M martin_hughes

                                In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                                Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                                todd 01011101
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #17

                                It's because of all the smoke moving around inside the cpu getting the work done. It's a little-known fact that all electronic equipment works using smoke. It is for this reason that when you let the smoke out, it stops working. ;)

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                                • A Andy Brummer

                                  In completely technical jargon, there is coupling between the phonon field and the free electron field. Essentially electrons bumping into the atoms causes vibrations in the atomic lattice which is heat. However, when some conductors are cold enough they become superconductors. When that happens pairs of electrons couple through interactions with the phonon field and those pairs are bosons. This allows the pairs to travel without resistance and without generating heat.


                                  This blanket smells like ham

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                                  deltalmg
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #18

                                  I would assume most of this coupling is due to electrons bumping into the "lattice", presumably Compton scattering in reverse :) Any idea how much is caused by the accelerating electrons emitting photons either in the IR band, or which are captured afterwards enciting higher phonon modes?

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                                  • M martin_hughes

                                    In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                                    Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                                    MSBassSinger
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #19

                                    It gets hot for the same reason an electric space heater gets hot. Electrical voltage applied across a resistance creates heat energy. Conservation of energy and matter stuff. A processor is a huge collection of very tiny resistors. If you have a 1000 ohm heating element (aka resistor), and you apply 110 VDC (keeping it simple with DC instead of AC, leaving power factors and inductive resistance for another day), you can figure out how much power is used. Voltage = E Current = I Resistance = R Power = P P = I*E E = I*R thus I = E/R (see [^]) so, P = E*E/R = 110*110/1000 = 12.1 Volt-amps or in common terms, 12.1 watts Now, lets assume there are 800 million transistors (which are also considered resistors) in a given processor. From what I've read, typical desktop processors generate 80-100 watts, and laptop processors typically 30-40 watts. It's just simple laws of electricity, nothing magical.

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                                    • M martin_hughes

                                      In my PC I have one whopper of a CPU heat sink and more fans than you can shake a stick at, this is because I know these components get hot. But what causes this heat? Is it some type of friction down on the atomic layer, or what?

                                      Me: Can you see the "up" arrow? User:Errr...ummm....no. Me: Can you see an arrow that points upwards? User: Oh yes, I see it now! -Excerpt from a support call taken by me, 08/31/2007

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                                      LuckyJaker
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #20

                                      Desn't it relate to the fact that transistors MOS in circuits clash for a small amount of time causing heat ? (I may be wrong on that one my electronics courses are a long way back)

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                                      • M MSBassSinger

                                        It gets hot for the same reason an electric space heater gets hot. Electrical voltage applied across a resistance creates heat energy. Conservation of energy and matter stuff. A processor is a huge collection of very tiny resistors. If you have a 1000 ohm heating element (aka resistor), and you apply 110 VDC (keeping it simple with DC instead of AC, leaving power factors and inductive resistance for another day), you can figure out how much power is used. Voltage = E Current = I Resistance = R Power = P P = I*E E = I*R thus I = E/R (see [^]) so, P = E*E/R = 110*110/1000 = 12.1 Volt-amps or in common terms, 12.1 watts Now, lets assume there are 800 million transistors (which are also considered resistors) in a given processor. From what I've read, typical desktop processors generate 80-100 watts, and laptop processors typically 30-40 watts. It's just simple laws of electricity, nothing magical.

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                                        Dan Neely
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #21

                                        MSBassSinger wrote:

                                        From what I've read, typical desktop processors generate 80-100 watts, and laptop processors typically 30-40 watts.

                                        At least for desktops your numbers are a bit high. Except on the very high end the norm now is ~60W. Very high end chips are different since the OEM itself does the same bigger heatsink and higher voltage stuff that is done by overclockers in the factory. Also those numbers are at max load, in normal circumstances they draw less, especially in the laptop end.

                                        -- If you view money as inherently evil, I view it as my duty to assist in making you more virtuous.

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                                        • T TheGeneral69

                                          the power supply, through the use of a catalyst, turns atmoshperic CO2 and water vapor into methane and ozone (that's what the fan is for). the ozone is passed over an enzyme, which converts it to oxygen, which is released (through the fan). the methane molecules are chained together forming kerosene through non-aqueous osmosis. the kerosene is then burned to power your computer, and that's where the heat comes from.

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                                          Ape Gary
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #22

                                          Awesome!

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