A thermal probe tests heat conductance in a sample of silicon dioxide nanoparticles. The material could potentially conduct heat at an efficiency higher than that of conventional materials. Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech
Not beach sand, but silicon dioxide nanoparticles coated with a high dielectric constant polymer can inexpensively provide improved cooling for increasingly power-hungry electronic devices. The silicon dioxide doesn’t do the cooling itself. Instead, the unique surface properties of the coated nanoscale material conduct the heat at potentially higher efficiency than existing heat sink materials. The theoretical physics is complicated, involving nanoscale electromagnetic effects created on the surface of the tiny silicon dioxide particles acting together.
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