Book edition 7th

Author(s) Douglas C. Giancoli

Pages 978 pages

ISBN 978-0321625922

Answers without the blur.

Just sign up for free and you're in.

Short Answer

Microprocessor chips have a “heat sink” glued on top that looks like a series of fins. Why are they shaped like that?

When the shape of the heat sink is in the form of a series of fins, there is more surface area than when the heat sink is a solid plane surface. This heat sink removes the heat generated in the chip through conduction, and more air can come in contact with the heat sink and increase the rate of heat transfer through convection.

See the step by step solution

Step by Step Solution

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Step 1: Concepts

Conduction is a process of heat transfer through the direct contact between two surfaces, and convection is the process of heat transfer through the movement of air, where hotter air rises and the cooler one sinks.

The rate of heat transfer is directly proportional to the surface area.

Step 2: Explanation

When the shape of the heat sink is in the form of a series of fins, there is more surface area than when the heat sink is a solid plane surface. Here, the heat is transferred by the convection process through the series of fins. As the surface area is greater due to the series of fins, more air can come into contact with the heat sink, and the rate of heat transfer increases. The heat generated within the chip is also removed by the heat sink through the process of conduction.

Find Study Materials for

Create Study Materials

Select your language

Physics Principles with Applications

Answers without the blur.

Short Answer

Microprocessor chips have a “heat sink” glued on top that looks like a series of fins. Why are they shaped like that?

Step by Step Solution

Step 1: Concepts

Step 2: Explanation

Most popular questions for Physics Textbooks

Want to see more solutions like these?

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

Select your language

Physics Principles with Applications

Answers without the blur.

Short Answer

Microprocessor chips have a “heat sink” glued on top that looks like a series of fins. Why are they shaped like that?

Step by Step Solution

Step 1: Concepts

Step 2: Explanation

Most popular questions for Physics Textbooks

Want to see more solutions like these?

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

Work Energy and Power

Radiation

Astrophysics

Physics of Motion

Scientific Method Physics

Famous Physicists

Fluids

Torque and Rotational Motion

Nuclear Physics

Fields in Physics

Measurements

Space Physics

Electricity

Physical Quantities and Units

Medical Physics

Electrostatics

Further Mechanics and Thermal Physics

Mechanics and Materials

Engineering Physics

Energy Physics

Force

Particle Model of Matter

Waves Physics

Magnetism

Modern Physics

Atoms and Radioactivity

Dynamics

Electricity and Magnetism

Conservation of Energy and Momentum

Fundamentals of Physics

Kinematics Physics

Circular Motion and Gravitation

Linear Momentum

Rotational Dynamics

Oscillations

Translational Dynamics

Geometrical and Physical Optics

Thermodynamics

Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction

Electromagnetism

Electric Charge Field and Potential

Turning Points in Physics