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A comment on The fanless spinning heatsink: more efficient, and immune to dust and detritus. Parent comment

Re:The fanless spinning heatsink: more efficient, and immune... by samstokes on Tuesday July 12, 2011 @11:30AM (#2755071)
To the first, from the article:

As the metal blades spin, centrifugal force kicks up the air and throws it up and outwards, much like an impeller, creating a cooling effect.

I had to read that part twice too, but it sounds like the air cushion is only there initially, but gets sucked out when the fan spins. (That said, if it leaves a vacuum, that doesn't sound great for conductivity either...)

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Re:The fanless spinning heatsink: more efficient, and immune... by mpyne on Tuesday July 12, 2011 @05:42PM (#2756732)
It wouldn't leave a vacuum, as the air on the outside of the fan would rush in to replace it. I think the point is that (if this works), the boundary layer itself will also be moving instead of sitting there stagnant.
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