Ion Cooled PC

[Redundant]

I just found this worklog on Invent Geek. here's the link:

http://inventgeek.com/Projects/IonCooler/Overview.aspx

Apparently, it uses the same properties as the Ionic Breeze at the Sharper Image to cool a computer.

[Indybird]

Very cool! I wish I had the skillz to make a 0Db computer...:)

[Slug Toy]

hey, they stole my idea!!! well maybe not, but i like to think so.

i had that idea a month or two ago. im absolutely sure you can do quite a few interesting things with charged grids and magnets. you can even turn the flow of electrons, and turn the air without using ducting or fans.

very cool.

<EDIT> although now that ive actually had a chance to read through and not act on first thought... its not quite what i was hoping to see. it probably would have been more effective if metal mesh had been used for electrodes to move the air, instead of the metal plates... they use mesh on the ion propulsion drives in satellites for a reason.

[chedabob]

heres my plan for a 0db pc:

get really long water cooling pipes, and run them to a radiator mounted outside your room. and put oil in the psu so you dont need a fan.

[progbuddy]

I have an idea. Make a HUGE waterblock to cover the side of the case of the PC. This would keep temps way down w/o noise, because a stronger version of RV coolant would be used.

[Silenced_Coyote]

That would only work if you are using the whole side of your case as a heatspreader so the HUGE waterblock can sit on......

I got two of these sitting at home and when I put my hand up to it, I barely feel any airflow (I know this is the most unscientific way to measure :) ). So can anyone explain how this thing puts out so much CFM? Is one factor because of its dimesions? So would a better comparison be with 3 120mm fans instead of 1 in thier chart?

Even with that included, there is no comparison in noise level.

So are you going to do this but with mesh instead Slug Toy?

[Slug Toy]

the actual mechanisms involved in moving air this way are very hard to describe... for me anyways. this is the sort of thing you want to read up on late at night when you're feeling smart. i can tell you one thing for sure though. if you want better airflow, you want to bump up the voltage. that will work. ever seen things called lifters? search american antigravity and/or lifters and you should find them. they run on the same principle, except they use about 150 000 volts. i think the record right now is one lifted 100 grams... but thats old, it may have been updated. i know they were shooting for a kilogram with a lifter that was about 15 feet in diameter.

i think im going to experiment with this idea now. ive always wanted to. i think about 1000 volts should do. my brother can make a circuit to take 12 volts from a computer power supply and step it up, and even put a frequency on it which is probably a good idea. its complicated to explain why, but just trust me.

this also involves isolation. in that worklog they didnt do anything to prevent arching and magnetic interference. a faraday cage would have been a good idea, and it would look just like a mesh filter. id like to know what their system does to the speakers. must be all kinds of feedback.

[fragged]

One should read the Hack-a-day comments on this article before attempting it

http://www.hackaday.com/2006/09/17/ion-system-cooling/#comments

[Slug Toy]

some of those guys have no idea what they're talking about. actually.. most of them dont. pay no attention to the speculation on hack-a-day.

ozone issues? come on, seriously. these things dont create ozone. in fact, the closest thing they come to is a laser because it works off principles of particle excitation.

the whole thing about 325cfm is a little bit odd too. a standard case has a front cross section that is about 18"x8". thats one square foot of surface area. to have a flow rate of 325 cfm, that means multiplying 1 square foot by 325 feet per minute. that means that the air passing through the case has to be going at least 5.5 feet per second, and probably more because you dont get a straight shot through a case which means you limit the flow capability. thats fast, and thats probably beyond the capability of this sort of device. i think you can quarter that value easily, but thats still good for a passive system.

[Silenced_Coyote]

With that much air passing through the case, wouldn't there be a lot of noise/sound of moving air?

[GT40_GearHead]

hhhhmm

slug help my doubts here !

how would you say the high voltage, mesh and ions, would afect the electronics in a PC case, i mean, E.M.P and stuff like that

[Slug Toy]

you know... thats a good question. i honestly cant say anything and be 100% sure. it could cause crackling and buzzing on your speakers, or it could start building charges in different components like capacitors, or it could arc over and fry things if the voltage is too high.

the ions are harmless... nothing to worry about. in fact, the ions only exist between the two charged meshes... atoms get an electron knocked off or added on while going past the first mesh, and then get neutralized again while going past the second mesh. the biggest concern in my mind would be the frequency of the electricity, and the general magnetic field produced. at 1000 volts, i dont know what kind of field this would be. i DO know that at 150 000 volts like in lifters, it starts making all sorts of light and sound and can cause all sorts of nifty electronic havoc.

i say if you put a faraday cage around it (its basically a grounded metal mesh cage) that should do the trick. it gets rid of magnetic interference and frequency interference.

as for sound levels of the airflow... sound is non existent except for the hissing of corona's if you have the voltage up to the point where sparks can jump. think of it like a gentle wind. you dont hear it rushing over flat, solid surfaces.

and thats all im going to say for now. ive got to read up on this stuff a bit. if anyone else wants to, a good place to start is field effect propulsion. that is the operating force for this sort of device, and its a brand new idea too. about a year ago when i first found out about lifters, they still didnt have any idea what was going on.