Message:
Subject: fusible metal thermal compund
By: barnonline (IP: 194.177.224.*)
Written on: 27-12-2006 20:11

I was wondering why I haven't heard anyone using a fusible alloy as a thermal compund?
(A fusible alloy is an alloy with very low melting point, i.e Fields metal 62 °C (144 °F))

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusible_alloy

As a liquid I can only imagine it has it has superior "filling capability" due to the capilary action

As a metal i can only imagine it has a better thermal conductivity than allmost any other compound.

If you placed a thin foil as a thermal pad it would melt and ensure optimum conductance.

Erik Fleischer


Replies:
By: Goodsword (IP: 209.43.8.*)
Written on: 04-01-2007 07:21

Galinstan is a lot less viscous than water (meaning it flows more easily). You would have to apply it as a liquid (melting moint is -19 C) and it would go everywhere. The thermal conductivity is also 16.5 in W/mK, whereas pure copper rates at 401 W/mK. So that one doesnt have any properties that would be acceptable.

One of the others Na-K, is made up of two substances which are extremely volatile by themselves and because it is an alloy, retain their prior properties. Apparently, masses of up to 1 grams is a serious risk. Wikipedia does list some examples of times when it is used to cool things, namely nuclear reactors. The substances are reactive with oxygen, so... I didn't look for viscosity on them, because of the other properties.

Some compounds of indium are poisonous, but the pure forms of both bismuth and indium are probably safe, so it might be a viable fusible alloy to use.

Wood's metal might work, but it is toxic, so you might want to avoid it.

Field's metal is non-toxic, but other than that I didn't find any info on it.

That covers all of the the fusible alloys on wikipedia. Sorry if I wasn't very detailed, but it's kind of late. My synopsis is that if you are able to use a good fusible alloy to cool your computer, you can probably afford a coolant system or vapor cooling system for less. The components making up the fusible metals that I saw were not cheap.
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