Heat Pipe Cooling.

[turkster]

Anyone able to explain the thermodynamics behind heat pipes which are becoming so common now for cooling laptops etc.

Why pipes rather than solid copper?
I just dont get it .

[Kezzer]

There's a liquid in the pipe. The heat goes into the liquid, he rises up the pipe and into the big fat bit which then cools the liquid down and it goes back to the bottom.

So what it's actually doing is transporting the heat. Kind of like bus going around the same route picking up passengers and dropping them off.

[turkster]

Ok but how does that work in laptops where the pipe isnt going 'up' anywhere just horizontal away from the processor?

[Big RICHARD]

Must be a volume thing. Can't remember any of my thermodynamics training!