MSI announced that the company has recently invented the world’s first powerless air cooler for computer motherboards. For those new to computer hardware, as we ignore Moore’s Law and advance computer technologies by making them faster and store more data, cramming more and more transistors into a piece of silicon, the heat generated by all these components start becoming a non-negligible problem–as anyone managing a data center with hundreds of computers will identify with.
There are many ways to cool the insides of a computer, but the most common is through the use of heatsinks and fan’s. Computer hardware junkies prefer a more advanced hack: liquid cooling, a more quiet and efficient (and l33t) way of dissipating heat from their overclocked CPU’s. This invention by MSI makes the fan inside your computer power-free, thus less power drawn from the computer power supply.
The basic idea employed here is one derived from the Stirling Engine. MSI’s invention captures the heat from the component, whose energy is then converted to push the fan blades around, which in turn cools the heatsink.
From their press release:
The “Air Power Cooler” transfers the chipset heat into air momentum, when the air becomes hot, the air will expand then push the fan to rotate and In doing so cooling the heatsink immediately. After the air moves from the bottom to top of the piston, the air will become heavy to push the up piston down. The better air piston design can transfer over 70% heat power and transfer to air power, that’s great efficiency transfer from Stirling engine theory. In a comparison with solar power the transfer rate is only around 20~30% requiring more surface and as a result cost.
I think the claim of besting solar power is interesting, but would like to see some independent tester verify that statement (just for my assurance that this isn’t the typical corporate PR mudslinging nonsense).
This actually reminds me of Tesla Motors’ regenerative braking system. Energy from deceleration is captured and stored for later use in acceleration. Genius!
In a battery-powered electric vehicle, regenerative braking (also called regen) is the conversion of the vehicle’s kinetic energy into chemical energy stored in the battery, where it can be used later to drive the vehicle. It is braking because it also serves to slow the vehicle. It is regenerative because the energy is recaptured in the battery where it can be used again.
Tesla Motors is an interesting electric car startup in Silicon Valley headed up by Elon Musk (of PayPal fame), who also started SpaceX and SolarCity (I’m an admirer!).
But I digress.
While MSI’s new invention is fun and creative, I am skeptical about the overall impact it would have on the environment. I’m a geek at heart (and I’ve got a B.S. in C.S. to prove it!), but I am way past my days of falling too in love with shiny geek toys that don’t honestly do anyone any real good of any significance. Call it business discipline or focus on the bottom line, but I feel that this invention doesn’t really do much on it’s own. It’s good marketing ammo for MSI at best. A litmus test I use is by asking myself, “What value am I really creating here, and if I am creating something that people want, how much value am I really creating?” (In this case, they did create something of value, it’s just that I feel that the value is almost negligible)
This invention does not make computers completely free from the need of electricity, it merely lessens its consumption by a negligible amount. Surely it’s preferable to have some improvement, however little over none at all, but I suppose they could have spent their talent tackling a bigger problem that would really impact the world. Incremental improvement vs. disruptive innovation? (I’m an all-or-nothing guy, I prefer disruptive inventions!)
An example of such a problem was recently highlighted on CNNMoney. With all the public interest and press on cutting down our dependence on foreign oil, and renewed interest in making everything electric, we have overlooked our water consumption. Yes, the stuff that runs out of the tap in our kitchen in bathrooms that we take for granted. When we turn on the tap in the morning, we expect that stuff to come out. I mean, can you imagine turning the tap and not getting water? Blasphemy! The lack of access to clean water (such a non-issue for us) is a major cause of death for children in poor countries.
Power generation takes water. Pumping water takes power. As the nation struggles to meet electricity demand – expected to surge 50% in the next 30 years – big sections of the country are suffering from drought conditions. “We’re going to have both water and power shortages, maybe in areas where we aren’t used to them,” said Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute, an environmental research organization. Most people don’t realize how closely power and water are linked.
In California, the water pumps that keep the Los Angeles area hydrated are the single largest users of power in the state, according to Gleick. Running a hot water faucet there for five minutes uses as much energy as keeping a 60-watt light bulb on for 14 hours, he said. Gleick said that California could achieve 95% of its energy conservation goals 58% more cheaply by targeting water consumption rather than power consumption. “Water and energy are tightly linked, but these links are poorly understood and rarely used in policy,” he said.
The emphasis above is mine. Along that line of reasoning, could MSI actually impact the environment (if that was indeed their true intention) by trying to lessen power consumption on something other than a processor fan? I think yes. Not that there’s anything wrong with drumming up some good press to make your company look good when your R&D arm accidentally churns out something cool while doodling around. In fact, I think this concept of applying Stirling Engine’s method could serve as an inspiration for more cleantech innovations to come.
Imagine where else we could apply this!