Mar

7

Towards a greener computer–but what does that really do?

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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.
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Mar

3

$3Bil USD poured into cleantech in 2007, 10Bil projected by 2009

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Can the solar system drop it like it’s hot?

Venture capitalists keep putting more green into green technology.

In 2007, venture investors globally backed 221 companies developing so-called clean technologies with $3 billion, according to data released from Dow Jones VentureSource, up from $2.1 billion invested in 173 deals in 2006. VentureSource is owned by Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of this newsletter.

The U.S. led all geographic regions in venture investing in the category, according to the data, accounting for 83% of global investment in 2007.

Venture investors remain bullish on the sector, despite some rumblings in the industry that there may be a cleantech bubble that formed in the last year.

“[Cleantech] is going into very diverse markets that are enormous and can sustain a tremendous amount of capital and new technology,” said Michael Bevan, managing director of Radnor, Pa.-based cleantech venture firm Element Partners.
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