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Material could conduct heat in just one direction


crosis

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Material could conduct heat in just one direction

Physicists believe they have worked out a design for a material which conducts heat travelling in one direction but insulates in another.

In theory, the 'heat valve' could keep one part of an electronic circuit cool and another warm.

It is being developed in Italy from a one-dimensional solid design for chain-linked atoms.

If a chain can be built from atoms which vibrate at different frequencies, the team believe it would conduct and insulate depending on the direction the heat is travelling.

When atoms are joined together in molecules, they vibrate and the larger the vibrations, the hotter the material.

Marcello Terraneo, of Insubria University in Como, says DNA strands might be a suitable material if strung together properly.

The study is published in Physical Review Letters and reported in Nature.

Story filed: 10:21 Tuesday 5th March 2002

:sq

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  • Homer

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  • 3 weeks later...

The possibilities for that sort of thing are endless -  CPUs in computers for a start, fire retardant clothing, fridges etc etc

(quite literally) Cool!

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Yeah I read that about a week ago, it is really cool. Reminds me of a diode in an electronic circuit. Diodes are cool 8)

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While the idea is a great theory, it is only a theory.

If I remember my physics correctly, it is the vibrating of the atoms (or molecules?) that creates the heat i.e. sort of friction.

How can you get an atom (or molecule) to vibrate but not vibrate? What I mean is that, by definition vibration is a,minimum, two way motion. If the movement is only one way it aint vibrating ergo no heat.

Also if the movement is only one way then you got atoms (molecules) falling off the end of your (non)conductor.  ???

BTW Being an ex-electronics technician I can tell you that diodes are not always cool. I was often burned by the heat sinks on some of the higher rated ones.  :sh

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Dammit Sheff_Pud,

Don't go ruining a good piece of theory with logic :)

I was an electronics tech. as well years ago. Heat sinks are cool 8)   no wait, I mean they're hot :sh

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*LOL*

Don't know nuttin' about cryogenics, except I do know they're cool, just like you said 8)

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Does that mean Geology rocks?

;D

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oh yeah and Demonology is wicked?  :s04

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