Hi,

Im not a college student. I have not sat through one lecture. Im a high school drop out. I have no clue. So please, no newbie jokes please.

Question, Im designing my own radiator for my water-cooled CPU. Fans are just to noisy. Anyway, what would be the best metal to use? Is it true that glass actually retains heat instead of dispursing it? Im was actually thinking about having my friend make me a glass radiator.

Thanks! Shey B.

Hi Shey B.,

Yes, glass retains infra-red radiation. Light can pass through glass but heat (in the form of infrared) cannot. This is exactly how the green house effect works: you have a house made of glass. The sun light pours in and warms up the inside. As the inside gets warm it emits infrared radiation, however since the radiation cannot escape the glass, the inside cannot cool down and gets warmer and warmer. Concerning cooling a CPU with water and make a glass radiator I am not sure how bad it could be, but I would suggest to use any metal that conducts heat (most metals do conduct pretty well). Long ago radiators for cars were made out of heavy metal, and you would never have too many problems with your radiator. Today's cars have radiators made out of aluminium, because it is lighter, cheaper and easier to manufacture (even the engines are made out of aluminium today! a shame! I you drive too often up a slope, your engine will eventually melt!). However, aluminium is not as strong as other metals and you can easilty get a leak in you radiator (especially that many components in the radiator are even made out of plastic!). Since your computer will not reach temperatures similar to a car (hopefully!) you can probably use aluminium, that's my best guess.

Patrick

Thank you. That was very informative.

-Shey