this is all myth, aluminium does dissapate heat better than copper but its not as efficient at absorbing that heat and getting it to the interface with the air, design is the crutial factor, its not the heatsink material thats the limiting factor at all, thats why theres very often such little difference between Cu heatsink compaired to Al heatsink, its the medium it dissapates its infra-red energy to thats the limiting factor. conductivity is all about electrons and electron energy levels, heat is infra-red photons. when these photons collide with an atom there energy is released into the energy 'shell' surrounding the atom, this causes the affected electrons to be knocked into higher energy level, thus the photon has been absorbed by the atom. some time after the atom then releases an infra-red photon of its own as the electrons shift back into there normal energy level and the excess energy is released, copper is better conductor because it has higher energy levels than aluminium, meaning its electrons are easier to force into higher levels than alumimiums (the further from the atoms nucleus the electron the smaller the attraction to it, thus making it easier to influence) aluminium dissapates heat better because the energy levels are closer to the nucleus meaning the electrons quickly get forced back into there normal energy level and releasing an infra-red photon.
conductivity through a heatsink is basically just the 'piggyback' reaction of the infra-red photons passing from atom to atom in the structure until it reaches the outside of the sink where the photons are transfered into the air and carried away, so you see its utter rubbish when people say aluminium is better thermal material than copper, because copper transfers heat faster, the real limiting factor to efficiency is as i said the interface material and the heatsinks design, maximum surface area is essencial to effcient heat dissapation regardless of what material its made of. thats why CPU temperatures regardless of the heatsink are never cooler than ambient.
the only reason, and i mean the only reason aluminium is every chose over copper is because its lighter, cheaper, easier to machine than copper and dissapates heat slightly quicker, so stop talking rubbish about heatsink physics if you don't understand why materials are chosen over another
conductivity through a heatsink is basically just the 'piggyback' reaction of the infra-red photons passing from atom to atom in the structure until it reaches the outside of the sink where the photons are transfered into the air and carried away, so you see its utter rubbish when people say aluminium is better thermal material than copper, because copper transfers heat faster, the real limiting factor to efficiency is as i said the interface material and the heatsinks design, maximum surface area is essencial to effcient heat dissapation regardless of what material its made of. thats why CPU temperatures regardless of the heatsink are never cooler than ambient.
the only reason, and i mean the only reason aluminium is every chose over copper is because its lighter, cheaper, easier to machine than copper and dissapates heat slightly quicker, so stop talking rubbish about heatsink physics if you don't understand why materials are chosen over another
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