IF YOUR next computer hums quietly to itself, don’t panic. It could just be trying to stay cool.
With more transistors squeezed into a smaller space, the next generation of computer chips will require new cooling methods. One suggestion is to place a layer of liquid next to the chip. As the chip heats up, the liquid boils, producing vapour that whisks away the heat. The problem is that gas bubbles produced at the hot surface can form an insulating film.
Ari Glezer and colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta found that exposing the fluid to sound…
