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Liquid Nitrogen Computer Cooling

 Or: How to waste huge amounts of energy keeping your supercomputer cool.
  (+2, -13)(+2, -13)(+2, -13)
(+2, -13) 		  [vote for,
against]

I just think if would look very cool if you had a massive supercomputer (e.g. One that takes up at least seven rooms, along a dull and boring gray lifeless corridor) completely submerged in liquid nitrogen.

This could definitely stop it from overheating, and it might look quite nice. It would stop any animal damage, as any animals would freeze solid before getting to it, and would-be-theives would too.

Of course, you'd wouldn't be able to run Windows, because it would not be worth having to defrost every time the computer crashes.

The screen would be outside, as would the keyboard, speakers, and any other peripherals.

Or I could just use it for keeping the fishbones fresh.

—dbmag9, Aug 01 2005

http://en.wikipedia...id_nitrogen_cooling [Worldgineer, Aug 01 2005]

In Seymour's own words. http://www.cray.com...t_cray/history.html
[coprocephalous, Aug 02 2005]

Even as an extra-ordinary CPU cooler http://www.tomshard...20031230/index.html
It's been done. This is not an original idea by the author, so perhaps deserves the MFD. [Vernon, Aug 02 2005]

[link]






       The only problem you'd have* would be cracking of things due to differential shrinkage when cooled so violently, I think. Not sure if liquid nitrogen has significant conductivity (if it does, use some other liquified gas). However, no croissant from me, because it was suggested purely for reasons of coolth. But no fish-finger either.
*apart from anything I haven't though of.
—Basepair, Aug 01 2005
   

       Baked. Many people do this to boost their computer's power. They submerse their CPU and stuff into a vat of liquid Nitrogen.
—DesertFox, Aug 01 2005
   

       And things don't crack? (Presumably not)
—Basepair, Aug 01 2005
   

       So obvious, so written about, so done.   

       Not a bad idea, but a fishbone for not googling.
—baconbrain, Aug 02 2005
   

       "Very cool", indeed. Liquid Nitrogen (~77degK) is fairly warm compared to liquid Helium (can be cooled to 0.004degK.)   

       A computer that took up 7 rooms "along a ...corridor" wouldn't be a supercomputer, it could only be a cluster of computers.   

       Supercomputers are usually geometrically shaped as cylinders, to keep the propagation times of the signals as short as possible.   

       Recall that signals in wire move at about 0.7c, or [does quick calc] 130,000 miles per second. Or a bit less than a foot per nanosecond. Computers with clock speeds of 10s of GHz need dimensions on the order of inches at most to retain their high speed. Cooling (even to superconductor temperatures) doesn't speed up the signal!   

       Sorry, enough quibbling. Go enjoy your LN2.
—csea, Aug 02 2005
   

       [Basepair] Yes, they do... What is done, instead, is to build an LN2 container onto the processor; less exotic cooling is used for the motherboard. Attempts have been made to immerse the whole system in LN2, but the motherboard tends to die, either from thermal shock or extreme low temperature.
—david_scothern, Aug 02 2005
   

       //and it used liquid nitrogen to cool the processors// sp. "freon"
—coprocephalous, Aug 02 2005
   

       Heh, you mean "Fluorinert"?
—bristolz, Aug 02 2005
   

       Dunno, [bris], Cray's own website says freon [linky] - I guess they weren't modelling ozone layer depletion dynamics back then!
—coprocephalous, Aug 02 2005
   

       Sorry all for wasting your time.   

       In the future, I shall not post ideas in the middle of the night.   

       Does anyone mind if I delete this?
—dbmag9, Aug 02 2005
   

       [David Scothern] Ah - many thanks. I'm surprised even that the processor doesn't have problems (metal legs, silicon body, ceramic/plastic shell), but evidently it doesn't.

[dbmag9] I'd leave it. I think most ideas generate some interesting annotations and should be left unless they are really dire.
—Basepair, Aug 02 2005
   

       Ah, but the specific Freon type was FC-74 or FC-77 convective mode Fluorinert or, in some cases, Ausimont Galden. I mean, if you're going to be picky, you might as well go all the way (however, you'd have to say "perfluoroctane sulfonamide" if you really want to go all, all the way).   

       The key thing that distinguishes this class of perfluorinated alkane from the catch-all "freon' is that it is highly purified for use specifically as an electronic cooling fluid for immersive applications. The purity assures the lack of conductivity.
—bristolz, Aug 02 2005
   

       // Does anyone mind if I delete this?   

       dbmag9, Aug 02 2005 //
Respect for asking the question!
—gnomethang, Aug 02 2005
   

       //(however, you'd have to say "perfluoroctane sulfonamide" if you really want to go all, all the way). //   

       [bristolz] I love it when you talk cleaning chemicals ;)   

       sp. Perfluorooctanesulfonamide [ C8-H2-F17-N-O2-S ]   

       (note the 2 adjacent "o"s in ...fluorooctane...)
—csea, Aug 02 2005
   

       Well, I wrote that you'd have to SAY it and, so, you wouldn't pronounce the "oo". ;-)   

       [Pa`ve], is the ammonia non-conductive?
—bristolz, Aug 03 2005
   

       //(e.g. One that takes up at least seven rooms...It would stop any animal damage, as any animals would freeze solid before getting to it, and would-be-theives would too.// These are pretty big thieves then?
—fridge duck, Aug 04 2005
   
      
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