Put the computer CPU, and probably the memory chips too, in a pressure-tight clear glass case.

Flood this case with a clear, nonconducting, refrigerant. The pressure is selected so that the refrigerant will boil just above room temperature.

As the CPU produces heat, it boils the refrigerant, which floats to the top of the case.

Collect the refrigerant, compress it, send it to a condenser, through an expansion valve, and back into the glass case.
-- goldbb, Sep 24 2009

like this then... Bell_20Jar_20Passive_20Cooling
[FlyingToaster, Sep 24 2009]

you could use a Bell jar and evacuate the case enough to be able to use plain old water, and... <link>
-- FlyingToaster, Sep 24 2009


You mean like the Cray 3?
-- coprocephalous, Sep 25 2009


Phase change cooling is baked. It is why the Alaskan pipeline doesn't sink into the permafrost. Liquid cooling for computers is also baked. The interesting part here is the clear glass case mod of boiling computer parts in probably one of the Freons. The downside is you have made the computer a bitch to work on and you can't have any case openings, which is a bitch. No CDs, DVDs or even USB ports. I guess you'd have to do some kind of cable extension thru sealed grommets to hook up video and USB stuff. I guess you could have a separate compartment for the CD and USB hookups, but it seems like a lot of work for an art piece.

I personally would think this too hard for not enough payout, but case mod people are crazy, so one of them will probably do it (+).
-- MisterQED, Sep 25 2009


Wait, [FT]s idea does take the originality out of this, so I'm switching to (-).
-- MisterQED, Sep 25 2009


//The downside is you have made the computer a bitch to work on and you can't have any case openings, which is a bitch. No CDs, DVDs or even USB ports//
[golddb] only suggested putting the processor and memory (though the graphics chip is probably pretty toasty these days) into the clear case.
Besides, I don't suppose Seymour Cray designed his machines so they wouldn't be able to talk to the outside world.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Sep 25 2009


Cray designed his systems to talk with lesser-being systems (typically VAXen) which talked to the outside world.
-- FlyingToaster, Sep 25 2009



random, halfbakery