heat sink

noun

1. Thermodynamics. any environment or medium that absorbs heat.
2. Also heatsink. Electronics. a metallic heat exchanger designed to absorb and dissipate excess heat from one of the devices, as a transistor or resistor, in a circuit.

heat sink

noun

1. a metal plate specially designed to conduct and radiate heat from an electrical component
2. a layer of material placed within the outer skin of high-speed aircraft to absorb heat

heat sink

1. A protective device that absorbs and dissipates the excess heat generated by a system.
2. An environment capable of absorbing heat from substances within it (and with which it is in thermal contact) without an appreciable change in its own temperature and without a change in its own phase.

heat sink

1. A reservoir for excess heat, especially in a mechanical or electrical device.

Notes

One obstacle to the loading of circuits onto microprocessors is the heat generated by electrical circuits . Effective heat sinks, such as metal fins on top of a microprocessor, can provide part of the solution to this problem.

Word History and Origins

Origin of heat sink¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

One is by “optimizing” its passive heat sinks—the diecast aluminum with the ridges on the sides of the battery pack.

From Popular-Science

During those late hours, I read books online about theories in Web designing, the material properties of heat sinks, on static pressure fans and how they compared to air flow fans in mechanical part cooling.

From Washington Post

I knew it was going to be larger because I know how much power there was going to be, so I knew how much air flow you would need and how much space for a heat sink.

From Washington Post

On a more granular cooling level, Sony has added a thermal layer between the chip and its heat sink to make cooling more stable—the company says this took two years to develop.

From Popular-Science

As a heat sink, the water provided stability of temperature that would have been difficult to achieve without it.

From Project Gutenberg