heat sink
noun
Thermodynamics. any environment or medium that absorbs heat.
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.
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Origin of heat sink
First recorded in 1935–40
Words nearby heat sink
heat prostration, heat pump, heat rash, heat reservoir, heat shield, heat sink, heat stroke, heat up, heat urticaria, heat wave, heat-island
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for heat sink
heat sink
noun
a metal plate specially designed to conduct and radiate heat from an electrical component
a layer of material placed within the outer skin of high-speed aircraft to absorb heat
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for heat sink
heat sink
A protective device that absorbs and dissipates the excess heat generated by a system.
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for heat sink
heat sink
A reservoir for excess heat, especially in a mechanical or electrical device.
notes for heat sink
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.