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Heat pipes from the previous decade don't have a wicking matrix, they're hollow, and even often smooth-walled. Vapor chambers have sponge-like structures inside
by runnerup 4y ago
Heat pipes from the previous decade don't have a wicking matrix, they're hollow, and even often smooth-walled. Vapor chambers have sponge-like structures inside of them to re-condense water closer to the heat source and assist its movement back to the hotspot via capillary action.
- lightedman 4y ago"Heat pipes from the previous decade don't have a wicking matrix" Yes, they do. If they're not flat pipes, they've likely got a wicking material inside them. This isn't really new tech, it's been around for cooling LASER and LED arrays for quite some time.
- runnerup 4y agoThank you for correcting me. I thought I remembered photos of heat pipes from popular CPU coolers c. 2010 with smooth inner faces, but on reviewing some old photos from across the internet I found I was mistaken.
- lightedman 4y agoThe flat pipes tend to not need wicks as they're thin enough that they get the added benefit of capillary action. Any tube design, excepting ones using fairly-thin tubing (2mm OD 1.5mm ID) will likely use a wick for its own capillary action.