“Data Furnace” Would Heat Homes While Flipping Bits
July 25, 2011 at 21:18 PM EDT
One byproduct of computing almost everybody has had to deal with at some time or another is the heat. Whether it's your Xbox overheating due to poor ventilation, your MacBook's fan roaring like a jet engine, or some other manifestation, the inescapable truth is that computers these days get warm . Whether it's a processor, hard drive, or video card, it produces waste heat as its processors and moving parts do their thing. Microsoft Research asks: if these things are so hot, why aren't we heating our homes with them?