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Heat Sinks
3
20092B/0—Sep1996
AMD-K5 Processor Thermal Considerations
dissipation, also known as buoyancy effects. When air is
heated around the processor, warm air rises and cool air sinks,
causing air circulation around the processor package.
Forced Air Convection
is caused by an active power element
(e.g., a fan or a blower) that forces air to circulate around and
through the heat sink channels (extruded and pin fin heat
sinks). Heat sink/fan modules use impingement airflow to force
air into the top of the heat sink. A hot wire anemometer can be
used in wind tunnels to characterize heat sinks and heat
spreaders. The anemometer is generally located in front of the
heat sink (e.g., 2 inches) to minimize the effect of the air turbu-
lence caused by the heat sink.
Heat Sinks
are devices designed to transfer heat generated by
an electronic component to a gas or a liquid. They are usually
made of heat-conductive metal that has the ability to rapidly
transmit heat from the generating source to the ambient air.
Heat Conduction
is the transmission of heat by random molec-
ular motion or vibration from a hotter region to a cooler region
in the conducting media.
Convection
is the transmission of thermal energy by random
molecular motion or vibration and gross bulk motion of a fluid
from a hotter region to a cooler region through a moving
medium, such as air or water.
Radiation
is the process of emission, transmission, and absorp-
tion of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves between bod-
ies separated by empty space.
Thermocouples
are sensing devices constructed of two dissimi-
lar metals with a junction point. A thermocouple develops a
voltage proportional to the difference in temperature between
the hot junction and the lead wires. These devices are used to
measure the temperature of materials.
Heat Sinks
A heat sink is thermally connected to the AMD-K5 processor to
dissipate the heat it generates as a byproduct of its normal
operation. If this heat is not removed, the processor would