Heat Insulators for Laptops 363
Alex Bischoff writes "The Gadgeteer has a review of a product called LapPads from LapLogic. They're heat-insulating pads to protect you from cooking your lap when using your laptop. Depending on the model, they apparently provide up to 57 degrees (F) reduction in heat transfer. Why didn't someone think of this sooner?"
Not New (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
Cheap Option... (Score:2, Informative)
Er, wait... (Score:5, Informative)
I've had one for my iBook since early 2002 and it's great for that kind of thing. The swivel feature is neat when I'm working with someone and want to show them something on the screen.
Re:Where does the heat GO? (Score:3, Informative)
Many products use the user as a heat sink successfully. Handheld radios used by ham radio operators often rely on the user to hold them. Given the relatively large surface area, and the fact that the radio is conveniently palm sized, sometimes with metal casing, the operator generally is unaffected by the transferred heat.
If these same radios are left on a tabletop in a windless day and connected OQO style... transmitting nonstop... they would probably get uncomfortably warm if someone went to pick them up.
Of course this is not the intended operation mode or duty cycle...
Re:Where does the heat GO? (Score:3, Informative)
Look at aerogel (or airogel?) and you can see a blow torch not melting crayons through a small (clear!) insulating barrier.
Re:Why not reclaim heat energy? (Score:3, Informative)
So it takes you 5 minutes instead of 4 minutes, but there is a 20 deg difference and battery life is increased by 20%. I think that's worth it
Re:Good (Score:5, Informative)
it's somewhat disappointing that they didn't dramatically improve the cooling as well though.
Re:Good grief... (Score:4, Informative)
Maybe a USB powered fan system to supplement the built-in system during processor intensive stuff (where you're probably plugged in anyway).
Why stop at just a pad? (Score:2, Informative)
What about a full on LAPDESK [compusa.com] for your laptop?
Or, as another poster pointed out, they have cooling pads that can rotate and elevate your laptop [compusa.com] that also come in varying designs [compusa.com].
And don't forget about cooling yourself off! [compusa.com]
the laptop runs cooler or as cool as without (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Effect on laptops (Score:4, Informative)
Heat transfer is not measured in degrees (Score:5, Informative)
Heat transfer is not measured in degrees! Here's a quick thermal lesson for you electrical guys....
Temperature rise is equivalent to voltage or potential.
Heat flow (Q) in Watts is equivalent to current in amps
Thermal resistance, measured in Degrees per Watt is the same as resistance measured in ohms.
The equations work the same way too. For most instances of steady state heat dissipation what you have is a constant power dissipation or in electrical terms a constant current. The thermal circuit in this case has the heat generating components at V+ and the room can be considered to be ground. There are resistances in the path and the the higher the resistance, the higher the temperature rise there is between nodes.
What this blanket does is to stick a high thermal resistance between the laptop and one of the heat paths and as a result there is a higher "potential".
But indeed the "current" (or watts) is still constant, so by increasing the resistance through one of the paths, you increase the current flowing through the other paths (and as you know from electricity for a constant resistance, will result in higher voltage across those resistances.
So yes, you keep you lap cool... at the expense of the components in your laptop. Be careful what you wish for.
-S
Re:Effect on laptops (Score:5, Informative)
A cell phone is a good example of a case that must purely disapate its own heat. Most cell phones would benefit (structurally speaking) from a thicker case. In fact, I've seen design engineers at at least one major mobile phone maker that constantly want to double and triple the size of the "ribs" that reinforce the B-class interior surfaces. This is followed, everytime, by an engineering analyst who's bitching about the fact that the new plan will fry all the electronics.
If the case was nearly a perfect insulator, and the fan was responsible for pushing all the hot and cool air in and out of the case, you'd have a laptop that sounded like a small jet engine. ;-)
Because its silly? (Score:5, Informative)
cost is $2 - save yourself the $45 dollar (with shipping) silly thing
AIK
Heat is why I clock down my Inspiron (Score:3, Informative)
True dat (Score:4, Informative)
The heat stays in your laptop. (Score:2, Informative)
This cooler [usrbingeek.com] (active) or this cooler [xpcgear.com] (passive) look like better alternatives.
3 ring binder (Score:3, Informative)
The air space between the covers prevents the transfer of heat.
I figured this out through trial and error.
57 degrees? (Score:1, Informative)
Insulatory material does not reduce heat transfer in units of degrees. Different materials have a different R factor. R factor is a measure of how fast heat can transfer through particular material. An example of a unit for R factor would be ft^2 hr oF/Btu, where ft is the thickness of the material and oF is the difference in temperature between the two sides of the insulatory material.
Thanks to Prof. Hershey at U of Cincinnati for that tidbit. He is a real smart guy (thermodynamics). He wrote a book called entropy, infinite, and god. The fact that he is almost deaf made it easy to "discuss" test questions while the test was going on.
Re:Effect on laptops (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Thats not what the website says... (Score:4, Informative)
MacAlly IcePad works well for me (Score:2, Informative)