Tiny Metals in the Coolant

This from the Globe and Mail:

Engineers in Britain have created a new type of coolant that could dramatically increase the speed of computers, improve the efficiency of car engines, lower the cost of residential heating and even change the way surgery is performed.

However, when scientists have tried adding millimetre-sized, or even micrometre-sized, particles of metals to water, the metals tended to clump together and damage the walls of their container. Now, they have learned to overcome this limitation by using particles that are only a millionth of a millimetre -- a nanometre -- in size.

One of the more rapidly expanding areas of research today is nanotechnology. Nanofluids could make heating homes much more efficient, translating into cheaper bills and lower greenhouse-gas emissions to boot. The same goes for vehicle efficiency -- engines could use less fuel. Computer chips could become even smaller and faster with small reservoirs of nanofluids connected by thin tubes tracing the circuits.

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