What would happen if a loop was filled with liquid metal?

[Chikensoops]

I know, it’s a stupid question, but what would actually happen? Considering the pump is strong enough and the pipes are copper of course. I don’t know if anyone will ever try this, since liquid metal is expensive, but it’s a fun thought.

[da na]

It would probably corrode the block and/or get completely jammed in a matter of hours

[RONOTHAN##]

It probably wouldn't work very well. Assuming it doesn't completely wreck everything instantly, one of the reasons people use water as the fluid of choice is because of its high thermal capacity. Gallium has a relatively low thermal capacity, and thus wouldn't perform as well. 

 

Plus, gallium does react with copper. Not enough to eat through the copper base plate, but enough that it would probably tear the microfins in the blocks to shreds, and because the pumps are lubricated by the fluid, the pump probably wouldn't last long enough. It's also relatively thick compared to water, and would have a very hard time getting through a radiator or the inside of a water block.

[Moonzy]

You'd have a bad time

[Chris Pratt]

Even if you could get it to function properly, it would be vastly inferior to plain old water. Nothing beats water as a liquid coolant.

 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Yea liquid metal is just too expensive, stick to water

[thrasher_565]

4 hours ago, Chikensoops said:

I know, it’s a stupid question, but what would actually happen? Considering the pump is strong enough and the pipes are copper of course. I don’t know if anyone will ever try this, since liquid metal is expensive, but it’s a fun thought.

i think there probably better thermal transfer then water like some type of oil. witch of thows i dont no. i no ive seen a oil cooled pc that used the industrial geared d5 pump. had like hydrolic tubes to handle the presher

[td.]

5 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Gallium has a relatively low thermal capacity, and thus wouldn't perform as well. 

 

Do you mean specific heat, or something else?  I think the opposite would be true, you want a lower specific heat, to create a larger temperature delta between the coolant and the air, for a given amount of energy absorbed by the coolant. 

[For Science!]

It would be easier, safer, and better performing to have a loop filled with liquid nitrogen.

[For Science!]

30 minutes ago, td. said:

 

Do you mean specific heat, or something else?  I think the opposite would be true, you want a lower specific heat, to create a larger temperature delta between the coolant and the air, for a given amount of energy absorbed by the coolant. 

In reality either is fine, but one of the commonly quoted advantages of liquid cooling is that due to high specific heat of water, the components do not spike in temperature as a lot of energy can be absorbed by water before the coolant actually going up by 1 degrees. Therefore short heavy loads can be absorbed without changing the temperature drastically.

[RONOTHAN##]

2 hours ago, td. said:

 

Do you mean specific heat, or something else?  I think the opposite would be true, you want a lower specific heat, to create a larger temperature delta between the coolant and the air, for a given amount of energy absorbed by the coolant. 

Specific heat, yes. Look at the testing Jay did with other fluids, he used vodka, which has a much lower specific heat, and temps raised a decent amount. It's not that scientific of a test, but it's at least enough to show that there's something to it.

[td.]

5 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Specific heat, yes. Look at the testing Jay did with other fluids, he used vodka, which has a much lower specific heat, and temps raised a decent amount. It's not that scientific of a test, but it's at least enough to show that there's something to it.

That probably has more to do with ethanol having 5x worse conductivity than water, and vodka is basically half ethanol. I think @For Science!has the right idea, low specific heat might be better for transferring heat to the atmosphere, high specific heat would be better for absorbing heat spikes within the system.