Copper heat sink VS aluminum heat sink

Weight, life span and cost aside, let’s just talk about heat dissipation, and make a simple comparison between the physical properties of pure copper and pure aluminum:

People think that copper has a strong thermal conductivity, because the thermal conductivity of copper is much higher than that of aluminum. But the stand or fall that a heat sink comes loose ability considers the heat conduction coefficient of material only concerned not only, still come loose with the condition such as the shape of area, heat sink, air flow.
If you look at the last two parameters, if you look at the specific heat capacity, you’re like, wow, copper has a smaller specific heat capacity, it’s growing faster, it’s not losing heat (the law of thermodynamics, the bigger the temperature gradient, the faster the heat transfer), that seems to be true, but…You have to look at their density.

The density of copper is 3.3 times that of aluminum, and the heat sink is a product of size, which cannot be made bigger indefinitely. So, under the same volume size, is the heat capacity of copper small or aluminum small? So let’s do a simple calculation.
Let’s say they’re all one cubic centimeter of material. Copper weighs 8.9 grams, and it takes 3.4 kilojoules to raise it by 1K. Aluminum weighs 2.7 grams, and it takes 2.4 kilojoules to raise it by 1K.

Therefore, although the thermal conductivity of copper is higher than that of aluminum, and the heat transfer resistance between CPU and environment is small, its heat capacity is larger at the same volume, and the temperature rises slowly, so the temperature gradient is small, and the comprehensive heat transfer capacity is not much better than that of aluminum.
In thermodynamics, heat transfer rate equation for Q = KA Δ t, which is suitable for transfer of heat, Q K for material coefficient of thermal conductivity, heat transfer area, A is Δ t as the temperature difference, under the same volume, assume that A is the same, the Q is dominated by material coefficient of thermal conductivity and the temperature difference between heat transfer media.The cooling of the CPU is actually two processes, one from the CPU to the heat sink, and the other from the heat sink to the environment (air).For pure copper heat sink, the heat from the CPU to the heat sink, because K is bigger, Δ t too big (heat sink and the difference in temperature between the CPU, because with the volume of copper under heat slow), in the process of the heat transfer rate is obviously better than pure aluminum heat sink, but in the second stage, the heat from the heat sink to air, K is the same (air), Δ t is less pure copper heat sink (heat sink with the air temperature difference is here), in this process, pure copper heat sink efficiency is lower than that of aluminum heat sink.There’s always been a saying that copper absorbs heat faster and aluminum dissipates heat faster, which makes sense.
Pure copper heat sink has not been seen before. The Ultra 120E of pure copper weighs 1.89kg, while the ordinary Ultra 120E heat sink weighs 1.1kg, but what about its performance?As follows:

Below the premise of such high cost, big weight, the performance income that pure copper heat sink brings is very low actually, also compare common aluminium heat sink only low 4 degrees only, if you pursue acme of course, also not tasted cannot, just the price is too big.
In general, pure copper heat sink is not cost-effective, high cost, processing is more difficult, low price, Po well under the eye, is certainly become a mainstream, and aluminum heat sink over the years has been sing leading role, is the result of the right choice, such as it is cheap, low density, easy processing and forming, good hardness, it is also very important, it is made of the heat sink on heat dissipation performance is very close to pure copper products.
In addition:
Copper heat sinks also have the following problems:
1, It’s too expensive
2, Is too heavy
3. The surface is easy to be oxidized.