TWO-PHASE COMPONENT COOLER WITH RADIOACTIVE INITIATOR

摘要

A two-phase cooling apparatus uses a radioactive initiator to induce boiling in a liquid coolant, thus reducing thermal hysteresis. A radioactive source, such as spent uranium, is immersed in a liquid coolant bath to allow interaction between the emitted radiation and the liquid. A heat spreader plate may be used to conduct heat to the liquid from a unit to be cooled. An interior surface of a coolant chamber, such as the heat spreader plate, may be plated with a radioactive material to induce a high incidence of nucleation sites. A shielding material may also be used to shield the unit being cooled from the radioactive source. The radioactive source material may also be used to retrofit existing two-phase cooling systems.