Thermal management problems are ubiquitous. In critical technologies such as electronics, lasers, and advanced weapons systems, thermal management has emerged as the primary factor limiting performance. Amidst a tide of technological advances in the last century, the efficiency of cooling technology remained essentially unchanged. As new technologies engender new and more challenging thermal management requirements, the response has generally been to apply larger and more complex pumps, more working fluid, and more energy. Growing concern for the environment and escalating energy costs have motivated investments and research to find a better cooling technology.

The value of a new cooling technology will depend on the degree to which it meets the following objectives:

• remove the latent heat generated by advanced technology devices
• reduce energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions
• eliminate the use of greenhouse gases
• reduce the total cost of cooling to end-users

Forced Physics LLC was formed in 2005 to develop a nanotechnology based refrigeration system, the NanoCooler. The NanoCooler is the first device to control the kinetic energy and direction of air molecules to create the refrigeration effect and to convert a significant portion of the extracted heat energy into electricity. Since air is used as the “refrigerant” the device produces no greenhouse gases or ozone-depleting constituents.

The NanoCooler concentrates heat energy into a very compact high-velocity stream of air. At this energy level the air glows intensely allowing conventional photovoltaic cells to efficiently convert the emitted light into electricity.

The development of the NanoCooler has been a collaborative effort between Forced Physics and the dedicated scientists and engineers at the MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange, a subsidiary of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, founded by internet developers Robert Kahn and Vint Cerf. In addition, academic review and advice have been provided by Dr. Avram Bar-Cohen, a renowned thermal management expert and Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland.