# In Space, No One Can Hear You Overclock **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076 "2004-05-25T23:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/1 "2004-05-25T23:10:38Z")
A buddy and I were talking about various methods of cooling PCs from air cooling to submerging it into liquid nitrogen (which evidently gives it one heck of a performance boost) today, and I happened to think of something. Objects in space, which aren’t illuminated by the sun quickly reach a temperature near absolute zero. Ping! Goes the lightbulb above my head. What would happen if you stuck a PC in the shadow of something in space? Would it’s temp drop down to near absolute zero and _stay_ reasonably close to that temp with the PC fired up and running, or would the vacuum of space prevent the PC from cooling rapidly enough to stay below the melting point? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/2 "2004-05-25T23:26:26Z")
I suspect it would fry in short order. Modern PC’s CPUs and GPUs need active cooling to remove heat. A near perfect vacuum is about the most efficient insulator around. BTW a PC’s hard drive would not work in space as it needs an air cushion for the RW head to ride on. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/3 "2004-05-25T23:45:10Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > to submerging it into liquid nitrogen (which evidently gives it one heck of a performance boost) Nope! Electronics do not work at such low temperatures because the semiconductor’s conductivity is zero there! I don’t remember numbers by heart, and it depends on the type semiconductor and the amount of doping, but I’d say that electronics cease to work at temperatures below -40 degrees Centigrade ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/4 "2004-05-25T23:51:29Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Objects in space, which aren’t illuminated by the sun quickly reach a temperature near absolute zero. I suppose that depends on exactly what you mean by ‘quickly’ - objects in space can only lose heat by radiation, a bit like the contents of your thermos flask - OK, your thermos is silvered too, which helps it _not_ to lose heat by radiation, but even so, objects in space don’t actually cool as fast as the movies might have you think. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/5 "2004-05-25T23:52:54Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > Nope! Electronics do not work at such low temperatures because the semiconductor’s conductivity is zero there! > > I don’t remember numbers by heart, and it depends on the type semiconductor and the amount of doping, but I’d say that electronics cease to work at temperatures below -40 degrees Centigrade Gotta be colder than that, since [these guys](http://www.muropaketti.com/artikkelit/cpu/northwood2200/ln2/) poured liquid nitrogen into a copper cup that was affixed directly to an Intel processor. (Somewhere, out there, is a site which shows folks who’ve **immersed** a PC in liquid nitrogen and got it to run at high speed with no problems, but I can’t find it at the moment.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/6 "2004-05-25T23:58:11Z")
I think you might also have some problems (if you cool your entire PC down to phenomenally low levels) with thermal contraction - the components inside are made from a wide range of different materials, all of which are going to contract to differing degrees when cooled. It might be enough to physically break some parts. I suspect your hard drive bearings might bind too. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/7 "2004-05-26T00:02:08Z")
The computer was already turned on and the liquid nitrogen was poured afterwards. If they had let the processor to cool down to -196C, the computer wouldn’t start. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/8 "2004-05-26T00:08:29Z")
**Tuckerfan** , the temperature of the computer would not “quickly” reach absolute zero. It would take a very long time for the computer to lose all its heat. Space does not instantly freeze stuff like on the movies. It is, however, a huge heat sink. It will slowly suck the heat away from you. In space, objects can only lose heat through radiating. There is no conduction or convection, which transfers heat much more rapidly. Also, I dont know much about the moving parts inside the computer. Is there any metal on metal in the hard drive? If so, kiss the now evaporated lubricant goodbye and expect the parts to be dry welded together. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/9 "2004-05-26T00:10:39Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think you might also have some problems (if you cool your entire PC down to phenomenally low levels) with thermal contraction - the components inside are made from a wide range of different materials, all of which are going to contract to differing degrees when cooled. It might be enough to physically break some parts. I suspect your hard drive bearings might bind too. So, you use giant thumbdrives in place of a normal harddrive. The thermal contraction might or might not be an issue. Oh, and **Dog80** , if the processor _won’t_ run at that cool of a temp, then simply focus a little sunlight on it to warm it up, and then cut that off once the processor gets above the necessary operating temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/10 "2004-05-26T00:14:12Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > **Tuckerfan** , the temperature of the computer would not “quickly” reach absolute zero. It would take a very long time for the computer to lose all its heat. Space does not instantly freeze stuff like on the movies. It is, however, a huge heat sink. It will slowly suck the heat away from you. In space, objects can only lose heat through radiating. There is no conduction or convection, which transfers heat much more rapidly. > > Also, I dont know much about the moving parts inside the computer. Is there any metal on metal in the hard drive? If so, kiss the now evaporated lubricant goodbye and expect the parts to be dry welded together. Somewhere around here there’s a thread dealing with how fast it would take the Earth to freeze if you blocked all sunlight, and **BA** stated that it would take only a couple of months for the Earth to be turned into a giant ice cube. Now, admittedly, the surface of the Earth _isn’t_ as hot as a processor, but there’s a heckuvalot more of it, so while I wouldn’t expect a PC to freeze instantly, I’d imagine that it’d drop to below freezing fairly quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/11 "2004-05-26T00:34:22Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > So, you use giant thumbdrives in place of a normal harddrive. The thermal contraction might or might not be an issue. It isn’t just the hard drive, it’s everything - are the copper tracks on the motherboard going to contract so much more than the substrate that they crack or peel? are the (extremely fine) surface-mount solder joints going to hold or will the contraction cause them to pull away? But as others have said or suggested, placing it in a vacuum probably means it would overheat quite rapidly, as there is no air flow to carry heat away from the components. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/12 "2004-05-26T00:45:58Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It isn’t just the hard drive, it’s everything - are the copper tracks on the motherboard going to contract so much more than the substrate that they crack or peel? are the (extremely fine) surface-mount solder joints going to hold or will the contraction cause them to pull away? Yeah, I got that. Which is why I said it might or might not be an issue (if it _is_ an issue, I’m sure one could figure out a work around for the problem). > [@](#): > > But as others have said or suggested, placing it in a vacuum probably means it would overheat quite rapidly, as there is no air flow to carry heat away from the components. Yeah, “probably,” but not definately. Should be easy to figure out, though. NASA has to factor such things in when they build spacecraft and plan missions. IIRC, they put the Apollo craft in a slow spin to keep the electronics from freezing. I do know that on Apollo 13, Lovell shut the blinds on the capsule so that they could sleep without the sun being in their eyes, and the temps inside the capsule dropped to just above freezing, and stayed there for the rest of the mission even though they left the blinds open. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/13 "2004-05-26T00:53:27Z")
Sure, the computer will eventually cool down in space when it isn’t switched on, but pretty soon after you start using it, the processor will overheat and die; think of it this way: In atmosphere, the processor requires active cooling - remove the fan and even the natural convected air currents around the heatsink won’t be enough to draw away all the heat being produced. In a vacuum, you don’t even have that effect - you have a hot processor, attached to a heatsink, surrounded by a very effective insulator. It will crash and burn. Definitely. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/14 "2004-05-26T00:59:41Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Sure, the computer will eventually cool down in space when it isn’t switched on, but pretty soon after you start using it, the processor will overheat and die; think of it this way: > > In atmosphere, the processor requires active cooling - remove the fan and even the natural convected air currents around the heatsink won’t be enough to draw away all the heat being produced. > > In a vacuum, you don’t even have that effect - you have a hot processor, attached to a heatsink, surrounded by a very effective insulator. It will crash and burn. Definitely. Post some equations proving that and I’ll believe you. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/15 "2004-05-26T01:02:39Z")
I can’t be bothered; why don’t you tell me where and how you think the heat is going to go? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/16 "2004-05-26T01:05:09Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I can’t be bothered; why don’t you tell me where and how you think the heat is going to go? We geeze, if I _knew_ that, I wouldn’t have started this thread, now would I? I was hoping that this being the SDMB and all, someone would have something better than WAGs to answer my question with. Seems I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/17 "2004-05-26T01:11:12Z")
Look here: > **[How Thermoses (Vacuum Flasks) Work](https://home.howstuffworks.com/thermos4.htm)** > > How can the same device keep hot things hot and cold things cold? Find out what goes on inside a Thermos! > [@](#): > > One question often asked at this point is, “If a vacuum is such a good insulator, then how do you cool a spacecraft?” Heat builds up in a spacecraft from its electronics, its fuel cells, its rocket engines and incoming solar radiation, among other things. All of this heat needs to go somewhere or the spacecraft will overheat. However, the spacecraft is floating in the world’s biggest thermos – the vacuum of outer space. So how does a spacecraft dump its excess heat? > It turns out that heat dissipation is a fairly significant part of the spacecraft design process. For example, if you look at this page you will see that Skylab had a gold coating to reject infrared radiation coming from the sun, and a large radiator to dissipate heat that built up. A space radiator can use nothing but infrared heat radiation to dissipate heat, so it must be much larger than a similar radiator on Earth, where convection plays a big part in the cooling process (almost all radiators on Earth use fans to improve the effects of convection). Similarly, the inside of the space shuttle’s cargo bay doors are lined with radiators. Once the shuttle is in orbit, one of the first things the crew does is open these doors so that heat can radiate away, as this page explains. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/18 "2004-05-26T01:15:40Z")
It seems to me that when something is actively producing heat (for example a processor), it will overheat very quickly in a vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/19 "2004-05-26T01:22:33Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > We geeze, if I _knew_ that, I wouldn’t have started this thread, now would I? I was hoping that this being the SDMB and all, someone would have something better than WAGs to answer my question with. Seems I was wrong. They aren’t WAGs - you still seem to be clinging to a basic premise that space is cold, at the same time as ignoring the insulating properties of vacuum and the lack of convective and forced convective cooling. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076/20 "2004-05-26T01:28:38Z")
Based on what you quoted and in reading your link, nothing appears to state that it _would_ fry automatically, however. As the portion you quoted states, they need larger radiators than they would on Earth. [This site indicates that NASA has had trouble keeping astronauts hands warm while working in space.](http://home.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=thermos.htm&url=http://www.onsetcomp.com/Newsletters/Honest_Observer/HO.2.2.html) > [@](#): > > When space shuttle astronauts complained about having cold fingers during space walks, NASA turned to Onset Computer to help them find out exactly how cold. Twenty HOBO Littler Data Loggers were built into the gloves of the multi-million dollar space suits worn by space walking astronauts on the February 9 mission of the shuttle Discovery. While the hands don’t generate a tremendous amount of heat, it’s interesting to note just how cold it got inside their gloves. > [@](#): > > In space, the temperature can range from -180°F out of view of the sun; and to +235°F in the direct glare of the sun. Inside the astronaut’s gloves, the HOBO loggers revealed that the temperature can go as low as 17.2°F Wonder what the insulation value of astronauts gloves are as compared to ordinary lined gloves? **Man** , you post equations supporting your position and I’ll stop calling 'em WAGs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-overclock/247076.md?page=2)