What are you doing with that empty balloon?



What is commonly used to create a thermal connection between a component and a heat sink?

A) Pressure

B) Cooling fan

C) Liquid coolant

D) Thermal compound

E) A really big water gun


The answer: D) Thermal compound

Thermal compound or thermal grease is a substance designed to create a thermal connection between a hot component and the heat sink that sits on the component. Without the thermal grease, the hot component would not be able to transfer as much heat to the heat sink, thereby limiting the cooling process.

Want to know more? Watch “Installing and Configuring Processors.”

A personal computer’s combination of chips, circuits, and other components can be an intimidating device. In this module, we’ll deconstruct every piece of the computer and you’ll learn about interfaces, processors, hard drives, and the BIOS.