It seems that under very specific circumstances, something occurs when there is a 0.001 gap between a heat source and a rotary element that in presence of little air flow, exchanges more heat than everything currently available for us mortals, including direct contact, thermal compounds, flattened pipes, etc. It's hard for me to assume that a gap will do better transfer than direct contact.. Still, I know little about thermodynamics and this marvelous effect, but hey!, there is the wing ground effect in aerodynamics, so I don't know.
Another thing I don't buy is the claim that it's dust free. Well, in the lab, of course!....w.....t.....f.....??? It's air!, the normal kind.. dust is embedded in it. Now, on Fig.4, shows a conventional heatsink and fan and it says that despite of both being in the same environment, the fan is practically dustless, while the heatsink is almost invisible for it's covered in dust. OMG! of course!.. well, NO! the air just happens to contain dust particles that pile up with the help of static derived from friction until they reach the heatsink's fin separation. The fan's blades are just too far apart for them to suffer the same consequence. This is a total nonsense and usually makes science people angry, so... don't! The dust will pile up eventually. Such comparisons and claims belong to TV infomercials.
Now, what exactly is 0.001 in?
25.4 µm 1/1000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil in the U.S. and 1 thou in the UK
99 µm average width of human hair (ranges from 18 to 180 µm).
It's kinda hard to find a cheap motor that presents and maintains such axial tolerances, so the spinning thing must be mounted on something quite special and no way cheapo. But what this really means is that the heatsink in contact with the CPU and the structure that supports the motor with the spinning element that floats at 0.001 in gap must be quite precise.. and that gap of .001, how do you keep it when heat shows up?.. things get fat while becoming hot!, another specialty here, no way cheapo. But they found a way around this:
"The prototype device is configured as a static (externally pressurized) thrust bearing. In real world thermal management applications such an externally pressurized air bearing would be replaced by a hydrodynamic (self-pressurizing) air bearing,..."
and then:
"...The gas delivery manifold is equipped with a manual three way value through which it can be connected to a source of compressed gas, a vacuum pump, or neither (blocked off). In turn, the gas delivery line has second three-way valve to select either nitrogen or helium, which is necessary for determination of the air gap thermal resistance."
Later on:
"The use of dry nitrogen, rather than air, is an experimental convenience. As shown in Appendix B, the thermal conductivities air and nitrogen differ by less than 1%..."
An experimental convenience.. How can Nitro or helium be more convenient than simple pressurized dried air? And if this is such axiom, why bother to state it?.. kinda fishy
Nitrogen.. helium.. valves.. externally pressurized air bearing replaced by a hydrodynamic...... Can we use simple air, instead? like for a change?. Where is the pressure liberated? at the vortex?.. that sounds like forced air cooling to me which happens to be helped by pressure gas heat exchange.
Anyway, someone in a far east country already saw this and should be getting the assembly line ready... we'll see.