Heat sink

A heat sink receives thermal energy from a component and provides a path for exporting it to a surrounding fluid or another reservoir. A metal block can spread a localized heat load by thermal conduction; fins enlarge the surface available for convection and thermal radiation. The entire path also includes the thermal resistance of the contact between component and heat sink.

For a simplified steady linear model, a component dissipating power $P$ sits above the ambient temperature by $\Delta T=P{R}_{\mathrm{th}}$, with total thermal resistance $R_{\mathrm{th}}$. Increasing a block's heat capacity can slow its transient warming but does not by itself lower this final temperature rise. This distinction can be tested with a fixed-power heating step: the early slope probes storage, while the long-time rise probes transport. A heat sink therefore needs an effective route to the environment as well as material that conducts heat internally.