[geeks] Heat sink on a P3

[Alois Hammer]

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:02:09 -0500 (EST), "Sandwich Maker"
<adh at an.bradford.ma.us> said:
> 
> 'alumina' is the name for aluminum oxide, a -very- hard non-conductive
> ceramic.  [well, ceramics as a class are usually non-conductive]  ruby
> and sapphire are crystalline alumina.

Aha.  Precisely correct.  From the site:

"Made with micronized aluminum oxide and boron nitride: Arctic Alumina
uses a layered composite of three unique shapes and sizes of ceramic
particles to maximize particle-to-particle contact area and thermal
transfer. This exclusive combination provides performance exceeding most
metal based compounds."

The "exceeding most metal based compounds" line is good for a laugh, but
that certainly explains the name.  Thanks!