How do computers and electronics produce heat?
In: 7
Electricity what we call it when electrons move through something, like a wire or the circuit in a computer. When it moves through those different things, it might have a smooth ride. A big wide flat street with no traffic. It just zooms through. But sometimes that street is (intentionally) rougher or full of other things. This makes it harder for the electron to move down the road. It bumps into things. Maybe it has to squeeze through the crowd. All this bumping and pushing takes effort (or energy) and it makes heat.
In your computer or anything electrical, no road is perfect. Heat is always made. An electrical stove is the purest example of this. All its electricity is turned into heat in the form of that glowing red coil.
As an aside, if you’ve heard the term superconductor, that is a perfect road. The electron doesn’t even have to walk down it. It floats effortlessly on its way. It has zero resistance. The electron doesn’t bump into anything.
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