One of the newest technological inventions is the revolutionary bladeless fans , a rather curious creation that eliminates one of the biggest dangers of fans: the blades. Have you ever wondered why this type of fan is not used on PCs ? We do, and in this article we will explain how these fans work and why they are not used in the PC (or to cool any other type of electronic component).
First of all we must make a clarification: these fans are far from magical, and it is that they do indeed have blades, only that they are hidden from the naked eye and, therefore, these fans also emit a certain level of noise, just as than traditional fans. We will explain how they work.
How do bladeless fans work?
Bladeless fans were invented by Dyson, and their “secret” is that they actually have a motor at their base. This motor has effectively blades, and what it does is to suck air through a grille and send it upwards, where there is a tube arranged at the top of the base.
The air that is taken from the lower grille rises and runs through the entire cylinder and then exits through a slot located at the rear. This tiny slot (measures around 1mm) is directed forward, where the air flow begins to exit. Dyson boasts that the air comes out 15 times faster than it comes in, so how is this possible?
It is not magic either, since here the laws of physics intervene: when the air comes out of the tiny slot that we have told you about, a small vacuum is created that causes the air that is behind the fan to be sucked towards the center and then forward. In addition to this, and because it is a fan that generates an air emission of the same size as its upper circle, it collects a greater amount of air compared to fans with normal blades.
So actually bladeless fans should really be called “air multipliers”.
Now that we know how they work, why aren’t they used on PC? With this performance of multiplying the air flow by 15, they would certainly be an ideal solution to increase the cooling performance, right?
Why can’t they be used on PC?
The first premise that these types of fans -or multipliers- are not used in PCs is merely for cost reasons . While we can find fans for PC from a couple of euros, since they are very cheap to manufacture, fans without blades have a very high cost, although it is true that their size is designed to be even table or standing fans.
So, one might think that another reason why these fans are not used on PC is because of the size, but the reality is that it is not, and Xiaomi demonstrated it long ago with its small bladeless fan (and whose price is also about 6 euros).
The problem is rather how these fans work. As we explained before, they need to have a base with a motor , which is where the air enters, and on a PC this would be unfeasible in most situations, because the holes to install fans in the boxes are “fair” for a normal fan of blades.
But, even in the event that there was a box in which to be able to integrate a fan with a base, or even if they managed to make this premise work without said base, they would not be viable either because despite being able to push enough air, on the one hand They need some separation for the air to enter and exit (as seen in the video that we put above), and on the other hand, the air that they push is located only on the perimeter of the circumference, so it would not be efficient at all. time to cool a heatsink, a radiator, or even as a box fan (maybe on the front to put air inside the box yes, if anything).
In summary, these bladeless fans are designed simply for greater comfort and to avoid hazards (especially with young children), but not to cool components as such, something that is not feasible for its price or its design, and the shape where they work. This type of fan may evolve in the future and become viable for a PC, but at the moment it is not.