Why we use water in liquid cooling

Finfin15

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Jan 23, 2014
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This is just kind of a question that crossed my mind as I was reading about custom loops. Why do we use water for liquid cooling? If we are trying to most effectively transfer heat from a cpu/gpu or any other component, why water, it has a very high specific heat? Why not use something like ethanol? It's specific heat is half of water's, and close to the same viscosity? Just a thought, and sorry if ethanol is used, I am new to custom loops.
 
Solution
Basically the only other room temperature liquid with a higher heat density is Mercury, which has a lot of downsides to it.
Its also cheap and wont corrode your stuff (assuming distilled here, and that you havent done something stupid with your loop).

Straight up ethanol evaporates when exposed to air, which is fine in a CLC which will never be opened (Silverstone have some pumpless CLC's that rely on Ethanols low evaporation point), but isnt feasible in an open loop.
Technically, pure 100% Ethanol combusts on exposure to air, guessing your thinking along the lines of Methylated Spirits which is more like 30%.
Basically the only other room temperature liquid with a higher heat density is Mercury, which has a lot of downsides to it.
Its also cheap and wont corrode your stuff (assuming distilled here, and that you havent done something stupid with your loop).

Straight up ethanol evaporates when exposed to air, which is fine in a CLC which will never be opened (Silverstone have some pumpless CLC's that rely on Ethanols low evaporation point), but isnt feasible in an open loop.
Technically, pure 100% Ethanol combusts on exposure to air, guessing your thinking along the lines of Methylated Spirits which is more like 30%.
 
Solution