The principle of heat dissipation by heat sinks is to increase the surface area and accelerate heat dissipation. As the material of the heat sink, it is a metal with a relatively low specific heat, which absorbs heat quickly and dissipates heat at a relatively fast rate, thus achieving rapid heat dissipation through heat transfer.

For example, the central processing unit (CPU) in a computer requires a considerable amount of heat sink, while the power supply tube, bank tube, and amplifier tube in a television all require heat sink.

Generally, a layer of thermal conductive silicone grease should be applied to the contact surface between electronic components and the heat sink during use, so that the heat emitted by the components can be more effectively conducted to the heat sink, and then dissipated into the surrounding air through the heat sink.

As for the material of the heat sink, the thermal conductivity of each material is different. In order of thermal conductivity from high to low, they are silver, copper, aluminum, and steel. However, using silver as a heat sink would be too expensive, so the best solution is to use copper. Although aluminum is much cheaper, its thermal conductivity is obviously not as good as copper (only 50% of copper).