Researchers teach liquid to flow uphill, hope to cool future CPUs (video)

Another day, another experimental CPU cooling method that may or may not come to pass. We've seen "thermal paste" from IBM and polyethylene from MIT, and now researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a method for coaxing water along nanometer-scale grooves carved into silicon. So hydrophilic are the patterns that water will even flow against gravity (and we've got the video to prove it). Not only are the structures so precise and nondestructive that the surface feels smooth to the touch, but they also trap photons, according to The New York Times, "so the grooved silicon appears pitch-black." And who knows? Maybe your next PC will be cooled by streams of water flowing freely inside the case. It's a nice image, anyways. Peep the video after the break to see it in action for yourself.