Heat pipes have some very counterintuitive properties.<p>They have almost infinite thermal conductivity - far better than copper or even diamond - ie. Heat input at one end is immediately conducted to the other end, <i>up to a limit of watts</i>, above which their thermal conductivity drops to near zero.<p>They also typically have very orientation specific properties - the limit is dramatically lowered at odd angles.<p>They also don't work in free fall - there is a very real chance of your laptop CPU overheating if you throw the laptop.