Bob Pease of NSC responded to my inquiry.

Here are his comments and a good book recommendation.

Regards,

Bob Landman H&L

----- Original Message ----- From: <[log in to unmask]> To:
<[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]> Sent: November
17, 1999
4:08 PM Subject: RE: [DC] Calculating thermal dissipation of external
plane
heatsinkarea

To anybody interested in my book "Hot Air Rises and Heat Sinks", you
can get if
from amazon.com with no problem.  The listing says it is on back
order, but the
publisher has plenty in stock right now, so that just means amazon
doesn't keep
it in stock -- they refer the order to ASME and collect a sales
commission.  Or
you can order it direct from ASME Press at www.asme.org for the same
price.
Either way, the only delay is the shipping time.  If you order from
ASME, I get
a slightly bigger royalty, because I get a percent of what ASME sells
it for,
not the price YOU pay. : If you're an ASME member, you get a member
price
discount. : Tony Kordyban

: -----Original Message----- : From: [log in to unmask]
[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] : :  I will start by recommending  a
book by Tony
Kordyban, :     "Hot Air Rises and Heat Sinks ". It won't answer all :
your
questions, but it may give you some of the right :     skeptical
attitude. : :
You can see this book at  amazon.com, with many recommendations. :
and I plan
to recommend it to all my readers, and in Amazon, too.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-2458474-91688
49 :  Tony
also decries the old  mindless  crap  about Arrhenius. :  The book is
about $40,
and well worth it.  If you can't pry :  it out of Amazon in any
reasonable time,
go to the ASME. :  They sell it, too.  / best regards. /rap :

 ****   I've heard that an 8-pin plastic mini-dip IC can have its
thermal impedance
decreased from 70 degrees per watt to :  35, by tying the IC's pins to
a total of 4 square
inches of copper. :   Not that I know many people who have room for
THAT... : :
But that is not a TOTALLY STUPID rule of thumb. /rap