What is this thing?

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Let us help you identify that mysterious object you’ve found.

Currently in CHALLENGE mode: If you've got something obscure knocking about, post a picture, and let's see how we do. Please prefix such posts with "CHALLENGE:" so we know we've got a fighting chance.

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Picture of a thing, but what is the thing? (lemmy.world)

submitted 9 months ago by Fabriek@lemmy.world to c/whatisthisthing@lemmy.world

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Sorry for the bad quality.

My grandfather had this in his office. He worked as a computer engineer so I initally thought it was a zoomed-in picture of a computer chip or something, but maybe it is something large.

He's not alive anymore so I can't ask him. If somebody can help me out, that would be great.

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[–] mjhelto@lemm.ee 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I wanted to test ChatGPTs info, so I provided this pic to it. This was the response:

Reworked reply that finished completely

Yes, the image helps greatly. However, I can only analyze the image and provide information based on my training data up to April 2023.

The object in the image appears to be a large, industrial piece of equipment, quite possibly a heat exchanger or part of a cooling system due to the numerous fins and pipes, which are typical of such devices. The fins increase the surface area available for heat transfer, which is a common design feature in heat exchangers used for cooling fluids by transferring heat to the air or another medium.

The structure does resemble a kind of symmetry, with what appears to be two identical sides, which supports the idea of redundancy in the design. The hexagonal openings could be for access, inspection, or could possibly be where the equipment interfaces with other machinery or pipework.

This equipment could be found in a variety of settings where large-scale cooling is necessary, such as power plants, chemical plants, or other industrial facilities. The specific design details may vary based on the particular requirements of the system it's designed to serve.

Without more context or specific knowledge about the exact model or type, it's challenging to provide more than an educated guess. If you need a precise identification, providing the image to a professional with expertise in industrial machinery or thermal management systems would be advisable.

First response with "error in stream"

Thank you for the image. Based on what I can see, this object does indeed resemble a heat exchanger or a part of a cooling system, potentially for an industrial or high-performance computing application. The finned tubes, bracing, and hexagonal openings suggest it's designed for efficient thermal management. It looks like a passive heat exchanger, where the finned design increases the surface area to facilitate heat transfer from the hot fluid inside the tubes to the air passing over the fins.

These types of heat exchangers are often used in applications where cooling is critical and can be found in various mechanical and electrical systems, including power plants, automotive cooling systems, and HVAC systems in large buildings. If this is indeed sitting atop server racks, it could be part of a specialized cooling system designed to dissipate the significant amount of heat generated by high-density computing equipment.

Given the complexity and specific design, it could be a custom or proprietary piece of equipment. Identifying the exact use and origin would likely require more context or expertise in the specific field where such cooling systems are used.