Take the 2-minute tour ×  This is probably a stupid question,
but one that has been nagging at my mind for a while.  I have
seen a number of references online to using an oil-bath as
effective server cooling. In general, the idea is to submerge
the motherboard and associated hardware in a bath of light oil
(sunflower, olive, etc) and the oil will effectively absorb heat
from the equipment and dissipate it quickly. The sites typically
include video/images of this process in action but the skeptic
in me questions the validity of these claims.  I know that light
cooking oils are supposed to have an extremely low electrical
conductivity, but it still seems to me that, with component pins
and etched pathways running fractions of millimeters apart on
the board, any fluid still runs a high chance of creating short
circuits.  So my question is: Is this actually a viable cooling
option in computing, or is this an elaborate e-ploy to dupe the
unsuspecting into frying (no pun intended) their equipment in a
warranty-void