Well, they aren't always black. Heatsinks that depend mostly on convection or forced air to dispose of waste heat can be any color.
However a heatsink that depends in large part on radiation to dispose of waste heat should be black. This is because the ideal emitter/absorber of radiation is a blackbody. A blackbody emits an ideal continuous spectrum of electromagnetic radiation with a peak at the high end of the band and no missing frequencies in that band. If the color is not black there are missing frequencies and the radiation is not the most efficient it could be.
no
Warm water expands and rises, cool water contracts and sinks.
Convection.
yes, aliminum dissapates heat quite rapidly, which is why aliminum is often used for heat sinks.
Black absorbs the most heat. There are special coatings that have been engineered to absorb as much energy as possible 8or economic). Most of these are very dark, blue or black.
heat sinks
No, cold sinks and heat rises.
The main purpose of a heat sink is to expel heat from a generating source. Heat sinks work through the process of conductive and convection heat transfer. Heat sinks are a passive form of cooling, as they have no moving parts and require no power.
Some heat sinks are packaged as part of a processor chip. This is done to reduce costs and potential user error.
no
heat sinks
Because of convection: heat rises and cold sinks
Heat sinks are devices that sap heat from components inside your computer, a compact heat sink would be the same device in a smaller fashion, designed to go in small form factor pc's the inherently don't have a lot of space.
The cleaning of heat pipes and sinks can be done with two different chemicals (among others). Highly purified Isopropyl alcohol and chemist grade acetone are two examples. That being said if the heat sinks and pipes are made of copper do not expose them to ammonia which can react.
Copper and aluminum. Most heat sinks are made of Aluminum (cheap and a good conductor of heat).
Heat sinks increase the rate of heat loss from the source into the environment, i.e. usually air. The heat goes to the same place as it would without the heat sink, it just does it quicker. Some heat sinks may be enclosed in a liquid, which is used to transport the heat elsewhere where it cools down and then returns.
heat rtises, cold sinks.