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AFAIK, UNIX uses slices and partitions.
Actually, the only safe thing you can say is that UNIX uses devices that can be used for storage. I wish you could say more, but you really can't.
With regards to sharing of swap.. in reality, the answer is "no", but you could certainly do it, you'd just have to format for the right system every time. The reason why the answer is really "no" is because swap is sometimes used for more than swap (e.g. for hibernating in the case of Linux.. which isn't really UNIX, but figured it deserves mention). Implementing a "shared swap" (again, not really shared) across multiple distros of whatever is something you'd have to implement on your own. Not really for "newbies". Just saying...
IMHO, you may need to focus on your CPU cooling? If the CPU needs to run hot, it need to run hot. I'd hate to gamble thinking I can make it run cool all of the time.