Ace Future Technology: Wireless "Electricity"

[Cube]

Story

 

 

Theorists have devised a way of efficiently transferring electricity wirelessly, through electromagnetic induction.

 

That jumble of wires, plugs and recharge docks could one day disappear if a new theory to wirelessly charge electronic gadgets works as well as scientists say it should.

 

Physicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a theoretical way to create a truly wireless future by using the centuries-old practice of electromagnetic induction.

 

While the theory of running a current through one coil that is received by another nearby coil has been around for a long time, transferring energy through electromagnetic radiation is terribly inefficient because the waves spread in all directions.

 

But Marin Soljacic, an assistant professor in MIT's Department of Physics and Research Laboratory of Electronics, thinks he may have come up with a solution.

 

Instead of irradiating the environment with unrestrained electromagnetic waves, a power transmitter could fill the space around it with a “non-radiative†electromagnetic field, according to theoretical research outlined on Tuesday at the American Institute of Physics Industrial Physics Forum in San Francisco.

 

That energy would only be picked up by gadgets specially designed to “resonate†with the field, and most of the energy not picked up by a receiver would be reabsorbed by the emitter.

 

Prof. Soljacic says the close-range induction could potentially transfer energy over longer distances, say, from one end of a room to the other.

 

While rooted in well-known laws of physics, non-radiative energy transfer is an application no-one seems to have pursued before, according to an MIT release.

 

Theoretical calculations and computer simulations have produced designs where non-radiative wireless power would have limited range, and the range would be shorter for smaller-size receivers.

 

The team calculates that an object the size of a laptop could be recharged within a few meters of the power source. Placing one source in each room could provide coverage throughout your home.

 

In addition to consumer electronics, wireless energy could find industrial applications powering, for example, freely roaming robots within a factory pavilion, Prof. Soljacic said.

 

The work is funded in part by the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center program of the National Science Foundation.

 

 

Sounds interesting, and if pulled off, it would be of fantastic use.

 

- Charging phones and portable devices by simply walking through a "wireless power" area.

- totally wireless mice, remotes, and game controllers, without batteries

- no more cables draping everywhere

- small killing devices (if you want to know my theoretical E-M killing device, just ask)

[Ramar]

without batteries

 

They'll have batteries, they just won't need to be charged via mains supply.

 

Read it earlier on the bbc website, seems interesting if they can pull it off.

[fatnickc]

I don't have time to read the article right now, but is it anything like the way that a circuit to pick up radio signals does not require a power supply?

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

Good idea. Maybe this could enable solar power from sattelites.

[stev2604]

But if you were in a flat or terraced/semi detached house couldnt your neighbours steal your electricity?

[AshMat]

Damn, i've had this idea for ages. But being my age,i am in no position to go about making it. Oh well, at least someone's doing it.

[Shorty]

Damn, i've had this idea for ages. But being my age,i am in no position to go about making it. Oh well, at least someone's doing it.

Same thing happened with me and the internet!

[AshMat]

Same thing happened with me and the internet!

 

Except i'm being serious.

[Guest Stefkov]

Wont some scienty peopel who health people start complaining that there will be some sort of emition that will cause harm to people?

I bet that will happen sometime.

In the meantime, this is a great idea.

No-one has still made my idea of scissors with mulitple blades.....

[killthenet]

Nikola Tesla was messing around with wireless electrity in the 19th century and Thomas Edison was trying to steal his shit. All of this new research is being done using the same theories Tesla came up with.

[Guest Jordan]

Ahhhh Tesla... he was a crazy bastard.

If only the things of C&C RA were real!

 

But yeah, this technology has limitless potential, especially if these "charging areas" are free for public use.

[Ginger_Chris]

tesla coils are technically real, do a quick search on google. they just don't work exactly like they do on cnc.

 

A quick vid, theres probably better around:

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/35-million-volt-tesla-coil