Wireless electricity
July 23, 2009 - 4:06pm
I really got a charge out of this story - hopefully it will spark some discussion:
A system that can deliver power to devices without the need for wires has been shown off at a hi-tech conference.
The technique exploits simple physics and can be used to charge a range of electronic devices.
Eric Giler, chief executive of US firm Witricity, showed mobile phones and televisions charging wirelessly at the TED Global conference in Oxford.
He said the system could replace the miles of expensive power cables and billions of disposable batteries.
"There is something like 40 billion disposable batteries built every year for power that, generally speaking, is used within a few inches or feet of where there is very inexpensive power," he said.
I think this is how the diagram goes...
1. The power (electrical) source.
2. Converts the electricity into some form of energy (light, high or low energy waves, maybe ultrasound, or what have you) and transmits the energy.
3. The energy being transmitted.
4. The reciever that converts the energy back into electricity.
5. A rechargable battery.
No more device power cables and extension cords? That's alright, no more blaming the pets for unplugging your block heater.
I think I'd like to see some health studies on this. I don't want to live under powerlines for a reason.
A valid point, and I hope it challenges us to understand more. Human health isn't usually the most thoroughly researched aspect of the how-to propositions given to engineers.