Scientific breakthrough - Wireless electricity

[Kaos]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1965 The end of the plug? Scientists invent wireless device that beams electricity through your home by DAVID DERBYSHIRE - More by this author » Last updated at 12:31pm on 8th June 2007 Scientists have sounded the death knell for the plug and power lead. In a breakthrough that sounds like something out of Star Trek, they have discovered a way of 'beaming' power across a room into a light bulb, mobile phone or laptop computer without wires or cables. In the first successful trial of its kind, the team was able to illuminate a 60-watt light bulb 7ft away. Scroll down for more If it works and it's safe, it will be one of the greatest achievements ever. The team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who call their invention 'WiTricity', believe it could change the way we use electricity and do away with the tangle of cables, plugs and chargers that clutter modern homes. It could also allow the use of laptops and mobile phones without batteries. The inspiration came when the lead researcher, Dr Marin Soljacic, was standing in his kitchen at night staring at his mobile phone. "It was probably the sixth time that month that I was awakened by my cell phone beeping to let me know that I had forgotten to charge it. It occurred to me that it would be so great if the thing took care of its own charging," he said. To turn this dream into reality, Dr Soljacic needed a way of transmitting power wirelessly. Scientists have known for nearly two centuries that it is possible to transfer an electrical current from one coil of wire to another without them touching. The phenomenon, called electromagnetic induction, is used in power transformers and electric motors around the world. However, the coils in motors and transformers have to be close for power to pass from one to another. Attempting to transfer power over distances is impossible. The breakthrough came when Dr Soljacic realised there was another way of transferring energy through the air. Rather than sending power from a transmitter to a receiver as a conventional electromagnetic wave - the same form of radiation as light, radio waves and microwaves - he could use the transmitter to fill a room with a 'non-radiative' electromagnetic field. Most objects in the room - such as people, desks and carpets - would be unaffected by the electromagnetic field. But any objects designed to resonate with the electromagnetic field would absorb the energy. It sounds complicated, but the result demonstrated by the American team this month was a dramatic success. Using two coils of copper, the team transmitted power 7ft through the air to a light bulb, which lit up instantly. The scientists say the technique works only over distances of up to 9ft. However, they believe it could be used to charge up a battery within a few yards of the power source connected to a receiving coil. Placing one source in each room could provide enough power for an entire house. The receiver and transmitter would not have to be in view of each other. Professor Peter Fisher, another of the researchers, said: "As long as the laptop is in a room equipped with a source of wireless power, it would charge automatically without having to be plugged in. In fact, it would not even need a battery to operate inside such a room." The researchers believe there is little to worry about on safety grounds, saying that magnetic fields interact weakly with living organisms and are unlikely to have any serious side effects. Dr Soljacic said: "When my son was about three years old, we visited his grandparents' house. They had a 20-year-old phone and my son picked up the handset asking, 'Dad, why is this phone attached with a cord to the wall?' That is the mindset of a child growing up in a wireless world. "Hopefully we will be getting rid of some more wires and batteries soon." Kaos Comment - although not mentioned in the article Tesla is at least the patron saint of this technology.

[Terran]

I just finished reading this from another source.... But I only got around to it after I read all the anti aging stuff

[MaximusIncredulous]

"The researchers believe there is little to worry about on safety grounds, saying that magnetic fields interact weakly with living organisms and are unlikely to have any serious side effects." Sounds like famous last words but it is interesting technology. I wonder how it would work in apartment buildings with multiple EMTs throughout the building.

[Cody]

Good lord...!

[Terran]

I wonder how it would work in apartment buildings with multiple EMTs throughout the building. Well they said it wouldnt have that far of a range....so if each unit has like a 10 foot range you wouldnt get that much overlap....

[DeadJonas190]

The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking about Tesla and the rumour that he created this a long time ago, and then you go and mention him Kaos. I guess we think a like. As for the technology, that's pretty amazing. Hopefully it will be implemented in the near future. I bet they would find ways to secure it like a wifi network so that people dont steal electricity like they do wifi connections.

[Danny]

^ ditto to the tesla remmark, were all gonna be living all 50's sci-fi , lbiet about probably 80 years too late though i am a little wierded otu about all the crap we get bombrded with allready, this wireless crap we have must have some kind of affect on us or other animals.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Well they said it wouldnt have that far of a range....so if each unit has like a 10 foot range you wouldnt get that much overlap.... I was wondering about the "... a powerful electromagnetic field is created around it." I admit I'm pretty dense when it comes to these electrical thingamajigs but if the field is generated around the coil and the coil is mounted in the ceiling, what happens if I place an electrical device or battery on the floor above the coil meant for the apartment downstairs? That's less than 9ft and well within the yardage for battery charging. I'm sure the folks at [insert name of greedy power company here] will install some kind of shielding to prevent that.

[Tricky]

Awesome!we'll be able to tap into next doors power supply without the use of dodgy wiring!same as a lot of people in terraces & flats tap into their neighbours wireless internet for free

[MinionZombie]

Long live the wire! Maybe it's just me, but I feel a strange sense of pride when I see a jungle of wires and cables behind the TV set, or my computer desk. For now, I'm backing away from all this wireless stuff like it's fire and I'm a zombie.

[Danny]

wouldnt it turn our houses into lightning rod's on the 2nd floors though?, cus i dont wanna be watching tv , trying to hear over a storm then -P-ZAAAOW! so many hundred volts up my ass or something.

[Kaos]

"The researchers believe there is little to worry about on safety grounds, saying that magnetic fields interact weakly with living organisms and are unlikely to have any serious side effects." Sounds like famous last words but it is interesting technology. Just wrap your head with aluminum foil. You'll be just fine

[Terran]

No no no!.....First you have to get one of those large orange traffic cones......put that on your head and wrap the cone in tin foil....thats the only way to get it to work correctly..... Also you have to wear large black rubber clown shoes....

[MaximusIncredulous]

Ohhkaay, but don't sez I didn't warn you guys

[general tbag]

if not mistaken didnt tesla attempt the same thing ?