We’re one step closer to wireless meaning literally never plugging things in
Today in Science Express, some MIT scientists announced experimental confirmation for a method of relatively efficient non-radiative wireless power transmission.
Basically, they lit up a 60W lightbulb even though the power source was 2 meters away without making anyone sterile in the process, and it only took 150W of power to pull it off. Imagine setting things on your desk (or on a Microsoft Surface) and having them charge automatically. Imagine never having to plug anything into a cigarette lighter, ever. I doubt you’d want to use it for lights or your air conditioner because of the inefficiency and waste involved, but for small, power unintensive appliences it could be pretty convenient.
I would really like to have access to read this paper for free to figure out how they did it, but maybe later I’ll see if the internet has the info. I’d like to know how the efficiency scales with range. I’m also totally into trying to replicate what they did as long as it doesn’t require a superconducting electromagnet or anything because, seriously, plugging things in is a serious drag. Actually, even if it does require a superconducting electromagnet, I could maybe see if my old physics lab has an old one and, like, some liquid helium sitting around.
I read about this today on Science Blog. You can find their story here. It’s not the actual Science article but maybe it’ll help.
— tim | @
Are there schematics?
— RMSzero | @
Hey, that’s a great article! Thanks!
— RMSzero | @
link
awesome diagram
i wonder why living under power lines is the worst idea ever but creating a powerful electromagnetic field throughout your house is ok? but honestly, i just skimmed the stories, so maybe they already explained… but however they do it, they are awesome. maybe we can make it more macro and have a field around earth so anything anywhere can be powered? yes!
— Wolf | @
p.s. sorry for being lazy and breaking haduken.
— Wolf | @
Yeah, it’s kind of counterintuitive. The reason is that the fields these things are creating are almost exclusively magnetic, and magnetic fields really don’t create much of a biological pwn.
High voltage lines, though, are radiating EM pwn-waves in all directions. So to speak.
BTW, this whole thing has made me read up more about Tesla. That guy is incredible. His dream was putting power into the earth so that you could pull it out anywhere. Like, from the ground. And by “dream” I mean “he was pretty far into building the damn thing when he died, and since he’s pretty much Mr. Modern Electrical Grid, you can bet he would have pulled it off, too.”
— RMSzero | @
he was involved with the templars, harnessing the ancient telluric currents of the earth. but he was killed by the jesuits before he was able to complete the tower which would have pointed them towards the “navel of the earth,” which is where the currents converge on the earth’s crust.
— midas | @
sooo, will it push/pull metal stuff? like, it will light the lightbulb in your lamp, but the lamp has to be bolted to the desk? magnets are cool. magnets are amazing.
— Wolf | @
Whoa neat! I love pwn-waves.
— MaxPower | @