Wireless Charging

[CraigD]

apparently another method of wireless transmission is via From a link in Jay’s wiki reference, evanescent wave coupling, and this is whats used for the electric toothbrushes :)

It’s also the term describing the technical underpinnings of one of the main areas of MIT’s “WiTricity” projects. As they’ve recently shown 40% efficiency in transmitting 40 watts across 2 meters, with the inductive transmission trait of “no power to the transmitter when the receiver is absent” I described in post #33 and #31, and describe their research as “3 to 5 years from commercial use”, they’re high on my watch list.

 

Still, I can’t help but worry at the difficulties WiTricity will pose for a mixture of devices of different technologies. Will a random heap of cords left connected to a sensitive preamp mysteriously fry it with a couple of watts of 110 V AC? Will the copper good-luck charm in some poor persons pocket set their pants on fire?

 

Corded power transmission may be old, low tech, but it has the strength of being obviously visible, and offering few seriously unpleasant surprises. Sometimes, about some things, Luddites can be right.

[Jay-qu]

Even if some problems like that are encountered, the technology may still be useful in applications where a human may not be present - ie some industrial processes.

[CraigD]

Even if some problems like that are encountered, the technology may still be useful in applications where a human may not be present - ie some industrial processes.

True. Though I think the current thrust is focused on recharging or directly powering small consumer electronics.

 

I’ve noticed that early WiTricity advocates (eg: Hugo Gernsback, for whom the Hugo award is named, in his 1911 science fiction novel “Ralph 124C 41+”, and, of course, Tesla) tended to “think big”, assuming that “beamed” wireless power would be most useful for very high-power applications, such as airplanes and even spaceships.