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Forget Manchester, How About Wireless Power
Posted 8th December 2006 at 9:21pm by M1ke, tagged as News, Technology | Commenting Closed

The tangle of cables and plugs needed to recharge today's electronic gadgets could soon be a thing of the past.

Well it seems that wireless is going crazier than ever. One limitation that all devices have is that of power. Mobile devices rely increasingly on batteries, but apart from a few innovative watches most require charging once in a while, and many items that could otherwise be fully wireless require power because batteries wouldn't be good enough.

The idea of wireless power was most experimented on by Nikola Tesla in the late 19th century with Tesla coils, which can discharge large amounts of electricity through air. Unfortunately they were never precise, efficient or indeed safe enough for use in a real world situation, though they have gained popularity in fiction as well as amongst engineering enthusiasts with low regard for personal safety.

The new method uses resonance in the materials to transmit the power, in much the same way as a note played on one instruments can cause others to sound a similar note (a good example would be a wind instrument played near, but not touching, a tuned drum). The same phenomenon has been mathematically proven on simulations to transfer power to devices such as laptops or MP3 players, but it is suggested that were it to be developed then areas of factories could be powered wirelessly, increasing productivity by removing a limitation in construction and an extra cost in laying cables.

Interestingly the wireless power system has appeared within the last few years - though on a rather suspicious date. Unfortunately it seems to be no longer in production.

• Link to BBC Technology, Wireless Power

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