Wireless Electricity Is Near

[SoCalDem]

Eric Giler demos wireless electricity

Wireless Electricity Is Near


* Posted by: Michelle Lanz
* on November 5, 2009 at 7:00 am


Imagine a world where cords do not exist. Where surge protectors and extension cords are obsolete and multiple wall sockets are unnecessary.

What if your electronic devices could be powered by air?

snip

Based on the theory and methods developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, enterprising professor and MacArthur Genius Grant-winner Marin Soljačić and his team of scientists have developed a way to harness and concentrate electric power, then project it several meters. The invisible currents then power computers, TVs, stereos, and just about anything electronic. In other words, this thing is bound to put the extension cord industry out of business.

So how will it work, and more importantly, how do we know it’s safe?

The idea is that WiTricity coils plugged into an electrical source will be embedded into the wall of your home or hidden behind a bookcase or couch. These coils then send radiant electricity to electronic devices throughout a specified area via magnetic fields (no not that kind. This kind).

This is non-radiative, magnetic energy, meaning it won’t cook you like a microwave or burn you like a laser. The world-renowned physicist Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London explains on the group’s site: “The body really responds strongly to electric fields, which is why you can cook a chicken in a microwave. But it doesn’t respond to magnetic fields. As far as we know the body has almost zero response to magnetic fields in terms of the amount of power it absorbs.”

Hmm, sounds ok, except for that whole “as far as we know” part.

It’s hard to process just exactly how this will work, since we can’t actually see the power flying through the air (and since WiTricity’s Web site is dense with MIT scientist-lingoBut the group has already been able to power a light bulb from two feet away and is well on its way to taking it to the next level.

snip

As with any out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new invention, important questions need to be answered: Will this new way to power our devices increase our already soaring energy use? Are there side effects to the transfer of electricity through the air? What’s going to happen to all the electricians of the world? There’s no way anyone can know right now. But in a world where everything seems like it’s been done before, isn’t it fun to be on the cusp of something revolutionary?

Guest blogger Michelle Lanz is a writer living in Los Angeles. Photo (cc) by Flickr user j / f/ photos.

[liberal N proud]

1. Are there side effects to the transfer of electricity through the air?

Gee, electrical field in close proximity to human tissue. I really wonder how there could not be side effects.

They tell us that just holding a cell phone to your hear has side effects, what would currents powerfully enough to power devices do?


:shrug:

[hlthe2b]

3. My concern as well.... and it is a big one... n/t

[Xipe Totec]

4. Hold on to your dental fillings!

this is gonna hurt!

[trotsky]

14. You should read the article.

It's transmitted with magnetic fields, not electric.

If magnetic fields harmed us, well, let's just say that an MRI would be fatal.

[liberal N proud]

16. If there is no effects of long term exposure to MRI, why do the techs

leave the room while the unit is active?

MRI exposure is limited just as exposure to radiation during X-Rays.

Transmission of electricity through magnetic field would leave us all exposed long term

[trotsky]

18. An MRI does not produce ionizing radition.

Techs don't have to leave the room, but they usually do so to reduce the risk of any magnetic jewelry, accessories, etc. flying into the magnetic field.

[Hutzpa]

29. Did you watch the presentation?

or are just making that up? because I did and did not see where that was
discussed or shown that people left the room.

Besides, don't electricity harm people(?) just asked those that have lived
around or under power lines and let them tell you about how power lines
made them contacted cancer.

[liberal N proud]

31. I was referring to the technicians who leave the room in MRI's

The techs always go in the booth or outer room before starting an MRI.

[Hutzpa]

39. Oh ok

must have misread your post, my bad.

:hide:


:hi:

[trotsky]

48. I addressed this in post #18. n/t

[liberal N proud]

52. I know, we just can't wear any watches, jewelry around the house or office

Not sure what that will do for those with artificial joints and pins in the bones.

Could be an ugly sight.

[trotsky]

55. And if the fields involved with power transmission...

were even CLOSE to what they are with MRI, you'd have a great point.

But they aren't, so you don't.

The scientific illiteracy of this country is so depressing.

[TrogL]

83. Nonsense

Let's see a properly done study demonstrating this.

I'll bet half those people would rather blame power lines than their smoking.

[Xipe Totec]

19. There are some effects

Well, it appears that about 20 years ago and further, tattoo ink was sometimes comprised of small fragments of metal as well as other ingredients. This was long before tattoos were ever regulated and before more serious thought was given as to the safety of tattoo ink ingredients. Some MRI patients who have had tattoos that dated back far enough to have received ink that contained metal bits have reported slight discomfort to severe pain during an MRI scan.

It is purported that the reason for this was that the magnetic force pulled on the metallic fragments so violently that it caused a burning sensation in the location of the tattoo. I have heard some theorize that this may have been caused by built up friction between the particles, and some say that the magnetic force was actually tearing at the skin as the fragments were pulled and attempted to actually break away from the skin. I don’t know which, if either, is true; however, even if there is no pain at all, these fragments can cause artifacts, which is the technical term used for distortions in MRI scans. Artifacts can render a scanned image useless, requiring that the procedure be done again or even an alternate procedure be used to acquire accurate information. So, at the very least, you could be stuck with a very expensive bill for nothing -if, of course, your tattoo actually contains these metal particles.

http://tattoo.about.com/cs/tatfaq/a/mri_scan.htm

Any metallic object in your body, bone pins, scull plates, dental filings, pace makers, metallic tattoo inks are going to react to magnetic fields.

[trotsky]

20. But again, this is not the magnetic field harming us,

but rather having an effect on any magnetic objects on our person. Plus I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that the fields involved with power transmission over such a short distance are going to be a couple of orders of magnitude lower than an MRI.

[Xipe Totec]

23. Unless we can keep people from having metal on their bodies,

this concern will have to be addressed.

To say that it is not the magnetic fields harming us, but the metallic objects reacting to the magnetic fields, is like saying guns don't kill people; bullets do. The end result is the same.

[Statistical]

25. Another thing to consider is the field strength for a device like this is a tiny fraction of an MRI

[Xipe Totec]

26. So, we've established there is a potential danger

Now we're just arguing about the dosage.

[Statistical]

27. No.

It is possible for a low field strength to present no danger while a large one to present a danger.

If I drop a brick on you that is a danger.
If I drop a feather on you no danger.

I doubt this tech will every catch on though. Are consumers really willing to double or triple their electric bill to avoid having plugs?

The technology isn't new. It has never caught on in the past and likely never will except niche applications.

One applications is charging small, mobile low power devices. Imagine a desk that automatically charged any cellphone, pda, laptop, digital camera, ipod, and wireless mouse you placed on it.

Another application would be charging electric vehicles. Imagine a special parking spot (maybe with green lines to mark it) that when you drive park an electric car on it recharges the car while it is parked.

Both would involve small field distance and you wouldn't remain in them while charging. The convinience would warrant the additional energy consumption. Anyone entering the field accidentally wouldn't be harmed but the field could be designed to minimize the amount of exposure a human receives.

The idea that someday your entire house will be blanketed in wireless electricity to power all large imobile objects (TV, refrigerators, lamps, etc) is silly.

[Xipe Totec]

No?

You said: "It is possible for a low field strength to present no danger while a large one to present a danger."

So the question is, at what field strength does no danger become some danger?

Isn't that establishing dosage? :shrug:

[Tesha]

79. At the moment, the science suggests that there's no danger in a magnetic field...

...unless:

1. The magnetic field happens to be changing at a rate that
couples power into metal objects within your body ("Eddy current
heating") and that's a rare occurrence. In that specific situation,
the risk is ordinary thermal burns, or

2. The magnetic field is intense enough to exert physical forces
on metal objects (usually ferrous metal objects) within your body.
That's the big MRI risk.

Tesha

[Xipe Totec]

85. Agreed

My objection is only to the use of categorical statements made by some in the conversations above.

I was also offering a counterexample to the case posted earlier asserting that MRIs are totaly harmless*






(they are mostly harmless) :hi:

[liberal N proud]

34. From the OP

Imagine a world where cords do not exist. Where surge protectors and extension cords are obsolete and multiple wall sockets are unnecessary.

That implies using this technology to replace the current wiring system in your home or office.

[Statistical]

36. Yup and it will NEVER EVER EVER happen.

Tesla invented this tech a long long long long time ago.

As a niche market powering mobile low power devices maybe to replace all wiring laughably insane.

[thereismore]

73. That was just some writer jazzing up the story, imo. nt

[thereismore]

72. Only magnetic metals matter. Gold, copper, don't. nt

[Xipe Totec]

76. Really? I've shot aluminum washers with a magnetic rail-gun

Last I checked, aluminum is not a magnetic metal.

[no limit]

33. Since you live on earth you kind of already are subject to this electromagnetic field

since you are still alive I think you'll be ok.

[liberal N proud]

46. Subject to it naturally in natural or normal doses

This would be added doses of the same forces and not naturally occurring.

[no limit]

64. The problem is that anyone claiming weak magnetic fields are bad for you has absolutely no clue

as to what they are talking about.

Most people when they don't understand something they are naturally scared of it. Magnetism being one of those things. All the wires in your house already produce a magnetic field, in fact so does your body.

[Occulus]

66. This device uses homeopathic magnetic fields.

:D

[Odin2005]

92. The Earth's magnetic field is much weaker than these human-made ones.

[Odin2005]

88. I thought the same thing when I first heard of the Tesla Coil hype.

[zbdent]

2. I know that Tesla had worked on this type of technology ...

Thought it might have been a bit of Hollywood fabrication for the movie "The Prestige", but I just checked to make sure, and Wikipedia confirmed it ...

[Xipe Totec]

5. We used to hide a tesla coil in a closet

in the physics lab, and put a fluorescent bulb right outside the door.

Although unplugged, the bulb would still light up.

Freaked out the freshmen.

[Electric Monk]

49. Inverse cube law. nt

[Xipe Totec]

51. Your point?

Are you saying it is inefficient? If so, that's true.

But who worries about such things when playing a joke. :shrug:

[thereismore]

74. That was AC field. nt

[Xipe Totec]

78. So is this one

"Two coils with a matched resonance at the exact matching frequency on both ends = wireless power."

This is nothing more than a transformer with an air core instead of a ferrite core.

[Tesha]

81. It's slightly trickier than that because most transformers aren't "tuned";

they're relatively wideband devices. This uses a tuned secondary.

And it's probably more fair to think of it as an iron-core transformer
with a *HUGE* air gap in the core.

Tesha

[Xipe Totec]

87. Again, no argument there

the argument was with the person dismissing the Tesla coil story implying that somehow this device is acting on a different principle, something not involving alternating currents.

It's all induction, and induction requires a varying electromagnetic field.

[Fumesucker]

6. There is simply no way this is going to be as efficient as using a cord to carry the power..

There are a few limited applications where this will make sense but in a world where efficiency is becoming ever more important this technology is not helpful in most applications.

[Toucano]

28. It could be too early to make such a declaration.

Imagine an array of solar panels in low orbit beaming electricity down to the earth without cables.

Even if the transmission loss is greater than cabled delivery, it could end up being more cost effective.

[Statistical]

35. Except this tech is for powering devices so the generation power is the same.

This will use much more power than a cord does.

For beaming power from space microwave is far more efficient and can already handle the massive amounts of power required and can be spread out over a large area to lower power density making it safe if something passes through the field.

[Fumesucker]

40. I was talking about using around the home, office or factory..

Beaming power from space assumes plenty of power and efficiency of transmission is not such an issue..

And besides, the beaming power from space problem has already been solved with a somewhat different technology involving microwaves.

[Ignis]

58. ..."For now."

Keep in mind that wireless ethernet is slower and has far more security concerns than a good old-fashioned ;) twisted-pair network cable. But that hasn't stopped consumers from clamoring for better, faster, and more secure wireless technology. And consumer demand often drives high-tech innovation.

Personally, I think consumers will go apeshit for wireless power.

[conscious evolution]

7. GE has had this

for a while.
It is the old Tesla tower he was murdered over.
Frankly,I have to worry about the health and safety issues,also.

[BadgerKid]

8. Hooray, 19th c. physics rediscovered.

See Ampere's law.

I guess making this into a product is interesting, but this sounds like a ton of hype to me.

Some think living near high-power electrical lines causes cancer. I have every reason to believe the same argument would be made against this technology. I, or someone, should calculate the magnetic fields due to these currents and compare it to the Earth's natural field to see whether the former is significant.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

9. Kick and Rec.

[ThomWV]

10. We already have cordless electric transmission, its called lightening.

[DainBramaged]

11. Wow so can I get lit now?

[nebenaube]

12. bullshit

"The body really responds strongly to electric fields, which is why you can cook a chicken in a microwave. But it doesn’t respond to magnetic fields. As far as we know the body has almost zero response to magnetic fields in terms of the amount of power it absorbs.”

The brain's electrical activity entrains to environmental magnetic fluctuations.

[Statistical]

13. Major problem is efficiency.

Nothing in the article indicates efficiency but essentially it will double or triple power consumption.

Not a good tech when we want to conserve energy to produce less green house gasses.

[DavidDvorkin]

21. Oh, pooh, efficiency is no problem at all

See, the lost energy will be converted to heat. So in the winter, that will save on heating bills.

And in the summer, we can all just turn up our air conditioning!

[Canuckistanian]

45. Yup. No free lunch here

Unless the problem of wire winding resistance is addressed, there will be a major cost in efficiency.

Not to mention the space needed for large coils everywhere in a building.

It doesn't impress me.

[Tesha]

84. WiTricity claims 80% efficiency over a distance of a very few feet.

That sounds reasonably-correct but as you say, it's absolutely lousy
efficiency compared to a very small copper power cord.

Tesha

[drm604]

15. What's going to stop people from stealing power from the apartment next door?

How can you control what's sucking power from a given coil? Could people purposely or inadvertently steal power?

[Statistical]

24. The range is relatively small.

The emitter can also be made to be directional.
However the point is valid and will be something to be considered in deployment.

[drm604]

71. From witricity.com

Consumer Electronics

• Automatic wireless charging of mobile electronics (phones, laptops, game controllers, etc.) in home, car, office, Wi-Fi hotspots … while devices are in use and mobile.
  
• Direct wireless powering of stationary devices (flat screen TV’s, digital picture frames, home theater accessories, wireless loud speakers, etc.) … eliminating expensive custom wiring, unsightly cables and “wall-wart” power supplies.
  
• Direct wireless powering of desktop PC peripherals: wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, speakers, display, etc… eliminating disposable batteries and awkward cabling.

It does seem like there would have to be some limitations to it's real capabilities in order to prevent theft, accidental or otherwise. How can you "eliminate expensive custom wiring" if every device has be within an apartment walls width of a coil?

I always have my cell phone in my pocket. Could I leech power as I walk down the street or when I'm visiting friends? Sure, there could be an off switch for the phone's charging capability but many dishonest people might just leave it on to pickup power whenever it hits a hot spot. Hell, they could control it so that it only charges when they're NOT at home.

[L0oniX]

17. Tesla's idea remains to this day.

[myrna minx]

22. K&R n/t

[Hutzpa]

30. That is truely a magnificent

presentation, :wow: imagine the amount of lives that can be saved, lives will change
overnight.

[no limit]

32. Doesn't sound like a very efficient use of electricity

Doesn't the electromagnetic field get weaker the further away you are. Wouldn't you also lose some of the power in this process?

[Statistical]

41. Yup you lose roughly 55% at 2 meter distance.

Double your electric bill.
Double the natrual resource usage.
Double the carbon emissions.

As a niche product for charging small, low powered mobile devices (cellphone, camera, wireless mouse) I can see it.
To completely replace wires is both stupid and wasteful.

[Dreamer Tatum]

37. So, cell phones cause brain tumors, but this is a genius idea, huh?

:crazy:

[sudopod]

38. Hey, look!

Someone completely ignorant of science wrote a science article! "Hmm, sounds ok, except for that whole “as far as we know” part." Durrrrrr

That aside, it sounds cool.

[Hutzpa]

42. nit picking...

thats all you have left, nothing to offer, but to nit pick, I hate
nit pickers....:grr: I despises them....:puke:


I fail to see the snark in your comment.

[sudopod]

60. I'm just tired of this Micheal Chrichton attitude

where we have to be scared of every piece of science and technology some so-and-so with a column doesn't understand. It isn't nit picking to be tired of ignorant "journalists" scaring people for no good reason.

Why did my post get you so bent out of shape anyway? At a time when DU is so full of outrageous posts, why did I get flamed? :p

[Hutzpa]

63. Because lately on DU

the naysayers seems to have the loudest voice and I'm working my butts
off to tone down their verbiage.

[SoCalDem]

44. Look!

The writer wrote the article based on this:

But then maybe a world-renowned physicist from MIT, doesn't pass your test :)


http://www.ted.com/speakers/eric_giler.html
Why you should listen to him:

Eric Giler heads WiTricity, a startup with a product straight out of science fiction: wireless electricity, beamed from a base station to your electrical devices. The technology was developed by an MIT team led by theoretical physicist Marin Soljačić (who won a MacArthur "genius"grant last year). Now, WiTricity is one of several startups developing tech to safely transmit power through the air -- and potentially untether our electronic age.

The technology at the core of WiTricity's approach is called magnetic coupled resonance, which can provoke an energetic response at a distance between two coils, one powered, the other not. If the two coils are correctly tuned to one another, energy flows from the connected one (installed, say, on the ceiling of a room) into the other (inside, say, your laptop). Giler presented a demo of it at TEDGlobal 2009 -- and several companies are already planning to add it to their phones, cameras, TVs and other devices.

"A feat of physics so subtle and so profound it could change the world."

Paul Hochman, Fast Company

[Statistical]

50. Yeah the MIT guy never made the claims the clueless author of article made.

At 55% inefficiency (double power bill) it will never replace all wiring in your house. It was never intended to.

[SoCalDem]

53. clueless author... please feel free to enlighten her

Michelle Lanz

==================================================

You can e-mail me at: [e-mail]

:)

[sudopod]

61. I think it's totally awesome if it's economically feasable.

Believe me, I'm as tired of the rats nest of power chords behind my electronics as anyone. :)

It's the fear-mongering that gets me. You can bet a shiny silver dollar that if this hits the main stream there will be wailing angst over the fact that manufacturers are covering up the "magnetic field/cancer link" that they heard about on Coast to Coast AM. :p Reporters like this one are priming the pump.

[slackmaster]

43. He's baaaaaaaaack

[Occulus]

67. OF course he is. Tesla's a vampire. Don't you watch Sanctuary?

God, I'm in a mood today. Sheesh.

:)

[SidDithers]

91. BAM! You start with homeopathic magnetic fields upthread...

and then follow up with a Sanctuary reference.

You are officially King of this Thread. :hi:

Sid

[Statistical]

47. Technology is 45% efficient (55% wasted) at distance of 2meters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiTricity

The person writing the article was clueless. This isn't intended to replace all wiring. It would be stupid, wasteful, and insanely expensive (both in terms of equipment and usage). Where it would be useful is in niche power scenarios.

I can think of a couple examples:

1) Mobile devices
Imagine a desk or table with a transmitter and range limited to size of desk.
You place cellphone, ipod, or other compatible device. It sends a signal to table to begin charging automatically. It sends another signal to stop once charged. Basically as long as you leave your device on the table/desk at end of each day it will always be fully charged when you need it.

2) Electric vehicle charging
Another use would be electric car charging. Put one under garage floor. Drive car over charger and it charges car automatically. Local utilities could install similar devices in public parking spaces (maybe marked green like handicap spaces are marked blue). You drive over spot. Car sends signal to space to identify it. Space charges car shile you shop and end of month it gets added to your monthly electric bill.

The idea this will completely replace all wires even for immobile large power devices is silly and misses the point.
How often have you had to plug and unplug your refrigerator? What would making your refrigerator wireless really make it that much more convenient?

[slutticus]

70. Spot on. Useless in the application the author noted, but #1 would be sweet.

Imagine charging your laptop, cell phone, cordless mouse and blue-tooth headset by simply placing it on your desk....

Another application could be charging of medical implant devices.

[Tesha]

86. That technology exists today for the Palm Pre cellphone.

http://www.palm.com/us/products/accessories/touchstone-bundle.html

[LeftHander]

54. Taser eager for this technology for more weapons....nt

[Gman2]

56. It's stupid. They can do a lot of things, just takes gobbs of energy.

[Kablooie]

57. This has been around for a long time. Problem is that it disrupts pacemakers.

[Hutzpa]

59. Then too bad for Dick Cheney

:evilgrin:

[Kablooie]

65. But he's got a stent. Not a pacemaker. It doesn't bother stents, darn it.

If he has a heart at all, that is.

[Occulus]

68. That *does* sound like a dealbreaker, doesn't it? n/t

[DireStrike]

62. I can think of a lot of drawbacks and almost no reason to put this in a home

- How big is the area of effect? Is it the entire house? If not, you've neutered the ability of the consumer to use devices anywhere in their house with the help of a simple and cheap extension cord.

- Potential health risks.

- Inefficient, compared to cords.

- Might not screw with bodies, but what about your watch? Every device that is potentially affected by magnetism would have to be kosher with these thingies.

[Matariki]

69. "As far as we know the body has almost zero response to magnetic fields"

I wonder about that. I'm very sensitive to the magnets in elevators - at least that's what I think it is, maybe it's electricity or something else. I can feel them when the arrive at my floor - it's an odd, shifting feeling, hard to describe.

I used to work in an office that was behind a bank of elevators and my monitor would briefly look like an aquarium whenever one went by - I could feel it too.

[wroberts189]

80. You have good reasons to wonder....

Magnetic stimulation is known to have effects on the brain.


http://www.shaktitechnology.com/

[Tesha]

75. Yeah, as long as you don't mind throwing 20% of it away.

WiTricity's gadgets are big, ugly, costly, and lose 20% or so of all
the electricity they transmit.

By comparison, power cords are small, only slightly ugly, dirt cheap,
and lose essentially NO power at all.

Tesha

[TrogL]

77. Anybody remember the movie "The Quiet Earth"?

They tried it and things got really messed up really quickly.

[1]

82. ney, i say. just another jobstealing attempt. what about all of those workers that make power cords?

this is just another way to put people out of work...

[Xipe Totec]

89. They will make power coils instead

curly cords.

[Odin2005]

90. And how would this not erase every hard drive in range?

Magnetic fields erase hard drives.

They would have to make damn sure the magnetic field doesn't mess things up.