Transmitting Electricity Wirelessly

MIT is working on a project that will allow electricity to be transmitted without the use of any wires. Marin Soljacic and his team at MIT have developed a technique to allow them to transmit electricity wirelessly over short to mid range distances.

They found that two objects tuned to the same frequency can exchange energy strongly but interact only weakly with surrounding objects including living beings. It is a phenomenon called resonant coupling. They've been able to use this technique to successfully power a 60-watt light bulb (see diagram attached).

There are several methods already in use today that are able to charge batteries wirelessly. Companies like Powercast, Fulton Innovation, and WildCharge have begun marketing adapters and pads that allow consumers to wirelessly recharge cell phones, MP3 players. Solja?i?'s technique differs in that you'll be able to recharge devices automatically without the need for adapters as long as you're in range of a transmitter.

The applications of such a technology would be huge. The US Department of Defense is funding this research. They could gain significant advantage on a battle field with such a technology. You can also bet the consumer market would benefit greatly from such a technology.

"In today's battery-operated world, there are so many potential applications where this might be useful," Soljacic says. "It's a powerful concept."

I'm sure they'll be some hurdles with gaining consumer acceptance at first. If it is to be accepted they will need to make the public confident that it has not health side effects.

Vassilios
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http://www.outervillage.com

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Vassilios
Co-Founder
OuterVillage.com
http://outervillage.com

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