Commercially available wireless electricity is here ...

Hi folks,

I know we have loads of Tesla groupies up in here , including myself, so this should be interesting for all:

New research is bringing energy transfer into the wireless world. Soon, a central hub could be charging your batteries, laptop, televisions, electric cars, you name it… right through the air. You might never untangle a wire again. Cool, right?

Wireless energy is built on the principle of resonant coupling. The devices use copper coils that, if tuned to the same frequency, can resonate with one another. One coil is plugged into the wall, and creates an electromagnetic field; another coil nearby resonates with the first field, picking up some energy in the process to fuel your electronics. The magnetic field lets energy flow regardless of obstacles in the way, so the current can travel through walls. Currently, the type of radiation involved can only resonate within a few meters.

Over the past few years, a number of companies have been racing to put wireless energy on the market. Last week, researchers at Intel showcased a wirelessly charged iPod speaker. In 2007, researchers at MIT revealed a similar project that powered a lightbulb remotely. The physicist and project leader Marin Soljacic (winner of a MacArthur “genius grant” Fellowship) went on to found the start-up WiTricity, which is leading the pack in developing a commercially viable product.

The godfather of wireless energy transfer was Nikola Tesla, a brilliant and fascinating figure in the history of electrical engineering. In the late 1800’s, Tesla showed that electromagnetic energy could be transferred wirelessly. He also postulated that some day, all of our electronics would be able to harvest energy that is naturally present in space. That’s probably a little further down Intel’s pipeline. The Wireless Future of Energy Tranfer

So Far as I am aware WiTricity is the first company to bring wireless electricity technology as a viable commercial application.

The technology is available for review here and here.

Looks like some kinks still need to be worked out, but good stuff nonetheless.

Edit to add the associated scientific papers:

Efficient wireless non-radiative mid-range energy transfer

Wireless Power Transfer via Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonances

[edit on 1 Jul 2009 by schrodingers dog]

star and flag for you good sir (assuming you are indeed a sir. if not i apologize)

this is rather exciting and its also further proof of tesla's brilliance.

It is cool but I get a bit concerned about the off-chance possibility of having some part of my body being resonant with the power source. The consequences seem unpleasant at best.

my biggest concerns would be.

1. How much radiation will this device put out? For example, larger power lines put off radiation along the line. There have been cases where this has caused cancerous growths in residents living within close proximity to the power lines.

2. How will this effect wildlife? Example, Sharks navigate using electric impulses(or is it detecting them.. I forget) (one reason why we have never been able to keep a great white or a mako in captivity.) How will increased electrical activity in the environment toy with their senses?

3. What measures will be taken to prevent those in close proximity to be exposed to said radiation or those within very close proximity to prevent electrocution in the event that something where to go horribly wrong? (if they where to use this on a macro scale that is) What is the risk of this occurring if any?

4. How will this sort of power effect the economic situation for the areas that it provides for.

5. What are the risks involving atmospheric conditions?

I'm sure some of these risks are close to nonexistent, but these are questions we have to consider if we are going to use this new technology in the future. I would have been much more comfortable if it was Tesla himself overseeing the project, because I believe he would have been more up to the tasks of accident prevention and more apt to roll with the punches if problems arose. I mean all have to consider it was his concept, invention, and project in the first place.

[edit on 1-7-2009 by DaMod]

Here's a video explaining the technology:

reply to post by DaMod


Hi DM, some of your questions I believe can be answered here.

Including:

Q: Is WiTricity technology safe?
A: WiTricity’s technology is a non-radiative mode of energy transfer, relying instead on the magnetic near field. Magnetic fields interact very weakly with biological organisms—people and animals—and are scientifically regarded to be safe. WiTricity products are being designed to comply with applicable safety standards and regulations

[edit on 1 Jul 2009 by schrodingers dog]

reply to post by EnlightenUp Yeah I'd be a bit concerned about the kind of powerful field you'd need to transfer current from a community hub to houses too...
Magnetic fields around the temporal lobes can produce religious experiences:
www.bbc.co.uk...
Are wires really so difficult to cope with?

You know what else electro-magnetism does? Induce hum in sound equipment. It's very annoying!

This outfit is working on what they call a type of "subspace power transmission" that is wireless.

The Company wishes to mention that the "subspace" technology that is moving from idea to physical testing can also be used for communications. In other words, our technical approach holds the promise of producing "subspace power" and "subspace communications" with virtually no loss in transmission.

This sounds like it would not interact with any people or animals and would potentially be secure for data communications as well as energy transfer.

Think of this ! :

Eastlund's first patent (US #4,686,605) was for a "Method and Apparatus for Altering A Region In the Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere, And Or Magnetosphere." The patent information contained in my manuscript described the various levels of atmosphere surrounding Earth as a kind of plastic layer, made up of various molecules and having different electrical charges. Eastlund has devised a way of beaming powerful radio waves up in the air and causing these various levels of space that surrounded Earth to become "heated" and to expand - like melted plastic. This seemed like an odd thing for anyone to want to do. But as I read on, it began to make sense.

His second patent described the reflection of a second signal, using a previously "heated" ionospheric bulge, to distant locations on the Earth's surface. Interesting, I thought, but why would anyone want to do that?

Eastlund had been working with the Atlantic Richfield Company, holders of a massive reserve of natural gas under Alaska's north slope. ARCO bought Eastlund's first two patents with the understanding that this new technology would make it possible for their natural gas reserves, too expensive to be piped from Alaska, to be converted to electrical energy on the north slope, and then bounced off the heated ionosphere to customers in remote locations around the globe. Also, because Eastlund's "heaters" could elevate the Earth's ionosphere, his discovery provided the ability to control weather! Jet streams could be altered, tornadoes could be zapped and rain could be made-- anywhere and anytime-- right here and right now! This was definitely getting interesting.

Seems like it would generate an awful lot of waste. Is it just a source that broadcasts 360 degrees throwing juice off into space or do you have to sync the source with the appliance so there would be a more direct and less-waste generating connection?

I only ask because wifi is extremely wasteful. Depending on your set up it's just broadcasting a cloud 24/7. It doesnt matter so much because it's just a router plugged into a socket but just taking juice from the sockets for appliances in home now costs $80-$200 a month depending. How much would it cost to just blast electricity into the air? To operate a television set would you have to be paying for some electric cloud to cover every appliance within the same distance of the television?

reply to post by schrodingers dog

hello my friend!
Its been a long time we've last met.
So do you think this is a viable and efficient tech?

reply to post by GEORGETHEGREEK


Hi George,

I know so little about such things that it is next to impossible for me to have a valid opinion as to this particular technology's viability.

On the surface it seems like a welcome and useful breakthrough. Like others have pointed there is both promise and peril associated.

My worry, if any, is more existential in nature. That is to say that we are further flooding our environment with artificial signals that may interfere with our humanity. Radio, television, cellular, microwave, magnetic and electrical signals, etc, are bound to interfere with us at some level. Sure, each individually seems mostly harmless, but the cumulative affect is bound to exist.

It might explain why so many of us have such trouble connecting energetically.

But such a concern as mine is not based on any scientific or practical data, just a causal concern based on anecdotal observation.

Nevertheless it is through such scientific discovery that we learn, so I don't really see a problem with it.

Tesla could have achieved this 100 years ago if he would have been allowed. I guess they have figured out how to "put a meter on it".

reply to post by schrodingers dog


My Oral-B cordless toothbrush uses the same induction tech for charging...of course, the base is plugged in the old-fashioned way, but the charge on the brush lasts for a long time, when away on trips.

I think this is similar to inductive heating stovetops I've seen for a decade or so?? A ceramic, or glass top, heats the pan, yet remove the pan and the surface is barely warm to touch....pretty amazing.



[edit on 7/1/0909 by weedwhacker]

This is what, 80 year old technology or something? And it's only now being developed? This isn't right, it smells extremely fishy. Either our scientists are complete idiots and are/will be kicking themselves for not listening to Tesla's idea, or we did listen to Tesla but as someone else already said, they found a way to put a meter on it. It's cool tech, but how much will we be paying for it?

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by schrodingers dog

 

My Oral-B cordless toothbrush uses the same induction tech for charging...of course, the base is plugged in the old-fashioned way, but the charge on the brush lasts for a long time, when away on trips.

WiTricity’s technology is more than…
Traditional Magnetic Induction

At first glance, WiTricity’s technology for power transfer appears to be traditional magnetic induction, such as is used in power transformers, where conductive coils transmit power to each other wirelessly, over very short distances. In a transformer, an electric current running in a sending coil (or “primary winding”) induces another current in a receiving coil (or “secondary winding”). The two coils must be very close together, and may even overlap, but the coils do not make direct electrical contact with each other. However, the efficiency of the power exchange in traditional magnetic induction systems drops by orders of magnitude when the distance between the coils becomes larger than their sizes. In addition to electric transformers, other devices based on traditional magnetic induction include rechargeable electric toothbrushes, and inductive “charging pads” which require that the object being charged be placed directly on top of, or very close to, the base or pad supplying the power.

The power exchange efficiency of some induction systems is improved by utilizing resonant circuits. These so-called resonantly enhanced induction techniques are used in certain medical implants and high-frequency RFIDs for example. However, to the best of our knowledge, WiTricity’s founding technical team was the first to discover that by specially designing the magnetic resonators, one could achieve strong coupling and highly efficient energy exchange over distances much larger than the size of the resonator coils, distances very large compared to traditional schemes.

witricity

reply to post by asmall89

WiTricity’s technology is different than…
Tesla’s Vision of a Wireless World

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, at the dawn of the electrification of the modern world, some scientists and engineers believed that using wires to transfer electricity from every place it was generated to every place that it could be used would be too expensive to be practical. Nikola Tesla, one of the most well known of these scientists, had a vision for a wireless world in which wireless electric power and communications would reach around the world, delivering information and power to ships at sea, factories, and every home on the planet. Tesla contributed significantly to our understanding of electricity and electrical systems and is credited with inventing three-phase AC power systems, induction motors, fluorescent lamps, radio transmission, and various modes of wireless electric power transfer. WiTricity technology for power transfer is different than the technologies proposed by Tesla, but his work is referenced and acknowledged in the scientific articles published by WiTricity’s founding technical team.

(same source as post above)

Why is everyone making such a big idea over something that is just a play back to an old idea?

It's not a conspiracy.

Tesla could not do this in his time because he did not have all the wondrous computer parts we have now.

Just like the first computers, Tesla worked on ginormous models. We can do it smaller now.

reply to post by Gorman91


Gorman, I've heard a story (might be an urban legend) about those early days. Seems Westinghouse saw what Tesla was doing and asked, "Yes, but how to you meter it?"

Maybe someone knows more about that, true or false....or embellishment?