The audience is holding their breath, staring at the unplugged electric bulb on the stage, the magician circles around it, rolls his magic stick & voila, the bulb glows. The five year olds pop their eyes out. If you still live in that era, then it’s time to refresh your memory. Just stick with me.

Looking Back

And, if you think this is a 21st century phenomenon, you’re wrong again. Nikola Tesla has worked on this concept for long time. He, in fact, has several patents on his name. And, it was 1890. Electricity was just in its nascent stages & there was hardly any ‘wired infrastructure’. Tesla just could not imagine the vast infrastructure to transport the electricity all over the world.

How on earth, is it done?

One way to do it is – EMI (Electro-Magnetic Induction). It is based on the principle that, electric current flowing through one wire can induce current flow in another wire. This system is very efficient in transmission. The problem with is that electricity can only be transmitted over a small distance, due to limitations on distance between two wires. Nevertheless, it can be used to charge appliances that are stationary for most of the time. Like your electric tooth-brush. Just place a ‘Power Mat’ under it. To achieve transfers over great distances, scientists have also demonstrated transmission through radio waves. Such, RF systems works over great distances but are less efficient.

Third technology, ‘Resonant Energy Transfer’, combines positives of both the technologies mentioned above. It works in the same manner the Opera singer breaks a glass by her vocals. Here, you convert electric energy to magnetic, transfer it & then convert it back to electric energy. For magnetic resonance to occur the object is tuned to the source frequency, so maximum energy is transferred to the intended object & very negligible to ‘off resonant objects’. This, by far, is the most efficient technology to make ‘Wireless Electricity’ a reality.

How safe are the electrons flying around in air?

100%. Yes. It is non-radiative. Since we use magnetic field to transfer electricity, there is no ‘current/ voltage thing’ involved. The magnetic field generated would almost be similar to the earth’s magnetic field, which is not harmful to any biological/ living thing, not even your cat.

Some figures

Can you imagine, how much do we invest in infrastructure for electricity distribution? Trillions of US dollar. And I mean just the transportation & distribution, nothing else. Batteries are also very costly. We spend around $40 billion every year for batteries. Once out of use, these batteries disintegrate & add up to garbage. More environmental issues. Again, average cost of energy from battery is 200-300 pounds kW/hour. That’s a lot. A lot. With wireless electricity we avoid all of this. Of course, like any new technology we must invest some amount in it, but that’s going to pay back some time later.

What would it change?

How mobile is your mobile phone with a limited battery back-up? Or a laptop for that matter? Imagine your home without those ugly looking cables & clumsy mess of wires. If it seems like a distinct dream, this is news for you. A lot of companies have already announced products that support wireless electricity – cell phones, laptops etc. They will be commercially available in sometime like December 09. In five or so years this will be a common thing.

You can hang television set on the wall & I mean ‘just’ the television. No wires. The next time you park your car in garage, or in a parking lot, it automatically starts recharging. No need to plug in any wire, just a ‘Power Pad’ beneath the car & we have found a solution for limited ‘battery back up for a car’. No more dependency on vanishing oil. Wireless electricity may also revolutionise the implanted Medical Device world. Implanted devices have a limited lifetime before the batteries can not be recharges again.

O.K, now, if Steven Spielberg knows that, I know what his next movie is. 50 years from now on, all human beings use wireless electricity to make sure their heart is beating all the time & no one dies. But, due to ‘power shortage’, we start killing each other. Blah blah blah… I am definitely not going for that movie.

Anyway, until you get your first ‘chord-less’ laptop/ T.V. check this video out. Adios.

Author - Alpesh Chaudhari

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