July 01, 2007
It's not magic, it's SCIENCE!
Imagine being able to light a lamp... without wires! From the Chron
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers announced last week they had made a 60-watt light bulb glow by sending it energy wirelessly, potentially previewing a future in which cell phones and other gadgets get juice without having to be plugged in.The breakthrough, disclosed in Science Express, an online publication of the journal Science, is being called "WiTricity" by the scientists.
The concept of sending power wirelessly isn't new, but its wide-scale use has been dismissed as inefficient because electromagnetic energy generated by the charging device would radiate in all directions.
Last fall, though, MIT physics professor Marin Soljacic explained how to transfer the power with specially tuned waves. The key is to get the charging device and a gadget to resonate at the same frequency -- allowing them to efficiently exchange energy.
It's similar to how an opera star can break a wine glass that happens to resonate at the same frequency as her voice. In fact, the concept is so basic in physics that inventor Nikola Tesla sought a century ago to build a huge tower on Long Island that would wirelessly beam power along with communications.
The new step described in Science was that the MIT team put the concept into action. The scientists lit a 60-watt bulb that was 7 feet away from the power-generating appliance.
The development raises the prospect that we might eliminate some of the clutter of cables in our evermore electronic world.
Yeah. I think I'll stick with shielded cables.
Posted by mcblogger at July 1, 2007 09:43 AM
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Comments
At least Sister Ruth might be able to keep her damn cell phone charged.
Posted by: Mayor McSleaze ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcblogger.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 1, 2007 04:56 PM
Good point... that, in fact, may be the only way it would get charged.
Posted by: mcblogger at July 1, 2007 05:11 PM
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