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A wireless future, thanks to WiTricity

Attendees at CES 2010, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas last month, got a glimpse of what the future might bring when Chinese home appliance maker Haier, in collaboration with Massachusetts-based WiTricity Corporation, unveiled a remarkable TV from 32-inch, notable in that it had no power cord.

Haier’s prototype ran on electricity converted from an oscillating magnetic field. The wireless transmission of electricity so boldly demonstrated in January at an international trade show may fulfill a quest that began more than a century ago by the inventor of alternating current, Nicola Tesla.

Wirelessly transmitted electricity was successfully created in 2005 by a team of MIT physicists led by Professor Marin Soljacic. The company they founded, WiTricity Corporation, is now looking for OEMs interested in licensing their power transmission method.

WiTricity technology could loosely be described as “magnetic coupling”. These are two copper coils that are combined for MRI. One is connected to a power source (110 volt AC house current, for example) and is the “sender.” The emitting coil converts the electric current into a non-radiating magnetic field that oscillates at a specific frequency and permeates the room. For the converted energy to be used, this frequency of oscillation of the magnetic field must excite the combined coil housed within an electrical device, such as the television on display at CES in January.

The idea of ​​combined resonance of the coils would be similar to 100 glasses of wine on a table, each with a slightly different amount of water so that each vibrates at a unique frequency. An opera star holding a note for a long enough interval could eventually cause the particular glass that matches the frequency or pitch to resonate enough to break. In other words, the oscillation of the magnetic field would affect only the apparatus equipped with the corresponding coil.

Aside from setting the oscillating magnetic field to resonate and excite the specific receiver coil, creating electrical energy for the apparatus, the magnetic energy field produced by the energized emitter coil remains very close to its point of origin. In addition, WiTricity technology has a very weak effect on biological systems, better known as people and pets.

MIT scientists first demonstrated their successful strategy by illuminating a 60-watt light bulb from 7 feet away, an achievement that was first reported in Sciences in July 2007. MIT News He noted then that Professor Soljacic was inspired to investigate wireless electrical power by being awakened by warning beeps emitted from his cell phone, which he had (once again) forgotten to plug in to recharge. As he looked at his cordless phone, he realized how much more convenient it would be if it could recharge itself, wirelessly.

Wireless transmission of electrical power is not a new idea. It was first explored by Nikola Tesla, the brilliant scientist who developed alternating current and the induction motor more than a century ago. Tesla was victorious over Edison, who was an advocate of direct current for electrical power generation, in the so-called “current war.” Finding a way to make the wireless transmission of electricity work at a distance greater than the diameter of the coils was at the heart of the problem, as was avoiding intense and potentially harmful electromagnetic radiation. Scientists at MIT prevailed on these age-old problems.

The Haier television show with WiTricity at CES in Las Vegas simply demonstrated the feasibility (or “proof of concept”) of wireless transmission of electricity. However, Haier was honored with the Popular science “Product of the Future” award for your efforts so far. The company remains committed to planning the commercial production of efficient wireless-powered appliances and devices as soon as possible.

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