Imagine walking in your home and all the electrical appliances (TV, washing machine, refrigerator, computer) are cordless. There is no cable connecting them to a power source. You can move them anywhere in the room without having to worry if there is a power outlet nearby.
Transmission of electrical power wirelessly might become a reality in a not too distant future. Professor Marin Soljacic, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, believes that wireless electricity could eventually replace most power cables.
Using the concept of resonance he was able to transmit energy between objects when they were made to resonate at the same frequency.
The “WiTricity” system basically consists of two copper coils, one sending power, the other receiving it. The receiver is designed to resonate at the same frequency as the magnetic field generated by the transmitter.
WiTricity is able to power a 60-watt lightbulb over a distance of 2m and does not require a clear line of sight between the transmitter and the appliance.
However the system presently uses large coils about 20 inches in diameter, which makes them unsuitable for mobile devices such as laptops and mobile phones. The transmission efficiency is about 40%.
Professor Soljecic believed that within three to five years it should be possible to miniaturise the system for commercial use and to increase its transmission distance and efficiency.
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