BBC: Physics promises wireless power, an age of literally unplugged appliances

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6129460.stm

Physics promises wireless power

Jonathan Fildes
Science and technology reporter, BBC News

The tangle of cables and plugs needed to recharge today's electronic gadgets could soon be a thing of the past.

US researchers have outlined a relatively simple system that could deliver power to devices such as laptop computers or MP3 players wirelessly.

The concept exploits century-old physics and could work over distances of many metres, the researchers said.

Although the team had not built and tested a system, computer models and mathematics suggest it would work.

"There are so many autonomous devices such as cell phones and laptops that have emerged in the last few years," said Assistant Professor Marin Soljacic from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the researchers behind the work.

"We started thinking, 'it would be really convenient if you didn't have to recharge these things'.

"And because we're physicists we asked, 'what kind of physical phenomenon can we use to do this wireless energy transfer?'."

Energy trap

The answer the team came up with was "resonance", a phenomenon that causes an object to vibrate when energy of a certain frequency is applied.

I'll wait 'til they have the bugs worked out on this one. :scared:

if there was concern about the level of radiation from a cellphone??

All we need now is to genetically engineer our skin to take on the characteristics of Reynolds Wrap.

:think:

my initial reaction is that for resonance to impart any energy, the frequency of the energy must be matched to the resonant frequency of the object being acted upon. Think of a tuning fork, vibrating when the musical note of the corresponding frequency is played on a piano. We're bombarded by energy at varying frequencies, all day every day, without resonating.

Does the human body even have a natural resonant frequency?

Cheers.

Sid

:shrug:

attach a meter to bill from, end of idea.

Unlimited free power. Better than cold fusion.
:eyes: