Wireless Electricity, A future form of Power Transmission Using Inductive Coupling

Wireless Electricity

Technologies keep on changing overnight. Gone are those days that you plug in your charger and charge up your smartphones. Things are seriously changing to an era that will take off all those electrical cords from home (of course! your home will be more spacious) and allow charging of your smartphone without the use of conventional wire system. Wireless electricity is the finest step towards making transfer of power a wire-free process. It’s time to bid goodbye to all those disposable batteries, snake-look-alike electrical cords.

It all began with a thought in the mind of a MIT professor on the requirement of charging one’s mobile phone without plugging it to a charger somewhere away from you. So, the result of the research is an effective mode of transmission of power between coils that is being place approximately 2.5m apart. Further, they proved that separation between coils can be increased by using resonance to the implementation. As an object vibrates at its resonant frequency and stays away from vibrating in any other frequency. 

Wireless Electricity uses the principle which involves the usage of inductively coupled objects with same resonant frequency. The principle of electromagnetic induction states that a coil generating magnetic field induces a current in another coil as it is being placed in the field of the former coil. For short ranges, this energy transfer is sufficient but for greater distances, much of the energy is lost in this non-resonant induction transfer. On the usage of resonance, the energy is well transferred between coils having same resonant frequency without any interruption.

Theoretically, wireless electricity use a coil as the inductor and is curved in shape with each end of the coil attached to a capacitance plate to hold a charge. As electric current passes through the coil, it starts to resonate. Electricity can tunnel between the coils which possess the same resonant frequency. If the coils are not in the same range of resonating frequency or at different resonating frequency nothing is meant to happen. And when same resonant frequency coils appear there is a transmission of energy from transmitting coil to receiving coil. This happens also with a coil transmitting electricity to multiple number of receiving coils and it termed as non-radiative energy transfer. The transfer does not demand a perfect line of sight between the coils and the usage does not have adverse effects on the environment.

The research on wireless electricity at MIT led to the formation of a firm, WiTricity Corporation that is now keen on bringing a terrific change to the electrical charging scenario and the movement is already on. The future plans even include the development of wire-free rechargeable AA-sized batteries.

The use of magnetic near fields for the transfer of energy in wireless electricity  is quite promising as it is transparent to many a obstacles like buildings, furniture, textiles, glass, plastics etc. and in case of many metallic obstacles, magnetic near fields wraps around these obstacles. As the magnetic fields does little harm to the environment and humans, this mode of transfer is strongly recommended over electric fields. Wireless Technology allows the usage of power transfer that enables charging of devices

Applications and Advantages of Wireless Electricity

Wireless electricity can find applications anywhere the normal electricity is used. Wireless power transfer is possible directly without the need of batteries. Charging of mobile devices by wireless power transmission avoids the use of lengthy power cords. Wireless Electricity helps charging of car batteries without plugging into direct supply. In this case, car is parked on the pad that activates charging of the battery without the need of the human direction.

Convenience, reliability and environmental friendly are the major advantage of wireless electricity.  Manual changing or recharging of batteries bring about convenience. The method is environmental friendly as the usage of disposable batteries is reduced to a greater extent.The advantages of wireless electricity include the availability of electricity to any point of the world without the use of wires. Magnetic resonance proves to be safe to humans, animals and environmental objects when compared to electric field.

Find the video related to Wireless Electricity

Let’s wait and keep our fingers crossed for wireless technology to wipe away the conventional wire system and take the world to a new phase of power transfer.