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I know this is a long way off (think 2050) but, on Thursday, Intel revealed
prototypes of a new wireless power supply. If this ever comes to market, think
of the possibilities! Battery powered LEGO Trains that never need to be
charged! NXT bricks that are completely wireless and never need to have
batteries replaced. Potentially Power Functions motors that don’t need a
battery box at all! Wireless Guitar Hero controllers and Wii-motes that charge
wirelessly as you play. The possibilities are endless. Here’s the story from
Yahoo News.
Intel cuts electric cords with wireless power system
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Intel on Thursday showed off a wireless electric power
system that analysts say could revolutionize modern life by freeing devices from
transformers and wall outlets. Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner
demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California
firm’s annual developers forum in San Francisco. Electricity was sent
wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than
a typical laptop computer. Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted
without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving
units. “The trick with wireless power is not can you do it; it’s can you do it
safely and efficiently,” Intel researcher Josh Smith said in an online video
explaining the breakthrough. “It turns out the human body is not affected by
magnetic fields; it is affected by elective fields. So what we are doing is
transmitting energy using the magnetic field not the electric field.” Examples
of potential applications include airports, offices or other buildings that
could be rigged to supply power to laptops, mobile telephones or other devices
toted into them. The technology could also be built into plugged in computer
components, such as monitors, to enable them to broadcast power to devices left
on desks or carried into rooms, according to Smith. “Initially it eliminates
chargers and eventually it eliminates batteries all together,” analyst Rob
Enderle of Enderle Group said of Intel’s wireless power system. “That is
potentially a world changing event. This is the closest we’ve had to something
being commercially available in this class.” Previous wireless power systems
consisted basically of firing lightning bolts from sending to receiving units.
Smith says Intel’s wireless power system is still in an early stage of
development and much research remains before it can be brought to market.
Rattner spoke of technological transformations he expects by the year 2050.
“You’d like to cut the last cord,” Smith said. It’s great that we have wireless
email and wireless internet and stuff like that but at the end of the day it
would be nice to have wireless recharge as well.
I love technology!
-Dave
ToT-LUG
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Wireless Power for LEGO Trains?
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| Interesting, but are magnetic fields harmless to everyone? How do pacemakers react to magnetic fields? Especially magnetic fields transmitting 60 watts of power? Also, what is the efficiency? How much power is pumped into the magnetic field to (...) (16 years ago, 22-Aug-08, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)
| | | Re: Wireless Power for LEGO Trains?
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| (...) Having a physics background, I just have to say... [sarcasm] Tesla would be, just, like... *so* surprised [/sarcasm]. I do wonder about the size of the receiver antenna and the transmitter, and near-field effects. Having worked a very little (...) (16 years ago, 23-Aug-08, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)
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