Wireless energy

[mkillio]

In theory, is wireless energy possible?

 

[digitalwanderer]

Depends who you ask, Tesla would probably say yes.

 

[Albuquerque]

Uh... Wireless energy exists all around you right now. Notice that the earth isn't at -272c right now? Yeah, that's because there's an abundance of "wireless energy" coming from a flaming ball of gas a few million miles away.

Are you able to see the monitor? Yeah, there's a ton of "wireless energy" eminating from the cathode ray tube (or from a florescent backlight) and bombarding your retinas.

Can you hear anything at all? Mouse clicks? Kids screaming? Music playing? Dogs barking? Yeah, that's a bunch of "wireless energy" being generated all around you and being soaked up by the tiny bones in your inner ear.

Sorry, couldn't resist

 

[Killer-Kris]

In theory, is wireless energy possible?

In theory? Absolutely yes, as a matter of fact any form of radio transmission that is picked up and turned into another form is just one such form of wireless energy, albiet at a very low power level. And I would imagine that a much higher level of enery transfer could be done using lasers but that would require a direct line of sight.

Just off the top of my head I would imagine that any non-line of sight transfer would be terrible inefficient because most of the energy will be broadcast aimlessly in all directions, or possibly in such a wide area as to be effectively in all directions. Then I suppose you also have to take into account what effect a useable amount of energy being broadcast might do to living beings, or our everyday electronic systems.

So I think a better question might be whether or not it can be done efficiently? And in what situations might it be useful?

 

[Crusher]

Wireless energy sources are pretty much limited by that pesky cancer thing that tends to show up more often in strong magnetic fields (or strong doses of unfiltered sunlight for that matter). Once we get high efficiency, small scale fuel cells we'll be a lot better off (even if it means carrying a fuel cell pack on our backs... I could deal).

 

[_xxx_]

We have it already. For instance, the batteries in the keys in newer Daimler cars get charged through infrared when the ignition is on.

 

[silence]

Depends who you ask, Tesla would probably say yes.

god knows where we would be if he had all the resources he needed. :?

 

[Coz]

In theory, is wireless energy possible?

Ever heard of Radiation?

 

[Frank]

Magnetrons.

 

[London Geezer]

In theory, is wireless energy possible?

Ever heard of Radiation?

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general? Not the star sign.

 

[Coz]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

 

[London Geezer]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

Yeah well the topic seems to be about high levels of energy, eg. to power a TV without plugging it to the main electricity supply. That's a bit much. Unless i'm missing something. The sun already is too much sometimes, and we're still not too clear about the relatively low energy radiation caused by mobile phones.....

 

[nutball]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

Would you stick your head in your microwave?

 

[_xxx_]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

Would you stick your head in your microwave?

Well, that way you wouldn't have any problems with brain cancer...

 

[London Geezer]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

Would you stick your head in your microwave?

Oh i'd love to do that, shame they won't start up if the door is open.

 

[nutball]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

Would you stick your head in your microwave?

Oh i'd love to do that, shame they won't start up if the door is open.

Bah, that's easy enough to fix with a screwdriver.

 

[RussSchultz]

Oh i'd love to do that, shame they won't start up if the door is open.

I'm sure it wouldn't take too long to manage it.

 

[London Geezer]

Ever heard of brain tumors? Or cancer in general?

Radiation is simply radiated energy, we get radiation every day from the sun, mobiles phones, radio waves etc. It doesn't always mean 'bad' Radiation (Ionizing Radiation).

Would you stick your head in your microwave?

Oh i'd love to do that, shame they won't start up if the door is open.

Bah, that's easy enough to fix with a screwdriver.

Thanks, i'll try that tonight!

 

[MuFu]

Not a wire in sight.

 

[nelg]

Magnetrons.

Correct. Microwaves have been used to power a remote plane.

Beaming Energy to Earth
Giant sheets of photovoltaic cells, which convert solar energy to electric current, would be unfolded in low Earth orbit by astronauts or robots, and then pushed up to about 22,300 miles above the equator where they would remain in the same spot over the Earth.

We're talking big here. The solar arrays would blanket several square miles, and to serve the growing needs of a booming population on Earth, there would have to be many of them.

Free of atmosphere or dust or clouds, the arrays would collect at least eight times more solar energy than they could if they were on the ground, according to the Electric Power Research Institute. The arrays would function for 24 hours a day, nearly every day of the year.

The electric energy collected by the arrays would be converted to microwaves and beamed back to the Earth through a process called "wireless power transmission."

That sounds a bit scary, but according to the SunSat Energy Council, a non profit organization affiliated with the United Nations, the beam would be so low in density that it wouldn't even feel warm if you happened to walk through it. As a weapon, the council says, it would be less effective than a squirt gun.

On the ground, huge collectors in remote locations would capture the microwave radiation, convert it back into an electric current, and feed it into the power grid.

Some major problems have been solved in recent years.

Early photovoltaic systems were very inefficient, but that has improved to the point that state-of-the-art systems can now convert the sun's energy into electricity at a rate of 42 to 56 percent, according to Neville Marzwell, a NASA scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

"We have made tremendous progress," he says.

And there doesn't seem to be any doubt now that wireless power transmission is practical, at least on a limited scale. A few years ago Japan flew a small airplane powered by microwaves beamed up from the ground.

Japan, incidentally, is a major player in this arena, since it has no oil or other energy resources of its own. In fact, Japanese officials have announced plans to have their first solar power satellite in operation by the year 2040, beaming energy back from space to that island nation.

That's a really ambitious goal, considering Japan's rather disappointing performance in space exploration, but Japan has everything to gain and nothing to lose.

LINK