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Wireless Electrical Power... the next big thing?

Discussion in 'Archive: The Senate Floor' started by Ghost, Jul 2, 2009.

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  1. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

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    Oct 13, 2003
    I can't think of a more important technological breakthrough in the making that would completely revolutionize how we live and work, it would affect every aspect of our lives.

    A world without wires and batteries, no more plugs or power outlets, no more power lines? Sign me up!

    I don't know much about the technical aspects of it, so here are some articles detailing it below. it seems to be based off the work of Nikola Tesla. Some companies seem to be working towards building a central hub, a "subspace power transmitter."

    They already claim to have very high efficiency rates in transmission of energy and information, and no harmful side effects on animals or humans.

    What would be the benefits of this technology? The costs? When can we expect this technology to become widespread and ready for commercial use by everyday people? What would be the effects on society?




    http://www.witricity.com/index.html
    Scientific papers on Wireless Energy Transfer






    http://www.worldstockwire.com/viewpressrelease/prID/1108/

    2009-04-22 05:00:01 EST

    Quantum Bit Induction Technology To Begin Work for its Wireless Power Delivery Technology

    Houston, TX - (WORLD STOCK WIRE) - April 22, 2009 -- Quantum Bit Induction Technology, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: QBII) announced that the Company will begin the prototype work for its Wireless Power Delivery technology. Quantum Bit Induction Technology, President, Mike Skillern, stated, "We have studied and worked on the concepts required to realize Wireless Power Delivery. We believe we are now ready to build and test."

    Skillern continued, "We have modeled the ideas that allow the transport of power from a transmitter to a receiver with minimal loss. The energy transfer is, technically speaking, through an encrypted "subspace" of the mathematical Hilbert Space which describes the experiment, prototype, or product. Thus, we are working to build a "subspace power transmitter". It is amusing to note that the phrase authentically describes what we are working on."

    The technology promises to be useful in both stationary and mobile power applications

    Quantum Bit Induction Technology will continue the work in "low energy nuclear effects". Recent successes of major corporate and government laboratories, and the subsequent media attention lends considerable credibility to our pursuit of low energy nuclear effects. The Company does not view work on power generation ("cold fusion") and power transmission ("subspace power transmission") as mutually exclusive. Conversely, we consider the ability to generate safe and inexpensive power combined with the ability to deliver that power wirelessly as complementary technologies.

    The Company's website will soon reflect information about "subspace power" for anyone int
     
  2. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    Excellent thread, Ghost.=D=


    I find Electricity and magnetism to be the most interesting part of physics, so I've had thoughts about this topic before. Although I don't have much to contribute as I haven't taken circuits nor upper division EM yet, I will say that this certainly is gonna be the next step in the EE field.
     
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  3. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    =D=

    Vivec summed up my thoughts quite nicely. I'm also curious about the technical details of how such a system might work (Air is notoriously nonconductive).
     
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  4. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

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    Jun 28, 2006
    Well, air isn't conductive to a current, but then, thats not how these things are going to run, most likely. If its something that uses electric fields to transmit power, then air is quite good for that purposes as a conductor will stop the field. To look at the highest example, if you had a grounded perfect conductor, it would prevent the field from escaping at all.

    For example, here's Griffith Observatory's Tesla Coil. http://www.pbase.com/xl1ken/image/79544321

    The metal grid you see there is a Faraday cage, which keeps the electric field the Tesla Coil generates from having any effect beyond it. This was a new addition, and prior to renovations and the Faraday cage's installation, museum guides could hold up a fluorescent light and it would glow while the coil was operating. Now, to do the same demonstration, the light has to be inside that cage. Air isn't the issue, conductors are.
     
  5. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

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    May 20, 2008
    I also would find wireless electricity fascinating.
     
  6. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

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    Jun 28, 2006
    I've a theory that the main export of Croatia is scientists that try to develop wireless energy transfer.
     
  7. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

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    Apr 17, 2006
    It would certainly add a whole bunch of new classes for EE majors (I know a few). As if their major isn't hard enough.
     
  8. henchman24

    henchman24 Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Feb 22, 2008
    You have to work backwards towards the tech when discussing the applications of this. If you can't think of a way to meter and charge for it, you won't ever see it in action. We could have had it early in the 1900s if Tesla wasn't shafted by an impressive capitalist machine.
     
  9. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

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    Jun 28, 2006
    Also if it, you know, was a good idea. His stuff had some major flaws. Also, its worth noting that Tesla's stuff would interfere with things like radio and tv broadcasts as well as computers.
     
  10. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jul 13, 2008
    Well, go figure.[face_hypnotized]

    This is why I really wish I had already taken electricity and magnetism.
     
  11. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

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    Jun 28, 2006
    How fields behave is very different to how a current itself behaves.
     
  12. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 3, 2002
    What are the potential health issues? Mass low frequency energy exposure over long term?
     
  13. Master_SweetPea

    Master_SweetPea Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Nov 18, 2002
  14. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

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    Oct 13, 2003
    How exactly does this newest generation of wireless electricity get around interfering with telecommunications, other electrical devices, and stuff like that?

    What could be the possible negatives or costs of wireless electricity?

    Or is it really all good, if we get it right this time?
     
  15. Darth_Yuthura

    Darth_Yuthura Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2007
    Well to bring a long-inert thread back into discussion, I have some input here to give.

    If you can't measure the consumer use through system itself, then put devices in the vehicles that use the energy to measure how far they travel and how much energy they consumed. That would makes sense and would be well worth the cost if it worked.

    I do see some very significant benefits to using broadcasted or magnetic energy that doesn't require direct contact with a live wire. Trains can easily be converted to using electricity because the wires overhang the tracks, but cars are not like that. By having even a means to transmit energy to cars by simply being within a few meters of the road without a physical connection, you could potentially make the US completely energy independent.

    I don't have high hopes for this, but it would be great if we could figure a means to transmit energy without a physical connection or using batteries. Both are inconvenient and/or expensive. Not to mention cumbersome.
     
  16. Zaz

    Zaz Jedi Knight star 9

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    Oct 11, 1998
    I can't see how it could work.
     
  17. Darth_Yuthura

    Darth_Yuthura Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Nov 7, 2007
    Broadcasted energy: Remember the old days of Sim City 2000? The microwave power receiver concept is feasible, in that you can convert electricity to a form of microwave radiation and be able to capture it. The problem with the concept is that you lose too much energy in the process, not to mention the risk of barbequeing anyone who gets in the way.

    Maglev uses magnets that essentially converts electricity to kinetic energy without making contact with the tracks. Those are not exactly what wireless electricity had in mind, but that's a means to work w/out making contact with the vehicle.
     
  18. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

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    Jun 28, 2006
    Darth Yuthura, I'm not sure I see how the wireless electrical power is a practical alternative, though, given the costs involved, and the interference that is caused.
     
  19. Darth_Yuthura

    Darth_Yuthura Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Nov 7, 2007
    I could say the same thing for hydrogen-powered vehicles, but it's happening.

    No, it seems far-fetched, but it is still a technology in its infancy. Many would regard fusion as the holy grail of energy, but that in itself doesn't mean we can power all our vehicles with it. We need a means to convert electricity into a power source that can be used by vehicles without having to spend hours recharging all the time. I would put more faith in something like a roadside third rail than wireless electricity, but neither are in the near future.
     
  20. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

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    Jun 28, 2006
    No you couldn't. The interference isn't an issue at all with hydrogen-power, and I should clarify what I meant by costs was the low efficiencies, not financial costs.
     
  21. Darth_Yuthura

    Darth_Yuthura Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Nov 7, 2007
    And? What's the difference, as hydrogen achieves a 25% efficiency ratio?

    The difference is that hydrogen is a secondary source of energy whereas broadcasted energy is just raw. They really can't be compared, except in that they both are inefficient.
     
  22. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    A cordless future for electricity?

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/02/wireless.electricity/index.html


    Electronics such as phones and laptops may start shedding their power cords within a year.

    Wireless electricity may soon make tangled power cords a thing of the past.

    That's the prediction of Eric Giler, CEO of WiTricity, a company that's able to power light bulbs using wireless electricity that travels several feet from a power socket.

    WiTricity's version of wireless electricity -- which converts power into a magnetic field and sends it sailing through the air at a particular frequency -- still needs to be refined a bit, he said, but should be commercially available soon.

    Giler, whose company is a spinoff of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology research group, says wireless electricity has the potential to cut the need for power cords and throw-away batteries.

    "Five years from now, this will seem completely normal," he said.

    "The biggest effect of wireless power is attacking that huge energy wasting that goes on where people buy disposable batteries," he said. Watch Giler demonstrate the idea

    It also will make electric cars more attractive to consumers, he said, because they will be able to power up their vehicles simply by driving into a garage that's fitted with a wireless power mat.

    Electric cars are "absolutely gorgeous," he added, "but does anyone really want to plug them in?"


     
  23. Darth_Yuthura

    Darth_Yuthura Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Nov 7, 2007
    Well if a wireless power source can be achieved on a large scale, then we have a more viable alternative to the use of hydrogen. It makes much more sense to use large scale power plants and provide cars with a means to operate on that electricity without the need for batteries. Trains are a good first start, because they can and do feasibly use electricity with overhead wires.

    Cars could not really do the same, as you need something that can provide energy without a physical link. This is a great option if it could be done on a large scale.
     
  24. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

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    Oct 13, 2003
    I haven't seen an article yet, but Wireless Electricity for TV's was previewed at a technology convention today.
     
  25. Darth_Yuthura

    Darth_Yuthura Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2007
    I'm just wondering what the feasibility is for wireless electrical power to be used on a large scale.

    When you use it for a TV, you have an adapter which draws its power and is designed specifically for the TV. When using something like a car, it would have to be able to transmit the energy over a long distance and among the presence of other such vehicles. In a controlled environment, I could see such a system work. On a scale such as a highway system, you would need multiple transmitters able to provide power for dozens of vehicles.

    This is where the system becomes even more complicated.

    Vehicles would have to be able to receive power from two transmitters at any one time, as the car would have to switch every given distance of road. You need to provide for several vehicles, each operating at a different 'frequency,' each demanding its own range of power, and you would need a system to measure the amount of power demanded from each vehicle. If you used something like a third rail using a physical connection, all you can measure is how much power is demanded by all traffic on the grid.

    Is there any news as to whether any of these objectives are feasible?
     
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