Sony Prototype Sends Electricity Through the Air
Posted 10/03/09 at 06:04:20 PM by Justin Kerr
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Countless standards exist for sending data over the air, but even devices that are designed to be 100 percent wireless end up needing to be plugged in eventually. Sure some gadgets like the Palm Pre allow for wireless charging via electromagnetic induction, but somehow the milliamps required to accomplish this just isn’t as impressive as Sony’s latest demonstration which showed a 22-inch LCD being powered wirelessly using a source that was almost 20 inches away.
Currently they are calling the technology “magnetic resonance”, and it works by transferring energy between two coils using a magnetic field. By tuning the coils to the same resonant frequency, energy can be moved safely, even when the two coils are not aligned. It also allows them to keep metal objects that get in the way from heating up.
Early tests show both the promise, and the limitations of this new technology. Currently the power transfer is only 80 percent efficient, and with a range of only 20 inches, they clearly still have some work to do before this goes mainstream. The announcement which was made on Friday was only to demonstrate their progress, and it will likely still be several years before anything like this starts appearing in commercial products.
Okay, so this isn’t a testla coil, but are you comfortable with the idea of electricity being wireless?
This is a tad frightening
Submitted by Biceps on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 1:09pm
Ok, there is no way you can put that much power into the air, lose 20% of it, and not have some sort of negative impact. Where is that 20% going? Is it heating up the air? If junior happens to take a nap between point A and B, will his little head cook like an oversized hard-boiled egg? These are questions that will need to be answered before putting something like this in homes... well, my home, at least.
Tesla was (as the song
Submitted by Jox on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 11:08am
Tesla was (as the song suggests) a man out of time. His theories were brilliant. Having said that, I would be concerned about the possible health effects of such an undertaking. There is considerable anecdotal evidence to support the idea that living near power lines causes an increased risk of certain types of cancer (leukemia, being the most frequently mentioned). Also, there is much speculation about whether cell phone signals are giving us brain tumours. I think that before such a project is undertaken, a proper study, performed by scientists with no personal stake in its outcome would need to be performed.
I am just a layman. I do not understand (indeed, I am unaware of a great many of) the effects of long-term exposure to EM fields. I just know I wouldn't want the power company or the cell-phone company conducting such studies. I would insist on a neutral study done by an organization with no financial ties to any industry.
-Jox
Submitted by fullur on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 7:00pm
as a scientist with no personal stake in the outcome. There are honest scientists who will give the truth of their results even if they do not like them, but every outcome affects the scientists doing the work personally whether it be in the form of grants that are/are not offered or something else.
Submitted by Tweak_BL on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 10:24am
Nikola Tesla was arguably one of THE most brilliant scientists this country has EVER had.
Severely misunderstood and under appreciated,this man had his ideas stolen by many people.
Did you know the U.S. Government STOLE his research papers from his family after his death?
http://www.damninteresting.com/teslas-tower-of-power
Submitted by Mark Hanchey on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 7:28am
This is nothing new. Tesla did this over 75 years ago. Tesla took it even further. He used it to light an entire theater with hundreds of lights , all with no wiring and broadcasting power. Him and Edison went head to head several times. Edison wanted DC for power, Tesla AC. Edison is always talked about but Tesla is less recognized even though he is responsible for the power you have in your homes today. Edison was a business man though and Tesla was of the mind set that electricity should be available to all, the oil barrons didn't like that. Tesla wanted to build towers all over the world that would broadcast power to devices everywhere.
Read up on the guy and I think you will come away impressed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla
Submitted by fullur on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 6:57pm
the argument about efficiency. If we are talking 20% less efficient than a wired connection, it just is not worth it at this point. However, isn't that what the 80Plus stickers I keep seeing mean? That the power supply actually operates at above 80% efficiency making it not that much better?
Submitted by rseding91 on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 8:08pm
It's not realy sending electricity through the air is it? As far as I can see reading it, all it's doing is making magnetic fields which are then picked up on the device(s) and a turbine of some sort moves from the field making electricity.
Wouldn't this reak havok on anything that is EMI sensitive? hard drives, backup tapes and who knows what else.. And what would happen if you placed a magenet near one of the recieving devices? Would it stop the flow and cause the power to drop?
Or am I totaly wrong on everything I just said?
Submitted by Mark Hanchey on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 7:57am
It is sending electricity through the air. It is no different than how radio work. A radio transmitter sends out a signal that your radio antennaa then picks up and using resonance is able to single out that one frequency.
It is completely harmless to anything between the transmitter and receiver . Resonance works like that of a tuning fork. If you strike a tuning fork and place it beside another fork of the exact same design the other fork will vibrate at the same rate as the first fork. If you place it near a fork of a different design nothing will happen.
Radio and tv transmitter towers broadcast at 100,000 watts power but it is still safe to stand at the bottom or live around them . The only way a person would be harmed is if their resonant frequency matched that of the transmitter, a 1 in a trillion chance.
The reason it has not become more common for power is because it is very inefficient. Sony got 80% and IBM did a test and got 92% at 3 feet. That is still a lot of waste. Imagine losing 8 watts for every 100 watts you produce.
The graphics tablet company Wacom uses the technology to power mice and stylus. The mouse has no power source inside, but when placed on the tablet it comes to life.
Submitted by rseding91 on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 8:15am
I don't think you read what I said - I said nothing about human harm, or vibrations.
This tech uses magnetic fields and I was talking about a magnetic sensitive device (a hard drive) posably getting messed up by it.
Submitted by devin3627 on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 8:12pm
it sounds to me that it would have the possibility interfering with other devices causing harm not to you but anything emi sensitive. i would call it a kind of air pollution. i dont know if this invention sounds great. it seems pretty sketchy.
Fear of the New or Unknown is common place
Submitted by Black Lable 69 on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 7:56pm
I look at it like this, when cars first came out "As with many other inventions" they were beyond the price range of most people. Not only that but horses & walking was also more practical & all the while many people mocked the metal machine. Now most Americans have more cars than they know what to do with, certainly no one is going to say riding a horse or walking is still better unless you live in the boonies somewhere. Bravo Sony :-)
"Don't just look at it as commercial, it may also have military promise. This reminds me of some sh*t from RED ALERT"
Submitted by Biceps on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 1:14pm
And now cars are the number one source of global warming-causing greenhouse gasses. Regardless of 'fear of the new', perhaps it makes sense to do some research on the impacts of the unknown before saying it is hunky-dory. 20-20 hindsight is useless.
Submitted by devin3627 on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 7:08pm
doesn't sound trustworthy.
Prepare for Unforseen Consequences...
Submitted by Havok on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 3:54pm
I prefer wires over the fact of possibly interfering with the magnetic beam field, causing a resonance cascade to open a portal to another world, there-by alerting an inter-spatial empire to come and dominate the Earth in under 8 hours and- oh wait, this isn't an article about full-life consequences?
OMGWTFBBQ
Submitted by Biceps on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 1:16pm
Now here is someone who is thinking outside the box. Wonder if you could land some federal funds for a study of interspacial wormholes caused by magnetic-field-powered devices?
Awesome
Submitted by tri8gman on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 3:28pm
Something else for people to falsely point the "cause of cancer" finger at. Personally, I prefer my wires - wires are constant and (mostly) secure. They're also usually better in the performance aspect. Also, this is Sony: when it first comes out and probably before any competition it'll be wildly expensive.
I agree with you on all
Submitted by AntiHero on Sat, 10/03/2009 - 6:00pm
I agree with you on all aspects of this comment.
I don't like Microsoft, I associate with it.
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