London: Scientists have created of a new technology that will recharge electronic devices without being
plugged, a development that has the potential to do away with
mountains of disposable batteries and miles of wiring.
The technology, which facilitates the transfer of
energy through magnetic fields, will allow laptops, mobile
phones and televisions to be left unplugged in the home while
being recharged.
The new system exploits a recent breakthrough in
physics, according to the US company WiTricity. It has shown
that it can send electricity "wirelessly" through the air and
can switch on a light bulb or keep a computer running.
"Let’s face it: wires suck," Eric Giler, chief
executive of WiTricity, was quoted as saying by The Times
newspaper at the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford this week.
"Batteries also suck."
"There is something like 40 billion disposable
batteries built every year for power that, generally speaking,
is used within a few inches or feet of where there is very
inexpensive power," Giler said.
According to the report in the British daily, the
science behind the system was developed by the physicist Marin
Soljacic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The WiTricity system works by transferring energy
between two magnetic coils. The first coil is placed in a box
attached to a home’s electricity mains, and can be embedded in
a wall or ceiling. The second coil is attached to a device
such as a television or laptop. Electromagnetic waves are
transferred between the two coils and the second coil absorbs
energy, the report said.
Scientists confirmed that the technology was safe, as
it used a magnetic field that "had no detrimental effects on
the human body".
Among the drawbacks is that only smaller devices can
be charged, and they must be within two metres of a wall that
provides wireless power. Scientists hoped that the range can
be extended to as much as 30 metres gradually as the
technology is put into use.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, July 25, 2009, 20:59