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Post by ChrisK on Feb 11, 2009 17:40:33 GMT -5
"Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable from Magic."
I'm not questioning the technical merits of the technology, just the mental acuity of the writer, oops, I meant author.
From R&D Magazine,
Feb 11,2009
I recently discovered an article from MSN.com that discussed the not so new idea of wireless electricity. Curiously enough, the story was titled, “Wireless electricity is here (seriously)”, which was actually news to me. MIT assistant professor of physics Marin Soljacic demonstrated the workings of free flying electrons which is now lending a hand to the advancements in wireless energy, and could be on the brink of creating an end to our plug and play society.
Soljaic received a $500,000 grant from the MacArthur Fellowships in September 2008 in which he was able to continue his research in wireless development. His demonstration consisted of powering a small television through a box that harnessed free-flowing electrons. The box and the TV were equipped with a magnetic coil that was recharged by a battery located in the box.
Not only was Soljaic’s experiment successful, but the development of the wirelessly charged device gave way to the first wireless powering system, which could be on the market as soon as April. This application resembles a mouse pad and will essentially power or charge electronics (cell phones, lap tops, etc.) by placing them on the pad, as long as they have the appropriate heat coil to do so.
The concept of wireless technology was based on inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla’s work on alternate energy sources and wireless communication. A combination of patented transferrable wireless coils, the wireless powering system has a smart design so there is no overcharging and electricity will not flow between you and the device if you happen to walk in its path. Companies such as Energizer, Philips Electronics, and Logitech are also jumping on the bandwagon to install coils in standard products to make it easier and eventually even cheaper for consumers to use products without the use of batteries and conductive electricity.
Huh?
"Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable from Magic."
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Post by newey on Feb 11, 2009 19:26:45 GMT -5
Here's a website for this technology. Lots of marketing-speak involved. EcoupledInductive coupling/charging are nothing new. They claim that their technology allows coupling even when the coils aren't exactly aligned. But they never really talk about how much distance the coupling covers. One example given is being able to recharge your remote by placing it on the cable box. The author of ChrisK's quote above talks about a mousepad-type device that would charge small electronics placed on the pad. Inductive stovetops have been around for years. Aquarium pumps use an induction motor. Unless they're talking about transmission over greater distances than those, it's hard to see what the hoopla is about. If that's the extent of what they're talking about, I'm fairly underwhelmed. |
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Post by cynical1 on Feb 11, 2009 21:54:29 GMT -5
Tesla proposed wireless energy over a hundred years ago. He's been dead for just over 66 years. In all this time I'm supposed to be impressed with a mousepad...
It's tough being a Luddite when they just don't build things worth smashing...
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by andy on Feb 12, 2009 7:22:00 GMT -5
Speaking of ludditism...
I ain't never heard nuthin 'bout any o' that stuff.
If I could lose all the wires round my computer and TV I would be happy. If I could lose the power cables to my amp and effects, stage setups would be a lot less hassle. If home appliances could be powered ike this, I would trip over a lot less when vaccuming the carpets.
Can it be that wire producing conglomerates have the same power over this technology as the oil giants have over 'alternative' ways of making cars run?
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Post by ChrisK on Feb 12, 2009 13:01:04 GMT -5
...or shoes ( sabot-tage) of wood not, worth tossing into the "gears of technology". Perchance then you've heard something..... That's funny, when I lose even some of the wires around my computer, I get p  d. Well, we'd better buy stock in Unobtainium Inc since only unobtainium will shield a guitar from kilowatt power fields. "Grounding and Shielding the Beast" will take on new meaning. So, all this concern about power line and RF fields and cancer is just tree-huggin' hooey? Forget aboot cell phones near kids heads during the brain-formative years (where 1 watt is in play), lets all live in the fields of EMF with kilowatts in play. No matter how clever this ends up being, it's still less (to much less) efficient than a wire. For instance, the U.S. uses about 420 quads (quadrillion BTUs (British Thermal Units - probably related to wool and a stiff upper lip)) of energy a year, with about 25% of it wasted. Oh, British Thermal Units, meybe that's the heat coil that the author was referring to. If appliances were really off when they're off (as in not visibly on, but by God I better not have to wait a second for the filament in my picture tube to warm up), the estimates are that 4 new utility power plants would not be needed. I think that it's a case of a reality producing conglomerate (physics) having power over magic. We'll see. What's this "vacuuming" thing that people keep going on about? My wife says that I'm completely unaware of it. |
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Post by mlrpa on Feb 12, 2009 13:33:22 GMT -5
Hmmmm.... the thought of using a mouse pad sized gizmo to power my computer, and keep my coffee hot brings up a worthless point. Do you need a mose pad sized gizmo to power the mouse pad sized gizo? And what powers that one? The stack would be sizable I suppose. Hmmmm......
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Post by newey on Feb 12, 2009 20:00:34 GMT -5
Those pesky phantom loads . . . But without them, we'd actually have to get up and walk to the TV to turn it on. That's soooo last century!  Those few who are already off-grid take extra care to either buy appliances without phantom loads, or ensure that items which do draw while off are switched via a wall switch or a power strip. As I look about my kitchen, I can see three LCD digital clocks. There is one on my gas range, which incorporates a timer that I never use as it's much easier to set a mechanical egg timer. I don't need the clock, but it stays plugged in because the stove has electronic ignition, and the cord is behind the unit, inaccessible. My microwave also has one, and the timer is necessary there as it's integral to the cooking- But the display could easily be shut down when the unit is not in use, if anybody bothered to program that option into the chip. The third is on the coffeemaker, which likewise has a timer for delayed brewing, but the display doesn't need to be on constantly. Of course, it is impossible to get all 3 three in synch at any given time. But I always know what time it is, ±2 mins. These aren't big loads. But if I was living off a bank of batteries, I'd be paying attention to every watt. What wizard decreed that every appliance in my house had to have a clock on it? OK, rant over. |
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Post by lpf3 on Feb 13, 2009 19:45:25 GMT -5
I had a little over 100 pounds of Unobtanium for awhile.
Then we got divorced .
-lpf3
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Post by ijustwannastrat on Oct 29, 2009 23:05:47 GMT -5
www.powermat.com/us/home/Just thought I'd add something new to the topic. It has happened. Edit: BTW, a good alternative to spending $100+ to wirelessly charge your iPod, cellphone, and camera is to simply plug them in. I believe I can buy a stomp box or two for this money. 7-8 sets of strings. Fix-er-upper guitar from a pawn shop?
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Post by cynical1 on Oct 30, 2009 11:14:57 GMT -5
Over the years I've noticed an inverse reflex relationship between how smart the devices are and how stupid the users of that technology become...thereby making it easier to separate them from their money...
...Imhotep....Imhotep...
...keep pulling for that H1N1...
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by gitpiddler on Oct 30, 2009 17:59:44 GMT -5
I musta been busy and missed this one. Check out fourwinds10.com, he's posted several articles on this subject. Apparently the pyramids were part of a worldwide power transmission grid once upon a time. Grandfather Bush was Tesla's accountant and they allegedly had a hand in stealing/shelving his patents. One legend says that George Sr. inspired Tesla to nickname him Curious George. I've seen simple capacitor circuits costing $20 that can charge a phone battery out of thin air. There are plans to go large-scale in other countries to desalinate water to irrigate deserts for starters. Curious indeed ;D
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Post by sumgai on Oct 31, 2009 3:17:40 GMT -5
A bit of magnetism, a bit of heat, what's the big deal.  I dunno if they took a patent for the re-charging circuit too, but a company named Sonicare built and patented a battery-powered toothbrush about 15 years ago. (They are now owned by Braun.) They use a small coil in the support base (with no wall wart!), which in turn keeps the internal battery hot and ready to go. Your hand tells you it's hot, and a standard magnetic compass tells you it's most definitely on.  My first one, the orignal design, lasted about 6 or 7 years before it stopped re-charging. The replacement (which allegedly will last much longer) is now 7 years old, we'll see how well it lives up to the claims. The only wireless thing I wanna see now is a cost-effective multi-channel transmitter/receiver setup for my Roland VG/GR devices! sumgai |
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Post by newey on Oct 31, 2009 9:25:31 GMT -5
If the cell phone manufacturers, mp3 makers, et al. had come together on an industry-wide standard for a universal charging plug and wall wart, we wouldn't need a wireless recharging device.
At Casa Newey, we have 3 different brands of cell phone, all with the same carrier/plan. Which means 3 different chargers, and I'm forever trying to plug my Samsung into my wife's LG charger, since visually, the plugs look nearly identical.
And, of course, the car chargers are different as well, so there's 3 of those, too . . .
I mean, the electronics industry pretty quickly adopted the Blu-Ray standard, but they can't agree on chargers?
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Post by sumgai on Oct 31, 2009 13:01:45 GMT -5
The answer is that consumers don't buy chargers, they buy devices. The chargers are "afterthoughts". If they weren't included with said devices, then the consumer would have to go out and buy them. You can imagine how quickly said consumers would become frustrated with that, and in no time at all, they'd demand government action to force standardization.
You can bank on it.
sumgai
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Post by gumbo on Nov 1, 2009 7:28:29 GMT -5
Hmm.. Only just recently, someone said there was a movement afoot to standardise to the mini-usb type connector for chargers.... ....if only I could remember who said that..  ....perhaps it was the guy from FreeWhiteBeauty.com |
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Post by cynical1 on Nov 1, 2009 10:09:27 GMT -5
What would be the motivation for cell phone providers to standardize their chargers?
None at the moment.
Blackberry gets between $19.99 and $39.99 for their "charging bundles"...and the other generally line up in their somewhere in-between.
Once you standardize your charging scheme you release the aftermarket beast and you get to watch your sales drop on your proprietary chargers.
Boo friggin' hoo...but that's the way it works. Look what happened to IBM when their PC went "compatible"...now the Chinese build all IBM's under the Lenovo label.
Asimov said all great advances in technology are politically driven. Who contributes to politicians? Who has a better say in making the politicians react?
What would happen to a Congressman's private funding if he introduced legislation that told RIM, Motorola, LG and the rest of them that their designs all had to conform to new legislation? He couldn't buy political advertising space in the Paducah Sun.
Only the market can drive this change, and the consumer is sucked into the device and will live with the charger issue because he wants the apps or the status that goes with said device.
If you really want to see a change then develop the next generation battery. Then you will have the cell phone provider's engineers falling over each other to make your battery fit in their devices.
Good luck on that one. Me, I'll just keep looking for a typewriter and a cabin somewhere in Montana...
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by sumgai on Nov 1, 2009 12:58:42 GMT -5
cyn, All good points, but you're forgetting one thing.... Absolutely all politicans who are voted into office realize one bottom line - if you piss off the voters often enough, long enough, and hard enough, they'll soon turn you out. And it can be fairly stated that NO politician wants to leave office before he's raked in his retirement fund from as many "contributors" as possible. He'll risk losing one or more contributors this week, because he knows that if he's in office next week, there'll be more contributors to take the places of the lost ones. But if he's not in office next week....... It's a see-saw battle, to be sure, but that's what the politicos thrive on. I say, let 'em! I'm too old for that crap anymore.  sumgai p.s. Is it obvious that I'm all for Term Limits? |
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Post by sydsbluesky on Nov 1, 2009 21:38:54 GMT -5
Politicians. Ask Caesar about 'em.
If it's profitable it will happen. And if it's not... *shrugs*
If I have to pay 20 bucks for a OEM charger, or 10 in the fantasy world where they exist, then great... Until then, though, It's not a terribly big deal, if you ask me.
I spent all weekend with my dad and his friend drinking, scouting a hunting spot and fixing the war, dont-cha-know.
"I think we should just *belch* Nuke the astardsb and be *belch* done with it!"
Puulease. Compared to that, cell phone chargers are nothing!
What we need are brain chargers.
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Post by sumgai on Nov 1, 2009 22:02:29 GMT -5
Jesse, ....
What we need are brain chargers. Ya know, for a young feller, you sometimes come up with some worthy statements. I hope you've got your Karma insurance paid up, 'cause there's a +1 comin' your way! sumgai |
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Post by newey on Nov 1, 2009 22:07:06 GMT -5
Relax. We're safe here. We have the "Guardian of the Bozone Layer" to watch over us. ;D ;D
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Post by sydsbluesky on Nov 2, 2009 20:21:39 GMT -5
I feel safe already. |
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