updated 05:00 pm EDT, Fri July 24, 2009 WiTricity wireless power
At the TED Global Conference in Oxford, UK wrapping up today,
US-based WiTricity showed off a wireless charging system that
powered up a T-Mobile G1, Apple's iPhone and a flat screen TV.
Such a system could eventually replace the current
infrastructure that involves countless miles of power cable and
disposable alkaline batteries. According to a recent BBC report,
the system is based on research by a physicist at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Marin Soljacic. It
uses low frequency electromagnetic wave resonance to transfer
the energy from the source to the device via a coil at each end.
Each of the coils is engineered to have the same resonant
frequency. Each cycle of energy arriving at the receiving coil
produces a voltage that can charge the gadget. Devices so
equipped automatically charge when they are in the range of the
main charging coil, so there's never a need to plug devices in.
The energy is transferred via magnetic f