WiTricity - The End of Electrical Cables?

It's been a long while since anyone invented anythingsurrounding objects. Instead of using acoustic waves,
truly revolutionary. Mobile phones, email, the wheel,however, WiTricity, as the team has named it, uses
sliced bread, have all been assimilated into ourlow frequency electromagnetic waves. The coils used
everyday consciousness. Who, for example givesin the experiment were made to resonate at 10Mhz,
even a precursory glance at footage of the spacepermitting energy to flow between them. "With each
shuttle taking off these days?Results of experimentscycle arriving, more pressure, or voltage in electrical
in America, however are set to spark debate andterms, builds up in this coil," explained Professor
excitement throughout the world. Scientists at thePendry.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have"Over a number of cycles the voltage gathered until
successfully tested a system to remotely deliverthere was enough pressure, or energy, at the
power to devices, and believe that the technologysurface to flow into the light bulb". Low frequency
can be translated from laboratory to main streamelectromagnetic waves, which are about 30m long,
use in a matter of years, entirely doing away withare thought to be harmless to living creatures.
domestic electrical cables."Ordinarily if you have a transmitter operating like a
We had a strong faith in our theory but experimentsmobile phone at 2GHz - a much shorter wavelength -
are the ultimate test," said Assistant Professor Marinthen it radiates a mixture of magnetic and electric
Soljacic. "So we went ahead and sure enough wefields," explained Professor Pendry. This is a
were successful, the experiments behave very muchcharacteristic of what is known as the "far field": The
like the theory." The system comprised two 60cmfield which exists at more than one wavelength from
diameter copper coils, a transmitter attached to athe device. At a distance of less than one
power source and a receiver placed 2m away andwavelength, however, the field is almost entirely
attached to a light bulb. When power was sentmagnetic. "The body really responds strongly to
through the transmitter the bulb lit up despite thereelectric fields, which is why you can cook a chicken in
being no physical connection between the two, anda microwave," said Professor Pendry. "But it doesn't
was measured as being 40% efficient.respond to magnetic fields. As far as we know the
The Science Behind Itbody has almost zero response to magnetic fields in
The system utilized simple physics. Indeed, Professorterms of the amount of power it absorbs."
Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London claims..... And The Future?
"There is nothing in this that would have preventedThe number of ways in which life would change if
them inventing this ten or even twenty years ago".this technology can be developed into commercial
It exploits a natural phenomenon called "resonance",applications is mind boggling. "The benefit to mankind
in which an object vibrates when energy of a certainof eliminating electrical cables goes far beyond the
frequency interacts with it. Think of the way objectsaesthetic and functional gains of the domestic
in your house vibrate only on certain bass notesenvironment" said spokesman Simon Reid. "China's
when you're listening to music. It is because thebooming economy has exacerbated a world copper
physical composition of that object is reacting to theshortage, seriously impinging both the pricing and
specific frequency of that sound. When two objectsproduction of power cables. If WiTricity goes on to
resonate at the same frequency they exchangeprovide a solution it may prove to be the invention
energy. This frequency is particular to those twoof the century".
bodies only, and thus has no effect on other