Wireless Energy Transfer

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our rechargeable electronics could simply recharge themselves when their battery(s) began to get low on power all on their own? This is the question that Marin Soljacic, an assistant professor at MIT's Department of Physics and Research Laboratory of Electronics, asked himself that inspired him to develop the theory of wireless energy transfer with the help of his colleagues.

Soljacic's theory stands upon the fundamental knowledge that electricity does not necessarily need to be physically connected between two points for an energy exchange to occur (i.e: the coils in electronic transformers that rely on electromagnetic induction to transfer the electricity without actually touching one another). Thus, he believes that with the right technology, this ability to transfer energy "wirelessly" across very short distances can be greatly enhanced to extend that distance potentially indefinitely.

If Soljacic were able to make this become a reality, it could enable us to inhabit harsher regions of the earth, provide electricity to third world countries (via satellite), and even extend our reach into space. In 2007, in fact, Soljacic successfully lit a 60 watt light bulb wirelessly from 7 feet away using magnetic coils. The phenomena has been coined with the term "WiTricity", and is now being extensively researched by companies such as WiTricity Corp. and PowerBeam. In my personal opinion, we may just have a slight revolution on our hands.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/wireless.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=wireless-energy-lights-bulb-from-seven-feet-away

Forget Sailor Moon, Solar Sail is where it's at

"Possible Energy Innovation could Generate 100 Billion Times the Energy Required to Sustain Earth"

Sound like a good headline? I think so too. Scientists at Washington State University recently published a paper, theorizing the creation of a giant "solar sail" that could potentially make our mountain of an energy situation into a molehill.

A solar sail basically harnesses the solar winds constantly blowing through space to generate massive amounts of energy. They "work by pointing a .4-inch-wide copper wire attached to the sail at the sun. This wire, which can be up to half a wire in length, then generates a magnetic field that captures electrons found in solar winds throughout the Solar System. These particles are in turn funneled into a spherical receiver, which then produces a current".

The only obstacle stopping these scientists from setting this potentially earth-shattering innovation into motion is figuring out how to transfer the energy harvested by the solar sail back to earth. But consider the possibilities! We could leave our lights, lamps, computers, phones, laptops, speakers, TVs, Xboxes, Playsations, Dreamcasts, toasters, and electric kitty litter mechanisms on and still not feel guilty!

You may be wondering why you haven't heard of this. So am I. I guess you're an idiot, huh?

Not so! This article was published in the International Journal of Astrobiology where experts in the field no doubt have buzzed with excitement over its possibilities. Apparently though, us everyday Joes could never be interested in the solving of our energy crisis, right? We're too busy thinking about sports and stuff.

It looks like that's what CNN thinks, at least. The very first article I see when visiting the CNN website today is "Phillies' Halladay no-hits Reds in playoff opener". Don't get me wrong, I'm always excited to hear about other Roys' accomplishments, but I think that the possibility of this solar sail holds a little more precedence.

Which leads me to my next point, the media is too busy feeding us largely superficial information about celebrities' boob jobs to take notice of monumental ideas like the solar sail. We need to value information that is actually valuable and part of that is recognizing just how revolutionary our current technology is and how fantastic it would seem even ten years ago.

The Comedian Louis CK says it beautifully in this interview:

It's going to space, will you give it a second?

Category, By. "Solar Winds Could Provide 100 Billion Times Earth's Energy Needs | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World." Green Design Will save the World | Inhabitat. Web. 07 Oct. 2010. .

Everythings Amazing & Nobodys Happy. Perf. Louis CK, Conan O'Brien. Youtube. 29 Feb. 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. .

How can YOUR sweater power your cellphone??

That's something for North Face to think about producing, huh? Well surprise! Not North Face, but Brian Korgel and his research team at the University of Texas have developed plastic solar ink cells that could one day become five times more efficient than current solar cell technology. This would be a new cheap way for consumers to be able to get their hands on such advanced eco-friendly technology, perhaps even replacing all of our energy habits with a clean and renewable source of power such as the Sun. These spray-on solar cells can convert sunlight directly into electricity and are the first solar cells able to harness the sun's invisible, infrared rays so even when the sun isn't visible these cells can still extract energy to power items.

Uses such as covering your sweater in these cells to power you phone like National Geographic suggested is only one of the many futuristic features this new spray paint can enable you to do. The discovery of this form of solar harnessing power is one step closer to converting our wasteful technology into environmentally safe and renewable energy sources, of which we are in desperate need of. Downsizing seems to be a pattern in today's society, first we had enormous and costly solar panels and now we have these solar cells that are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of hair and come in spray paint form(!); whats going to be next, a portable computer able to fit in my purse?? A few years back we would have scoffed at the idea of alternative energy and the ability to harness the Sun's power to energize our electronics, but finally the knowledge is here and we should embrace it!

I gathered my information from multiple well-known sources online such as National Geographic, Discovery, Live Science and Brighter Energy. I believe each of these sources to be true and scholarly, their audiences being interested and informed people simply searching for more knowledge.


Lovgren, Stefan. "Spray-On Solar-Power Cells Are True Breakthrough." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. .

Bryner, By Jeanna. "Powerful Ideas: Spray-On Solar Cells | LiveScience." LiveScience | Science, Technology, Health & Environmental News. 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. .

Weatherspoon, Tomeka. "Spray Paint with Solar Cells : Discovery News." Discovery News: Earth, Space, Tech, Animals, Dinosaurs, History. 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. .