# Wireless Electricity - To charge our EVs?



## Bowser330 (Jun 15, 2008)

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-01/electricity-air


----------



## few2many (Jun 23, 2009)

Huh, interesting. All the sci-fi of yesterday becoming a reality. Give Tesla's descendants some some payout. I just recently watched a special on Tesla(man, not car) and they discussed this very thing.
The article doesnt really say how much power you have to generate and transmit vs how much you can receive. Broadcasting in all directions and recieving from a single point or two cant be efficient.
Today, people are stealing theyre neighbors internet and cable, tommorow theyre power?


----------



## Bowser330 (Jun 15, 2008)

few2many said:


> Huh, interesting. All the sci-fi of yesterday becoming a reality. Give Tesla's descendants some some payout. I just recently watched a special on Tesla(man, not car) and they discussed this very thing.
> The article doesnt really say how much power you have to generate and transmit vs how much you can receive. Broadcasting in all directions and recieving from a single point or two cant be efficient.
> Today, people are stealing theyre neighbors internet and cable, tommorow theyre power?


haha very true...power theft...haha...

The amount of power they can actually transmit and its directional capability I will leave to further advancements...

So many people said it couldn't be done...thats why I love the quote 
"never say never"

Think about possibilities of EV charging? No need to exit your vehicle when you to the "station".. you could pay the bill with your cellphone while your cellphone, laptop, ipod, external GPS unit are all charging too!! haha


----------



## CPLTECH (Sep 14, 2007)

It may be pure rumor, but some time ago I thought I heard of the Amish in Indiana stealing power from the huge transmission lines running thru their land.
Maybe they were able to park their buggy under the wires to recharge the battery used for the nighttime running lights? ? ? Why else would they need electric? EV's to replace horses?


----------



## Bowser330 (Jun 15, 2008)

http://www.gizmag.com/wireless-electricity-demonstration-video-ted/12655/

Very interesting video!

skip to the end to see him power TV and cellphones!

During the video he also mentions that they have a prototype installed in the garage floor that automatically starts to charge the batteries of an electric car while its in the garage, no plugging in needed....

http://www.witricity.com/pages/application.html

Company website.


I am sure they can put some type of security on it for public charging areas, where you can purchase kilowatts for X$, etc...

Charging stations of the future could look like empty parking lots....low/no cost maintenance...just replacing the core pack of batteries every so many years...depending on the use...


----------



## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

Don't want to sound too pessimistic, but:

1 - efficiency of this type of transmisison will never be high enough to be good
2 - so much additional emission CAN NOT be good for health 


(on 2 I've seen studies that people who live too close to powerfull electric lines suffer a lot more health problems)


----------



## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

I think it will be a long time before our electricity demand is low enough for wireless power transmission to be effective.

If wireless power transmission works really well then why not remove the batteries from electric cars and just drive them on transmitted power in the same way that trolley buses draw power as they drive but without the overhead power lines?


----------



## Bowser330 (Jun 15, 2008)

Woodsmith said:


> I think it will be a long time before our electricity demand is low enough for wireless power transmission to be effective.
> 
> If wireless power transmission works really well then why not remove the batteries from electric cars and just drive them on transmitted power in the same way that trolley buses draw power as they drive but without the overhead power lines?


I think its a great advancement in technology and who is to know how long it will take before they will be able to optimize it for additional safety, power usage, efficiency, etc...

In the video he states that they have already built a prototype in a garage floor that charges batteries in an electric car....so...at least for simplicity of charging it can work...It could be a backup if you forget to plug in...I dont know...I am just all for advancements in anything that has to do with electricity because thats our fuel....


----------



## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

Bowser330 said:


> In the video he states that they have already built a prototype in a garage floor that charges batteries in an electric car....


That is very different and alot simpler - when accepting antenna is derectly over transmitter.


Ever owned Oral-B electric toothbrush? Did you notice there is no metal contact between brush and charging cradle? And that was in shops 10+ years ago, no news. In your example - car is a big toothbrush that has HUGE antenna on the bottom and must be placed directly over transmitter.

Still, efficiency will take a hit.


----------



## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

This is nothing new, even EV1 used inductive paddle charger, which is exact same technology. Biggest physical hurdle is that power drops exponentially with distance, so when paddle is few mm from its mating coil, it works well, but move it even few cm away and the power is gone.

MAGLEV trains are also powered across the air gap between the magnets and the coils on the train body, been running for years in few places. Now, that is the EV technology I'd love to see everywhere, no wheels, no motors, just gliding on the electromagnetic field, sweet.


----------



## HDS (Aug 11, 2008)

Hi all:

I read a story written by Nikola Tesla's nephew about a car that Tesla had removed the engine from and install a 30" motor of his own design. He demonstrated this car at a car show. It was driven by his nephew. It had no batteries, had seemingly unlimited range, and reached 95 MPH. 

His claim was that he was harnessing energy from the "ether that is all around us". The mysterious components that he through together resembled a radio tuner, which then was inserted into the dashboard area. Most experts seem to think that he was actually harnessing power from the 20 story wireless power transmission tower a few miles away that was built to demonstrate wireless power transmission.

I wonder what we would be driving today if he were alive and devoted to EV's.

HDS


----------

