And finally, wireless electricity!

TESLA’S Watclyffe Tower was “planned to be the first broadcast system, transmitting both signals and power without wires to any point on the globe. The huge magnifying transmitter, discharging high frequency electricity, would turn the earth into a gigantic dynamo which would project its electricity in unlimited amounts anywhere in the world.” CLIPARTILLUSTRATION

Nikola Tesla was a mad man.  Or so the world thought. But in his madness was genius. Tesla was a visionary, a man whose ideas were way beyond his time. He deserves much credit for electrical system concepts that have since developed into today’s tangible and useful technology.

Tesla held 40 basic US patents for his development of the polyphase alternating current system of generators, motors and transformers. More than that, this Croatian electrical engineer cum inventor conceived the laser beam, remote control, fluorescent light, wireless communications, robotics and the wireless transmission of electricity.

Tesla once built an 87-foot-tall tower capped with a copper dome on Long Island, better known as the Wardenclyffe Tower. According to the Tesla Memorial Society: “It was planned to be the first broadcast system, transmitting both signals and power without wires to any point on the globe.  The huge magnifying transmitter, discharging high frequency electricity, would turn the earth into a gigantic dynamo which would project its electricity in unlimited amounts anywhere in the world.” That was in 1901.

Coupled resonators

Fast forward to 2006, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Marin Soljacic mulled over the phenomenon of “coupled resonators,” two gadgets that worked in tandem and exchanging signals exclusive only to each other. Think of the phenomenon as a filled glass of wine that breaks when a sound of the same frequency produced by another object made it vibrate—and the frequency leaves the other glasses near it that are filled with different amounts of wine, and thus embodying different frequencies, unaffected. Soljacic gathered his team from the MIT and developed strongly coupled resonators that came together through their magnetic field—and this became the foundations for wireless transfer.

His experimentation started with two copper coils, with one connected to the AC power supply as the “resonant source” and the other coil being the “resonant capture device” connected to a light bulb. Both were suspended in mid-air with a nylon thread and, upon energizing, lit the light bulb Objects were placed in between the resonant pair, but the light remained lit, demonstrating that magnetic fields can transfer power through objects. Coupling allowed the flow of energy without affecting humans or animals. With this successful experimentation, this wireless method of connecting devices was born. Professor Soljacic and his colleagues have patented and developed this technology under the WiTricity brand name.

For starters, wireless electricity using this method can be convenient for charging small devices like cell phones and laptops. The main source resonator can be connected to an outlet, and the gadget commercially fitted with the capture device, to allow for electricity transfer. Think of it as a Bluetooth pairing. Devices can then be automatically charged as soon as they are placed within the range of the main source.

If further developed to work on a larger scale, wireless electricity could change the way we plan, spend on and use our spaces.

Huge savings

For starters, there would be huge savings on building cost, where a large percentage of expense is due to the cost of conducting, wiring, installing light points and wiring devices. Office system partitions can soon do away with raceways and panels, and we will slowly see the demise of these prefabricated systems primarily designed to hold up tables and provide cavities for electrical provisions to conveniently run through and be rerouted as deemed necessary. And lighting fixtures can now feature portability, much like the gas lamps of yesteryear, wherein they need not be fixed to the ceilings or walls and can instead be moved around from area to area as needed. In fact, any appliance can now be made portable.

Furniture arrangements will not be dictated by the location of power outlets and light fixtures, allowing for even more adaptability in the use of spaces.

Visually, we will get rid of unsightly “spaghetti,” a term we use for entangled and bundled electrical wires. No unsightly outlets punctuating walls. Well, maybe one or two to begin with.  No scrambling for outlets in hotel rooms when your cell phone, tablet and laptop start running out of batteries. Music will be available just about anywhere.

The sad truth about any new invention is that to be successful, it must be commercialized and made viable in that aspect. We’re light years away from Tesla’s utopian ideal of free electricity, but maybe one day the technologies being developed—like that of the Internet and wireless communication—can level down the playing field for electrical supply and make it more affordable and accessible for the man on the street.

Maybe one day we can tap our power sources from another supplier across the ocean, with uncomplicated and inexpensive distribution systems. Think about it, Meralco.

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