Glass and Ponsford wrote about how a company called WiTricity is going to transfer power without wires. They have not put electricity in the air, rather they put a magnetic field around a “Source Resonator”. A “Source Resonator” is simply an electromagnet. A coil in an magnetic device can then convert the magnetic field into electricity. The magnetic fields are “perfectly safe”; they are the same fields used in Wi-Fi. They are so safe that they are used on a smaller scale to charge the Apple Watch. WiTricity could install a Source resonator in one’s house to power all appliances. “Electric cars will refuel while sitting on the driveway.” according to CNN. Now, WiTricity is working on medical technology, such as “a heart-pump… that can be charged non-intrusively”. The new challenge: increasing the distance between the Source Resonator and wireless devices efficiently. “The kids…will never have to plug in anything again to charge it.” (Glass & Ponsford 2014)
What WiTricity is doing on the surface is great. Luging around cords? Completely forgetting the worry of battery life? Lamps in the middle of the room without cords? Why would you not want in? The problem: efficiency. The Source Resonator would always be on, even if you were using nothing electronic. Power pills would rise, and the environment would fall. In addition to power bills, we would have to pay for Source Resonators to be installed, and for new devices that are compatible. Is it worth it?
Glass, N., & Ponsford, M. (2014, March 28). Wireless electricity? It's here. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from CNN website: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/tech/innovation/wireless-electricity/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
I like your comments considering the down-sides of this. It seems it is only really worth it for things like medical needs (heart-pump, etc.).
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