Imagine your phone never running out of battery because it constantly charges regardless of location. Or even imagine not paying for fuel because your electric car could be recharged while driving. These are just some of the potential benefits switching to wireless power transmission entails.

Wireless power transmission (WPT) is simply the transfer of electricity from a transmitter to a receiver through an electromagnetic field. The concept of WPT is prevalent in our phones and television broadcasts, where information is transmitted through electromagnetic waves. The aim of WPT, unlike wireless communication, is the transmission of energy, not information embedded in energy. 

 

A significant portion of our knowledge of this concept comes from Nikola Tesla’s groundbreaking research and development of the Tesla Coil — a device capable of generating high-voltage, high-frequency electricity through inductive coupling. Tesla’s research was meant to culminate in the construction of the Tesla towers, such as the one in Wardenclyffe, in order to utilize the earth as an interminable electrical conductor. However, J.P. Morgan’s withdrawal from the project entailed the disappearance of all his funds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://medium.com/skilledbodyshop/how-does-a-tesla-coil-work-658e0aab10fe

 

Categories of Wireless Power Transmission:

Short-range WPT: This method employs electromagnetic induction with the aim of transmitting power over short distances. A resonant transmitter and receiver are positioned facing each other; when oscillating current is passed through a resonant transmitter coil, a magnetic field is created. A receiver coil with the same resonance is placed in the vicinity of the transmitter coil, which supplies it with voltage. The maximum range of this technique is a few meters.

 

 

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Long-range WPT: This method utilizes lasers and microwaves to transmit power for up to several kilometers. When using lasers, electromagnetic radiation is transmitted through beams of lasers from the transmitter to photovoltaic cells. These cells convert the laser to Direct Current (DC).

Microwaves are used for WPT works in a similar way: microwave energy can be transmitted from a small transmitting antenna to a large receiving antenna, which also converts the energy to Direct Current.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33522699/wireless-electricity-new-zealand/

 

Advantages of Wireless Power Transmission

• It eliminates the necessity of wires.

• It costs lower than current power transmission. 

• Renewable energy can be harnessed more. Since most renewable energy resources exist 

• Electricity can be accessed in remote locations, where it’s economically infeasible to install and maintain power lines.

 

Disadvantages of Wireless Power Transmission

• Current electrical converters are inefficient.

• Lack of transmission directionality; the energy transmitted can move in an unpredictable pattern, which leads to wasted energy.

• Little interference could obscure energy transmission.

 

Despite more than a century of development, wireless power transmission is still in its infancy stage. Its efficiency, although improving, decreases with an increase in its range. It cannot currently be relied upon for the primary provision of the world’s power, as wired power transmission is currently faster and more efficient of the two. However, with the field of research experiencing exponential progress, it will not be long before the significant transition to wireless electricity occurs.