NPR: Those Magnificent Men and Their Wireless Machines

Those Magnificent Men and Their Wireless Machines

It is the dawn of "WiTricity."

That's what a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists are calling a power source that they have figured out how to use to wirelessly turn on a light bulb more than 7 feet away.

I love the story of how this invention came to be: The team leader, Professor Marin Soljacic, got the idea while standing in his pajamas, staring at his cell phone.

As he told the MIT News:

"It was probably the sixth time that month that I was awakened by my cell phone beeping to let me know that I had forgotten to charge it. It occurred to me that it would be so great if the thing took care of its own charging." To make this possible, one would have to have a way to transmit power wirelessly, so Soljacic started thinking about which physical phenomena could help make this wish a reality.

From small needs are great inventions created. This could mean the end of cords for laptops, cell phones, iPods, you name it.

10:37 AM ET | 06- 8-2007 | permalink

Comments

This is not a new idea. The credit for this idea goes to the designer of our current power system. US Patent #645,576 was issued March 20, 1900 to Nikola Tesla's for the wireless transmission of electrical power. This was more than 100 years ago.

Sent by Patrick Ellis | 12:14 PM ET | 06-08-2007

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