Powerful Magic: Cell Phones Charge With Ambient Electricity
(image via: Inhabitat)
How annoying is it to run out of cell phone power when you’re nowhere near a charger? The Nokia Research Center
is working on technology that would allow cell phones to draw juice
from ambient radio waves, meaning that you’ll never again be without a
charge. The ambient electromagnetic radiation that’s already being
transmitted from TV, radio and cell phone towers can be converted into
electrical current easily enough. It wouldn’t be enough to charge a dead
battery quickly, but it would be enough to keep your phone’s battery
topped up.
(image via: Inhabitat)
If the concept sounds familiar to science geeks, it’s because Nikola
Tesla had the same idea in 1893. It wasn’t aimed at cell phones, of
course, but he was convinced that he could transmit power wirelessly all
the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Nokia isn’t building any new
equipment, though; they are simply harnessing the energy that’s already flowing all around us to supply data for our radios, cell phones, TVs and wi-fi.
(image via: Bock The Robber)
There are several obstacles to overcome in the development of the new
cell phone charging technology. First of all, making the whole system
small enough to fit into a cell phone – especially the tiny cell phones
we’ve gotten used to. And then there’s making sure that the circuits use
less power than they receive so that the overflow can charge the
battery. Nokia doesn’t seem too worried about the work involved, though;
they expect phones with the electromagnetic charging feature to be
available in about 2012. They’ve hinted that the technology may be used
in conjunction with solar cells embedded in the phone’s casing, making
it even easier to keep your phone charged.
(image via: Inhabitat)
How annoying is it to run out of cell phone power when you’re nowhere near a charger? The Nokia Research Center
is working on technology that would allow cell phones to draw juice
from ambient radio waves, meaning that you’ll never again be without a
charge. The ambient electromagnetic radiation that’s already being
transmitted from TV, radio and cell phone towers can be converted into
electrical current easily enough. It wouldn’t be enough to charge a dead
battery quickly, but it would be enough to keep your phone’s battery
topped up.
(image via: Inhabitat)
If the concept sounds familiar to science geeks, it’s because Nikola
Tesla had the same idea in 1893. It wasn’t aimed at cell phones, of
course, but he was convinced that he could transmit power wirelessly all
the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Nokia isn’t building any new
equipment, though; they are simply harnessing the energy that’s already flowing all around us to supply data for our radios, cell phones, TVs and wi-fi.
(image via: Bock The Robber)
There are several obstacles to overcome in the development of the new
cell phone charging technology. First of all, making the whole system
small enough to fit into a cell phone – especially the tiny cell phones
we’ve gotten used to. And then there’s making sure that the circuits use
less power than they receive so that the overflow can charge the
battery. Nokia doesn’t seem too worried about the work involved, though;
they expect phones with the electromagnetic charging feature to be
available in about 2012. They’ve hinted that the technology may be used
in conjunction with solar cells embedded in the phone’s casing, making
it even easier to keep your phone charged.