The final frontier of wireless tech is upon us, with Intel showing off its electricity flying through the air with better efficiency than ever. While it’s not the first wireless power transmitting device we’ve seen, this one uses resonance rather than induction, and boasts 75% efficiency. Hey, that means if you send 100 watts across the room, 75 of those watts will actually make it to the other side.
For now, the prototype is in the form of two copper rings that resonate together at a certain frequency, magically transmitting electricity from one to the other. Of course the tinfoil hat-wearing cranks will want to know where that extra 25% of the obviously deadly radiation goes on its way from here to there, but Intel says never mind that; it’s safe for us, it’s just that the gadgets will get fried with the current tech.
As soon as this is perfected, we’ll be in for a techno treat. Imagine wirelessly charging up your cell phone, or quickly installing some truly wireless speakers, or placing a wireless toaster on your kitchen table. The possibilities are endless. But in this era of energy price hikes, do we really want to throw away 25% of the power just for the sake of convenience?
