A World Without Cable Wires
Let’s think a world where you can go out & see no cable wires around anywhere.No cables around the buildings,roads,trees.No tall big electric poles in the roads.It’s all cleared.Let’s take some of modern technologies like wireless charger,headphone,key-board,mouse,router,remote etc.A lot of devices we used before having wires are now becoming wireless gradually.So it seems that every devices are now becoming wireless.Using wireless devices are more comfortable than with wires.Now the question comes to our mind that how does these wireless devices work?
Wireless technology is mainly based on electromagnetic radiation by Faraday’s law.There are two main coils:a transmitter coil & a receiver coil. Where the transmitter coil is powered by AC current to create a magnetic field, which in turn induces a voltage in the receiver coil.This form of energy is inductive energy which is transmitted from transmitter coil to receiver coil through oscillating magnetic coil.
What are the limitations of this technology?
The main problem of wireless technology is that it is only usable in short range.We can not use it in long range transmissions.The loss of power increases with its range.Also if we increase the power,the loss increases.So it is limited in short ranges & low power rating.It also have some problems like weather conditions,obstacles in air etc.
Why we need this technology?
We mainly transmit power or energy through cables.Cables are cheap & simple way of transmitting.But cables are not free from disadvantages.The installation of cables in power transmission from power grid are very hard job to do.The cables need to be insulated very carefully.The installation of underground cables are more difficult job.There are a number of factors that need to be determined.We can not install underground cable everywhere.The cables need regular maintenance.For this,we need a lot of man power.Cables can easily breakdown or damaged for many reasons.In times of natural calamities or hazards,cables can’t be used.There are a lot of safety issues that needs careful uses.Moreover,they reduces the beauty of our cities,buildings and houses.
At first the idea of wireless power transmission came to the mind of “Mad Scientist” Nikola Tesla.He wanted to build a world where power would be transmitted without cables.He made Tesla coil that was significant in transmitting power but only in short ranges. A Tesla coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives an air-core double-tuned resonant transformer to produce high voltages at low currents.It was used in sparkgap radio transmitters for wireless telegraphy.It was the first system ever that can transmit power without wires.Then he tried hard to make it in long ranges.He proposes “World Wireless System” that will transmit both power & information.He began his work of a large high-voltage wireless energy transmission in the Wardenclyffe Tower.But he could not complete his job in time & his rival Marconi was well ahead of him.Marconi was able to transmit the letter “S” in Morse code across the ocean,from England to Canada.Then his investor J.P.Morgan pulled out this project.But Tesla didn’t gave up.He continued his work at the Wardenclyffe.During that time his alternating current patents were expired.He couldn’t gather any more funding & his work was shut down.Though his work was failure but it played an important role in later wireless transmission. He wanted to send power through earth.If the earth resonant frequency match the electric current frequency,then the earth would act as a conductor like a giant global wire.People can receive power from anywhere of the world using receiver.
In this modern world of technology,we are developing very fast.Now we can share data using WiFi, Bluetooth from one device to another.When we send the data it is converted into a digital signal of low voltage like 5 volt.If we can send 5 volt signal in small distance,why can’t we send 220 volt in long distances. Scientists are still trying to reduce the loss of power in long distance transmission.A group of Stanford scientists are working in this subject for long time & found some significant results.They are able to transmit electricity wirelessly to an moving object nearby.They are working to find a way to recharge electric cars when they’re in motion.It will eliminate the issue of charging stations.If this project becomes successful in future then electricity will be the standard worldwide vehicle fuel.It will save the natural fuels & carbon emission rate would decrease very much.Japanese scientists have succeed in transmitting energy in longer distance than ever.They were able to use microwave to deliver 1.8 kilowatt solar power enough to run an electric kettle through the air to a receiver 55 meters away.This distance is not huge but a stepping stone in using vast amount solar energy available in space.It is the first time ever in human history that almost 2 kilowatt of solar energy were able to transmit to a distance of that type.They are trying to build a Space Solar Power System so that people can use it in the Earth.This energy is available permanently as it is not affected by weather or specific time.They have express the possibility of human transmitting great amount of energy from space.Their goal is to build first orbiting solar power plant by the time of 2031 just in time for Tesla’s 175th birthday.What an achievement that would be in human history.
Like it or not but wireless power transmission is the future of power system.If you have certain interest in power or energy field,you must have knowledge about this matter.At last,we can say that a world without cable wires is not just a dream,it is the reality that humans are about to get in.
