What's WiTricity good for?

** It could eliminate that rat's nest of cords under your desk. You would no longer have to wrangle for an outlet at business conferences. And your home would keep your gadgets constantly powered up.

Will WiTricity be just like Wi-Fi networks today?

Yes, although like Wi-Fi, WiTricity could be free in some locations and a for-fee service in others. Creating a standard frequency that would allow all your gadgets to be powered at all WiTricity hotspots is an issue.

Will batteries become obsolete?

No. Items (like laptops) that we use indoors might not require batteries. But gadgets like cameras that we use on the go would still need them.

What if my dog fell asleep between the wall coil and my computer?

"Line of sight is not required," says MIT doctoral student Aristeidis Karalis, who did many of the calculations and predictions for the system. But because the transfer efficiency declines with distance, each room would need its own distributing coil. **

But will it give my dog cancer?**

Biological organisms are not strongly affected by magnetic fields, and the MIT team believes that safety won't be a concern. Still, more experiments will be needed.

空气中的电力 - 大众科学

近两个世纪以来，科学家们一直知道如何实现无绳电能传输，并且该现象之前已经有过多次演示。但直到个人电子设备的兴起，无线电源的需求才得以实现。在过去的几年里，至少有三家公司推出了无线电源设备的样机，尽管它们的有效距离相对有限（参见“电力掮客”，下一页）。去年，麻省理工学院的一个团队为跨越整个房间的无线电源奠定了基础。

无线电源的关键在于共振。想象一个高脚杯，当歌剧演唱家唱出恰当的音符时，它会碎裂。当声音与玻璃杯的共振频率——你敲击杯子时听到的那种音调——匹配时，玻璃杯会有效地吸收歌剧演唱家的能量并破裂。麻省理工学院的科学家们利用磁感应和两个以相同频率共振的相同铜线圈，成功地将7英尺外的电源为60瓦的灯泡供电。该团队称他们的发明为WiTricity，是“无线电力”的缩写。接下来：将电力传输得更远、更有效。