With all the new technological breakthroughs most especially in the field of electrical engineering, the layman is left with no other choice than to accept everything that comes without questioning.
Even our studious students in the University are following this same pattern. Cramming and memorizing everything the lecturer says, without personal studies and exposure. Will our forthcoming society just be a "hear and accept" one?
Within a short period of time the technology of wireless charging is going viral and everybody is embracing it. Both those who know about it and those who don't. I keep hearing people say all sorts like
"with wireless charging I can be in my office and plug my charger at home and still charge my phone"
"I need to get money to buy one of those wireless charging supporting phones with ultimate charging 100% forever"
Then the big picture keeps popping... What do we really know about wireless charging.
We are all used to that simple physics of electromagnetism and induction. We hear it all the the time
The induced electromotive force in any closed circuit is equal to the negative of the time rate of change of the magnetic flux enclosed by the circuit.
A current carrying conductor generates a magnetic field around it
And yes wireless charging is very much built on that very simple physics we hear all the the time. But No... This article is not meant to reiterate what we keep hearing everyday. No more theories, rather let's clarify what we thought but never really though about it. Let us go over those bugging questions
And this is where the issues starts from with the notion Wireless Charging, No Charger Required.
Although I would really much love a no charger world but we haven't gotten to that stage yet. We may be on the verge of doing so but for now it isn't so. We still need our chargers. Why? Basically because it's wireless and not chargerless
The charger is actually what transmits or generates that electromagnetic flux that our phones receive and convert back to current. So what do we do with the charger? Well we basically plug it to the socket and wait for it to generate or transmit the electromagnetic waves. Why? Because no current means no electromagnetic flux.
Yes you got it right, the second issue. Because you plugged your charger and it's generating the so-called electromagnetic waves doesn't mean you could just wander off with your device (phone) in your pocket and it will still be charging. Why?
Probably because the electromagnetic wave is not an infinite distant one. What? "then why did I buy it if it will offer this restrictions?" "Am I using a wireless wire?"
What determines how far the device that is charging can be from the charger is the technology used. In the case of near-field technology, the charger can only be from a few millimeters away to a few meters away.Meanwhile the far-field provide us with charging distance up to a few kilometers. Most common devices developed so far only offer the near-field technology because of the inefficiency of the far-field technology
But hopefully as the years go by we will see more technological improvements that will allow us to plug our chargers and travel to Mars still charging our phones.
That ultimate question that all health inclined and nature lovers would ask- How healthy is this technology?
I don't blame them, it's their voice and constant protest that has kept the world intact. With all the global warming and alarming health issues that are rising everywhere with increase in technological breakthroughs, our last and important question is always, that, HEALTH.
Obviously the reason for the fear is the ability of the tech to transfer energy over distances making consumer feel that they are exposed to dangerous electromagnetic fields (flux)
Fear not people as there are so many regulatory bodies out there like ICNIRP and FCC that their ultimate goal and duty is to regulate and keep all elecctromagnetic fields at low frequency which is not harmful to human.
How successful have they been? . Their success in achieving their goal is highly dependent on the tech companies to follow their regulations. But that ultimately is not under our control and if any complications arise that's the price we have too pay to get to an effortless life.
Is the price we are going to pay worth the complications that may arise? Hopefully better engineers will look into these and ensure we face no complications
You think I did not address an issue regarding this topic you were expecting? Why not drop a comment with the issue you have in mind.
Sources
Image Credit
- Image from pixabay.com